Enjoy The Right To Use And Ownership Patterns. Timeshare

Timeshare is a brand new commercial concept, which involves industries of real estate, hotel and tourist. In timeshare, rights are split into parts on the basis of time so that different parts can be shared or transferred between owners. Timeshare was introduced into China in 1990s. As a newcomer, it does not catch the same attention from ordinary people and experts as in Europe and US. The nature of the sold timeshare product is still unspecified. With a view to its development in Europe and US, the success of timeshare largely depends on suitable legislation and industrial surroundings. So it is of significant importance to clarify the nature of the sold timeshare product before staff, land and other resources are spent on the timeshare development in China.The first part introduces various kinds of timeshare that is previously used or prevails nowadays in Europe and US. Western countries adopt two kinds of timeshare. One is the ownership model, while the other is the right-to-use model. The former involves time-span estate, interval ownership and the absolute fee simple. The latter includes vacation license, vacation lease and club membership. This part gives some basic information and traits of various kinds of timeshare as well as the regulations of real property in some western countries.The second part makes a comparison of the ownership model and the right-to-use model. As long as we are familiar with the merits and weakness of each model, we may have the correct choice as to the timeshare model to be developed in China.The third part is the key part of this article. On the basis of the introduction and comparison of different times share models and its development in Europe and US, this part emphasizes on the issue of which model shall China adopt. This part tries to solve the issue through two aspects, that is, the legislation environment and the industrial surroundings both in China and other countries. As to the legislation environment, three reasons make it unsuitable for China to adopt the ownership model of timeshare. First, the ownership in the ownership model of time has boasted some new characteristics, which challenges the traditional theory in China. Second, China differs greatly from the Europe and US in the structuring of property law. Thirdly, there exists no specific law or regulation that has provisions on dominium ad tempus. In the aspect of industrial surroundings, this part illustrates the failure of property right hotel as an example and gets the conclusion of adopting the right-to-use model of timeshare.The forth part further suggest that in adopting the right-to-use model, the system of trust shall be established. By a reference to some specific laws and regulations on timeshare in other countries, this part puts forward some suggestions on the regulation of the disclosure obligation of developer, the settlement of cool-down period, the establishment of escrow, the perfection of registration and the qualification of the trust companies, etc. But the specific articles as well as other supplementary regulations still needs further exploration.