A new apartment owner had already spent 150,000 yuan (S$30,700) on renovations for his new apartment in Chongqing when he was informed - much to his horror - that there had been a mix-up.

The South China Morning Post, quoting local media reports, said he was informed last week by the property management office that he had been renovating a different apartment.

The man, who was not named, had spent 630,000 yuan on the new apartment, flat number 40-4, on the 40th floor in June.

Renovation work started in early October, after he submitted copies of his purchase contract and ownership certificate last month.

It turned out that there had been a snafu in the numbers allocated for the keys and he had been given one to the wrong apartment, 40-8.

According to the management office, there are eight apartments on the 40th floor but only half had been sold.

The other half belonged to owners of apartments on the 39th floor, which had two levels.