How to proceed with the installation of elevators in old residential areas in Dongguan? Regarding the hearing on March 18th

This morning (March 18th), the hearing on the "Management Measures for Adding Elevators to Existing Residential Buildings in Dongguan City (Fourth Draft for Comments)" (hereinafter referred to as the "Measures") was held at the Municipal Housing and Urban Rural Development Bureau. Representatives of citizens, members of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, and representatives from community neighborhood committees, design units, elevator installation enterprises, and (park) town and street housing planning departments attended the meeting.

The reporter learned that at the meeting, 18 witnesses conducted on-site hearings on topics such as fundraising, organization and implementation, safety certification, usage management, and maintenance. Each suggestion and question raised by the listener was responded to by Guo Zhichuan, the head of the Quality and Safety Management Department of the Municipal Housing and Urban Rural Development Bureau and the speaker of the hearing. Guo Zhichuan stated that in the next step, the bureau will combine the actual situation and further improve the "Measures" with a pragmatic and open-minded attitude, striving to submit them to the municipal government for review as soon as possible.

Fundraising 'government subsidies' included in the' Measures'

How to raise funds for the installation of elevators in old residential buildings has become a concern for many attendees. The Measures propose that the funds required for adding elevators to existing residential buildings can be raised in four ways, namely, according to the principle of who benefits who contributes, and based on the size of the floor benefits, the owners can negotiate and share the proportion of funds and jointly contribute; Those who belong to the housing reform housing can apply to use the unit's housing maintenance fund; You can apply to use the housing provident fund and special maintenance funds under the name of the property owner; Other legitimate sources of funds such as social investment.

Adding elevators can benefit many elderly people. Without government subsidies, elderly people cannot bear the cost sharing, and it is difficult to promote the addition work. "Li Xiaoyan, a member of the Standing Committee of the Municipal Political Consultative Conference and proposer, suggested that" government subsidies "should be included in the" Measures "as one of the ways to raise funds based on the actual situation in Dongguan.

Citizen representative and listener He Yuan holds a similar view. He suggested that the government should take the lead in reducing or directly refunding the construction taxes and fees incurred during elevator construction to elevator installation units and manufacturers. Alternatively, the government can refund the additional elevator units in the form of subsidies after collecting this fee. He gave an example that if adding an elevator requires a cost of 500000 yuan, according to the construction industry tax rate of 9%, the minimum cost can be reduced by 45000 yuan, reducing the burden of expenses.

Witness Lv Xiaohua also called for an increase in government subsidies and the use of subsidies in old residential areas that are truly in need.

Guo Zhichuan, the head of the Quality and Safety Management Department of the Municipal Housing and Urban Rural Development Bureau and the speaker of the hearing, responded by accepting the opinions raised by the hearing representatives and incorporating "government subsidies" into the "Measures" for review by the municipal government. He revealed that after the promulgation of the Measures, relevant departments will formulate implementation rules as supporting measures to promote the implementation of adding elevators and benefit people's livelihoods.

The elevator office of the lost property owners in the park (town street) assists in resolving the issue

The Measures propose that the intention to add elevators to existing residential buildings and the architectural design plan should be approved by more than 2/3 of the owners of the unit or exclusive part of the building, and more than 2/3 of the total number of owners.

But the owner of a building in Huayuan New Village encountered a "embarrassing situation". Liu Wenbo, a member of the Southern Branch of the Democratic League and a proposer, said that some homeowners hope to add elevators, and the condition of "2/3 of the homeowners' agreement" must be met. In theory, only 9 homeowners need to agree. However, currently there are still three homeowners who cannot be contacted. The reporter learned that not only Huayuan New Village, but also many old residential areas are facing the problem of limited channels for contacting property owners when adding elevators. The fact that the owners cannot be contacted does not mean they do not agree to add elevators, "Liu Wenbo suggested that government departments assist in contacting the missing owners.

Citizen representative and witness Wang Zhuling also stated that adding elevators to old residential areas may encounter various problems in communication with property owners. He hopes that there will be a specialized organization to coordinate with property owners on which departments to apply to and how to apply.

Guo Zhichuan gave the attendees of the hearing a "reassurance pill". He introduced that the "Measures" clearly stipulate that the park, town and street organizations shall establish a leadership group for adding elevators to existing residential buildings and a working office for the leadership group, responsible for organizing and implementing policies, promoting and guiding coordination work within the jurisdiction, and coordinating with owners to solve the above problems. In addition, the community neighborhood committee cooperates with the park (town/street) elevator office to coordinate the installation of elevators in existing residential buildings within its jurisdiction. Guo Zhichuan also revealed that the bureau will release the contact information of the park, town and street elevator offices to the public at that time.

In principle, the addition of elevators shall not alter the main structure of the building

After adding elevators to existing residential buildings, it inevitably affects the lighting, sunlight, and building spacing of the original residences. Wang Yuxiang from Dongguan Daye Construction Drawing Review Co., Ltd. frankly stated that it is difficult to add elevators without affecting the structure of the old house. He suggested establishing safety responsibilities for old buildings and adding elevators.

Qu Li from Guangdong Huafang Engineering Design Co., Ltd. believes that there are two ways to add elevators: one is through construction, and the other is through renovation. At present, many old buildings are over 20-30 years old, and if they are renovated, it will involve the issue of responsible parties. Who is responsible for the safety of building structures after installing elevators? Therefore, Qu Li suggested adding a clause to the Measures: in principle, the main structure of the house cannot be altered. Once the main structure of the house is changed, safety appraisal work needs to be done well.

Regarding this, Guo Zhichuan clarified that adding elevators should not change the main structure of the house in principle, which is a principle that the drafting of the Measures has always adhered to. Regarding practical technical issues, relevant functional departments will issue corresponding supporting rules as technical guidelines for elevator installation after the promulgation of the Measures.

During the implementation process, the problems that may arise can vary greatly, and can only be dealt with randomly. Guo Zhichuan also admitted that in the early stage of research, he had a deep feeling that there was significant resistance from various parties to promote the installation of elevators in old residential areas, among which the conflict between owners was the biggest difficulty. According to the regulations, if 2/3 of the owners agree, the application for adding elevators can be initiated. If the remaining 1/3 of the owners do not agree, the issue can be raised in writing during the public announcement stage. If there are objections, coordination should be carried out first, and if coordination fails, legal means should be used to resolve them. The Property Law stipulates that the rights and interests of every homeowner should be respected

Guo Zhichuan also stated that the formulation of the "Measures" should not only follow the provisions of the higher-level law, but also find a balance between the supporters and opponents of the owners. This not only requires the efforts of the government, but also the joint efforts of multiple parties to form a synergy, so that everyone can move towards the same goal and benefit more residents from the 'Measures'.

Background of Introduction

Residents in old residential areas are increasingly calling for the installation of elevators

Encouraging conditional installation of elevators "was included in the 2018 Government Work Report during the first session of the 13th National People's Congress. During this year's National People's Congress and Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, "installing elevators" was once again included in the Government Work Report, but the wording changed from "encouraging those with conditions to install elevators" last year to "supporting the installation of elevators". In recent years, cities such as Beijing, Hangzhou, Xiamen, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen have been accelerating the implementation of this "visible and tangible livelihood issue".

Due to historical reasons, before the promulgation of the "Regulations on Quality Management of Construction Projects" in 2000, some residential buildings in our city with more than 6 floors were not equipped with elevators, which caused great inconvenience to residents who lived in old buildings for a long time. With the improvement of people's living standards and the development of population aging trend, residents in old residential areas, especially middle-aged and elderly citizens, are increasingly calling for the installation of elevators in existing residences.

In this context, it is very necessary for Dongguan to introduce management measures for adding elevators to existing residential buildings that are in line with the actual situation of our city. Wang Yuqing, a staff member of the Quality and Safety Management Department of the Municipal Housing and Urban Rural Development Bureau and the speaker of the hearing, introduced that as early as April 2018, Dongguan began to plan and study the relevant management measures for adding elevators to existing residential buildings in Dongguan to address public demands. After joint promotion, research, and improvement by multiple parties, the "Interim Measures for Adding Elevators to Existing Residential Buildings in Dongguan City (Fourth Draft for Soliciting Opinions)" was finally formed. At present, the Municipal Housing and Urban Rural Development Bureau is soliciting opinions from various parks, towns, streets, and relevant departments.

■ Highlights of the Method

1. Can't the owners reach a consensus on opposing the addition of elevators?

Establish an elevator office as a third-party negotiation or mediation

The Measures specify that the park management committee and the town people's government (street office) shall organize the establishment of a leadership group and a leadership group work office for the addition of elevators to existing residential buildings (hereinafter referred to as the Elevator Office), responsible for organizing and implementing policies, promoting and guiding coordination work within their jurisdiction. The community committee shall cooperate with the park (town/street) Elevator Office to coordinate the addition of elevators to existing residential buildings in their jurisdiction.

If some owners raise objections during the public announcement of the design scheme and consensus cannot be reached through negotiation, the park (town/street) elevator office can organize community neighborhood committees or owners' committees and other third parties to negotiate or mediate, further enriching and improving the negotiation and coordination mechanism, and fully leveraging the autonomous role of owners and grassroots organizations.

2. Is the approval process for adding elevators complicated?

Joint review of government approval implementation

The Measures streamline the government approval process, clarify that the construction area of elevator projects added to existing residential buildings is not included in the calculated building area, exempt from land prices and urban infrastructure supporting fees, and do not handle real estate registration.

In order to reduce the number of trips made by property owners, the government has implemented a joint review method, which involves setting up elevator offices in local parks (towns and streets) to uniformly accept applications, and organizing departments such as natural resources, fire protection, market supervision and management, and housing and urban-rural development bureaus to conduct joint reviews.

3. Who will maintain and manage the safety of elevators in the later stage?

Owners can entrust property service companies or other units to manage

In order to strengthen the management of elevator usage after adding elevators to existing residential buildings, the "Measures" require owners to entrust property service enterprises or other units to manage elevators. If the owners do not entrust, a representative of the owners shall negotiate and agree on one owner as the user manager, and other owners shall bear joint and several safety management responsibilities to promptly plug safety hazards and loopholes.