(Picture source on the Internet, delete if infringement)
Some owners are not satisfied with their apartment after buying a house, and want to change the apartment type when decorating. In Haikou City, Hainan Province, a resident was sued by his neighbor for changing the balcony of his house into a bathroom. The lawyer said that during the decoration, the owner can generally only make changes to the parts of the house that do not involve the load-bearing structure, facade, main structure and the adjacent relationship between of the upper and lower stairs. Some changes require approval from the relevant management department, otherwise it will constitute an illegal act.
Current status:
Dissatisfied with the house type, some owners changed the house structure
Some owners are dissatisfied with the house type structure when they get a new house. For this reason, some owners have the idea of changing the apartment type. The principle they pursue is to make changes without destroying the main load-bearing structure.
Recently, Ms. Yang, an owner of a community in Yabo Road, Qiongshan District, Haikou City, said that when two neighbors in the same unit building decorated their house, they changed the entrance garden into a kitchen, with the purpose of expanding the space of their own restaurant. "I asked them why they changed this way, and the other party said they would make rational use of the space." Ms. Yang said that although the neighbors changed this way, it would have no effect on their own family, but she always felt that the neighbor's approach was wrong.
Mr. Wang, who has been in the decoration industry for 12 years, told reporters that demolition and modification are common when owners decorate their houses, but not all places can be changed at will. If the balcony of a residential building is changed to a bathroom, it will inevitably increase the load on the balcony floor, which will have an impact on the structural safety.
Case:
The balcony was changed to a toilet upstairs, and the downstairs sued successfully to protect the rights
Because the change of the use function of the house, disputes arise between neighbors often occur. Zhang, who lives in a community in Hongchenghu Road, Qiongshan District, Haikou City, and his neighbor Li, also had a very unhappy relationship due to house renovation issues. In the end, the two families even went to court.
It is understood that Zhang lives in Room 705 and Li lives in Room 805. Room 805 is located directly above Room 705. Li converted the balcony on the south side of the house into a bathroom. Zhang believes that Li's reconstruction behavior caused the balcony floor and sewage pipes that originally did not have waterproof conditions to overload the waterproof function, affecting his own living safety. Zhang negotiated with Li many times but failed and sued him in the Qiongshan District Court of Haikou City, requesting the court to rule that the neighbor Li upstairs demolished the rebuilt bathroom.
After trial, the Qiongshan District Court held that Li renovated his residential balcony, raised the balcony floor, and layed it through cement mortar , which would inevitably increase the load on the balcony floor, which would have an impact on structural safety. In addition, the sewage discharge pipe passed over Zhang's master bedroom, which violated the relevant regulations of the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development and affected Zhang's daily life. Li should remove the bathroom located on the balcony. Based on this, the Qiongshan District Court ruled in accordance with the law that Li would demolish the bathroom on the south balcony.
After the first instance verdict was announced, Li was dissatisfied with the verdict and filed an appeal. In March 2020, the Haikou Intermediate People's Court rejected the appeal and upheld the original judgment after trial.
Statement:
The bathroom shall not be above the bedrooms of residents on the lower floor
The above cases are not isolated cases. The reporter found through the Internet that neighborhood disputes arising from house renovation occur from time to time. What principles should residents follow when decorating their houses?
Li Wen, a lawyer at Hainan Xianguo Law Firm, said that as the owner of the house, the rights enjoyed by the owner of the house are not boundless, but under certain legal frameworks, they shall not damage the legitimate rights and interests of others.
" Civil Code of the People's Republic of China " has special provisions on the adjacent relationship of real estate, that is, the adjacent parties of real estate shall correctly handle the adjacent relationship in accordance with the spirit of benefiting production, convenient life, unity and mutual assistance, fairness and rationality, and try to avoid causing damage to the neighboring real estate rights holders. If it causes obstacles or losses to the neighboring parties, the infringement shall be stopped, the obstacles shall be eliminated, and the losses shall be compensated.
"Specifically when it comes to house decoration, my country has the "Regulations on the Management of Residential Interior Decoration and Decoration" and the "Residential Design Code". There are relatively detailed provisions in the national mandatory standards. For example, rooms without waterproofing requirements shall not be used as bathrooms or kitchens, and bathrooms shall not be arranged on the bedrooms, living rooms, kitchens, and dining rooms of lower-level residents." Li Wen said that as an owner, during decoration, they can generally only modify the parts in the house that do not involve the load-bearing structure, facade, main structure and adjacent relationships between the upper and lower stairs. Some changes also require approval from relevant management departments, such as the displacement of gas pipelines and heating pipelines, otherwise it will constitute an illegal act.
Reminder:
Owners need to collect and retain evidence. If they fail to communicate, they can sue for rights protection
Although my country's regulations have explicit provisions, some owners do what they want according to their own ideas and do what they can do. What should the owner do if he encounters such a dispute?
Li Wen said that first of all, you can communicate with the owners of violations and demand that the illegal decoration be stopped; if the communication is not successful, you should promptly report to the property company and require the property company to communicate and rectify the violations. During the communication process, you should pay attention to collecting and retaining relevant evidence, such as photos of illegal reconstruction on site, relevant evidence of communication with the owners of violations by yourself or through the property company; if the illegal decoration behavior cannot be stopped through the property company, you can complain to the relevant competent authorities and pay attention to collecting and retaining relevant evidence; if the above-mentioned channels cannot be resolved, you need to collect and organize the relevant evidence and file a lawsuit with the people's court to protect your rights.
Source: Civil Trial
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