Property owner in China knocks six apartments into one, sparking safety worries among neighbours
PUBLISHED : Wednesday, 18 November, 2015, 2:44pm
UPDATED : Wednesday, 18 November, 2015, 10:17pm
Zhuang Pinghui
[email protected]
The neighbours were startled to find six adjacent flats with their interior walls demolished. Photo: Sina.com
A homeowner in southwest China caused a safety scare after he dismantled the walls between six adjacent flats that he owned to make them into a single loft-style apartment, local media reported.
A neigbhour complained to the Chengdu Economic Daily in Sichuan province that she saw window panes falling out of the building and went upstairs to investigate, only to find the walls between three adjoining flats already removed.
The owner explained that he liked the residential area but by the time he bought his flats there were no large ones left.
He then bought six small flats on the same floor to convert them into one large apartment with a living room of 70-80 square metres, a 30 square metre study and two 20 square metre bedrooms with the remaining space for bathrooms and a kitchen.
The property management company said it could not intervene because the renovations had not damaged any load-bearing walls, endangered public safety or violated others’ rights.
It also said it believed the Chengdu housing authority had inspected and approved the construction work, so the owner was entitled to renovate the flats as he liked.
To avoid further aggravating the neighbours, the owner put the renovations on hold until he received a copy of the official inspection report.
