Residential Renovation

Four decades into China's urban boom，high-rise residents are grappling with new challenges in renovation and maintenance

經歷了四十余年的城市化浪潮，人們開始探索：我們的住宅怎樣才能走向可持續的更新？

O verthepast year， Gu Songhasgiven uphishabitof takingafter-meal strollsaround hisapartment block in Beijing.“It'sall such a mess，” the career consultant in his 5Os complains.“Who's got the mood forit？\"

Built in 20o5，Gu's apartment compound was advertisedasa“gardenvilla”boasting tree-lined sidewalksanda pond.Butsince lastApril，ithas more often resembled aconstruction site，dotted with protective nets， scaffolds，and building materialsrather thanflowers.

\"I picked this community because it was close to my son's school，\"Gu，who agreed to be interviewed undera pseudonym，recalls. “It was also among the best properties in the neighborhood at the time.”However， signs of deterioration began to appear aftera decade. Since 2O18，loose tiles have been falling from exterior walls of the apartment buildings， posing adanger everywindyday for thecompound's approximately1，2OOhouseholds （plusvehicles and passersby）.The effort to repair the building's exterior has become a prolonged struggle among homeowners， property management，and， later， the repair contractor，with disputes over responsibility， procedures，and cost.

Once an enviable symbol of urbanization and the pride of the country's first-time homeowners， manyof China'shigh-rise apartment blocks areshowing cracks from outdated standards， poor-quality building materials，and improper managementand maintenance.Asthe property boom cools and funding grows scarce，homeowners，officials，and businesses are wrestling with how to finance and carry out much-needed renovations and repairs—a challengecriticaltothecity's future.

A standstill over renovation and repair can have serious consequences. This August， a piece of plaster detached froman apartment building in Changsha，a southern Chinese city， killing a youngwomanpassingunderneath.Theincident madenational newsand struckachordwith homeowners across the country， reflecting the all-too-familiar safety concernsand challenges of coordinating house repairs.According to China

Central Television，the property management company of this development， builtin the 2010s， had agreed to repair the building's exterior and address ongoing water leaks，which may have caused theplaster to detach.

Large renovations like these require the company to tap into the housing maintenance fund，which is co-paid by the developer and homeownersat the time of purchase and held in trust by the local government for the upkeep， renovation，and upgrading ofabuilding's shared partsand facilities.Accessing these funds can take months or even years，as the process involves obtaining consent from the majority ofhomeowners，consulting with construction companies on project details，and securing approval from multiple government authorities， including the subdistrict office and the housing management bureau. To make matters worse， none of these stepshas established precedents to follow， reflecting how recent China's urbanization still is.

In Gu's community， the Xin'ao Villa estate in Beijing'sDongcheng district， the propertymanagementcompany，juweihui（居委 會，neighborhood committee），and subdistrict office have all so far failed to offer satisfactory solutions to the loose-tile problem. The long waiting timeand multiple failed proposalshave also damaged residents’ trust in the company.

Residentsdecidedtotakemattersinto their own hands.In 2021，after months of lobbying and volunteer work by a group of determined homeowners，they formedahomeowners' association.They successfully applied for the maintenance fund and even chose a construction companythroughabidding process.This smallvictorydrewattention：local media widely reported it as a pioneering example of a homeowners' association making a tangibledifference.

But when renovation work finally began early last year， hopeful residents encountered new hurdles.Beyond the disruptions to daily life-such asbroken air-conditioning and window views blocked by safety nets—the project quickly ran overbudget.Bythe endof theyear，workhad

Renovation of insulation and exterior wall coatings in an old residential compound in Anhui， partof routineupgrades foroldercommunities [VCG]

stalled： fourbuildings were left unfinished， with the contractor issuing an additional bill of more than l million yuan，while work on the remaining six buildingshad yet to begin.

Since thelate197Os，Chinahasseen the fastesturbanization rateinhistory.As of 2024， over 94O million Chinese live in cities，a leap from18 percent of the total population in1978 to 67 percent.In 1998， the welfare housing system，under which the government and stateowned enterprisesallocated apartments to workers at extremely low rent or even for free， wasofficiallyabolishedandreplacedwitha market-based system where properties could be bought and sold.

Hailing from China's southeastern province of Jiangxi，Gubecamea“newBeijinger\" in the early199Osafter graduating fromuniversity and securinga job in the capital，which at the time came with allocated housing： However， the welfare apartment was small，awkwardly laid out，and poorly equipped to accommodate his growing family.By the early 2OoOs，when commercial housing became available and his income had risen，Guand his family-like many urbanites—bought their firstapartment outside the Third Ring Road for around 4，OoO yuan per squaremeter，apricethathasnowincreased nearlytwentyfold.

With Xin'ao Villaas his third property， Gu has been closely following the evolution of China's urban housing policies.“When commercial housing first appeared， many policies were notyet in place，\"Gu says.‘After more than 20 years of rapid growth，the real estate sector has reached a turning point—we now need a comprehensive plan.\"

Chinese homebuyers are entitled to 7O years of property rights with no property tax at the moment.The national standard puts the designed service life of residential buildings at 5O years， which means that when used normally and maintained regularly， themainstructure ofa residential building can withstand common risks suchas earthquakes，heavyrain，and normal loads.

In reality， many buildingshave proven far shorter-lived than intended.Over the past 20 years，cracked or even collapsing apartments have beenperiodically reported.In 2O14，a 20-yearold building in Fenghua， Zhejiang province， collapsed， killing one person and injuring six. The buildinghadalreadybeenclassifiedasadangerous structure bya third-party inspectionagency，which recommended reinforcement，but the required4.5 million yuan in funding was not settled in time. Theincident sparked a nationwide discussion on building safety， with some experts claiming that the average service life of Chinese residential buildings wascloser to 3O years.Aweek later， theMinistry of HousingandUrban-RuralDevelopmentlaunched anationwide safety inspection of old and unsafe buildings and began expediting their demolition and renovation.

In the less-regulated property sector of the 1980s and 199Os，most residential buildings were brick-timber or brick-concrete structures， rather than the reinforced concrete structures common today.Due to lowbuilding standardsand incomplete regulations， construction quality was generally weak，with substandard techniques and materials creating potential safety risks. Cutting cornerswaswidespread.In theFenghua case， this poor-quality construction was further compounded byresidents'unauthorized renovations，suchas converting windows into doors or removingloadbearing walls.

According to the latest censusin 2O20，over 30 percent of China's urban housing is old residential compounds built before 2Ooo.Besides safety issues， these old buildingsalso inherited their own set of challengesfromthewelfareera.

Feng Yanjun，an urban planner in China's southern province of Guangdong， grew up in one such old apartment.“It's inanold，rundown building in the city'sold district，”Feng tells TWOC.“There's no property managementeach building standsalone.So public spaces， like thestaircases，aren'tmaintained atall.\"Feng's mother bought this apartment in the late 1990s from her work unit at cost，abenefit offered to residents of public housing under the welfare system during the housing reform.All her family has since moved out due to the deterioration. This year，Feng listeditforsaleatareduced price，but there have been few interested buyers.

Fragmented property ownership has also made it difficult to reach a consensus on renovation and maintenance， especially since most of these old buildingslackahousing maintenance fund，which wasnotestablisheduntil1998.

Old residential buildings， still traded on the rental and salesmarket， rely on government-led renovationasafinal safeguard.Thedemolitionand-relocationmodel，whichhasbeena main approach for expanding and upgrading the city， has gradually come toa haltin recent years. “The era of continuously rising housing prices is over. If housing prices don't keep climbing， this model cannotbe sustained，\" saysFeng，who had previously hoped to trade their old property for newassetsthrough governmentland requisition. Widely seen as signaling a turning point in China's urban development from expanding to upgrading， thisMay， theCPCCentral Committee and the State Council jointly issued aseries of opinions forurban renewal through 2O3O，with old residential buildings—defined as buildings constructed before 20oo—among the top priorities.

Infact， over the past decade，many such projects have already begun， including replacing pipes and wiring， installing elevators， expanding parking，adding elderly-care and childcare services， and addressing general neglect and disrepair. ViceMinister of HousingandUrban-Rural Development QinHaixiang shared inMarch that more than 280，OoO residential compounds were upgradedbetween 2019 and 2024，benefiting 48 million households.

Undertaking a large-scale renovation in a fully occupied， densely populated residential communityisnever easy.Zhao，ahomeowner inBeijing's Haidian districtwho asked to be identifiedbyherlastname only， shared on the social media platformXiaohongshu （RedNote） how her life was turned upside down during the two-month project.She bought herapartment 11 yearsago in an old residential compound， whereresidentshad long struggled with frequent drainage blockages， crumbling exterior walls， and other daily inconveniences.With no property management to turn to， the neighborhood committee stepped in to helpapply for the government-led renovation.After three years ofwaiting，the project finallykicked offlast September， bringing both disruption and hope for along-overdue upgrade.

The most disruptive part of the renovation

Since 2000， China's rapid urban development has fueled a booming real estate sector， creating newe challenges in managing residential buildings today.

was replacing the rust-prone iron pipes with standard polyvinylchlorideones.Allbathrooms in the building wereunusable for two weekswhile everyfloor wasdug up，and Zhao'sother rooms were stacked with counters， sinks，and stoves removed fromthekitchenandbathroom.

\"Can you imagine？ Six electric drils going at the same time，the noise rising and falling nonstop，\" posted Zhao.“Normally， just one household renovating is already noisy enoughbut now？ There's no way you can stay indoors for even a day...\"

Zhao's post generated over 10，Ooo views，and the comments section was filled with homeowners living in old residential buildings sharing their renovation experiences，as well as questions from those hesitant to begin—questions that Zhao patientlyaddressed.

\"Most residents support the renovation， thoughafewwhohadrecentlyrenovatedwere initiallyreluctant dueto theadditional costsand repairsrequired，\"Zhao tellsTWOC.“After seeing severelycorroded pipes in neighboring units， they recognized the need for action and agreed to proceed.\" Zhao believes the renovation has produced positive results despite some minor issues，but also notes that its quality and effectivenesslargelydepend onthecontractor's capability，and conditions varyacross districts.

Since 2Ooo， China's rapid urban development has fueled a booming real estate sector， creating new challenges in managing residential buildings today.In response to the 2Oo8 global financial crisis，governmentmeasures，suchasland sales and homebuyer loans，supported the property market， prompting developers to expand rapidly.In therush for profit，manydevelopers compromised on construction quality， which has substantially increased both the difficultyand cost of maintaining residential buildings.

Moreover， property management companies are oftenaffliated with the developer， which does little to inspire confidence when buildings areflawed from the start.In the case of Xin'aoVilla，Tian Zhi，another ownerin the compound， criticizes their property management company.“Our property management has long maintainedaratherstrong-handed presencein thecommunity，\"says the 47-year-old overseas business development manager.“Beyond providing services，they have overstepped byacting as if representing residents'interests.”Tianand other residents believe the companyis ineffective in

maintaining the compound while overcharging for repairs，prompting the owners to take action by formingahomeowners'committee—an arduous journey initself.“It did takea lot of effort...to knock on neighbors'doors，and call thosewho rented out theirapartments，live in other cities， orevenabroad，\"Tianrecallsofhisworkin canvassing votes.

When the news came that the repair project had halted due to an initial errorin cost assessment and ageneral lack ofprofessional supervision，itwas shocking.But to Tian，who hasn'tbeen involved in the committee since its establishment， the deeper reasonsbehind itare also clear：The association's volunteers，someofwhomwereretirees，had tocoordinatewiththesubdistrictofficeand construction company， mostly at their own expense.

Tian suggests that the homeowners’committee adopt aprofessional managermodel，“with a clearsalary structure.”Healso emphasizes that the relationship between the committee and the local government shouldbe integrated into the government'sgrassrootsmanagementaspartof its administrative responsibilities.“With the aging population increasing， the government cannot possibly invest heavily in renovating all residential compounds，”Tian， who was a former policy researcher， says.‘Itwill have to be self-sufficient andself-reliant.\"

Regarding the future of aging residential properties，there have also been pioneering cases of on-site reconstruction，jointly financed by owners，privatedevelopers，and government subsidies.Notable examples include Zhegong New Villagein Hangzhou and Shanghai’s Pengyi Compound.In these projects， residents pay well below market prices while receiving more spacious apartmentswithupgradedfacilities.Meanwhile， private developers gain the right to manage and lease commercial spaces within the compounds.

For the next generation of homebuyers， the landscapewillbedifferent， too.InMarch of this year，China'sStateCouncil indicatedthatthereal estate sector should shift its focus to building“high quality homes，\" emphasizing safety， amenities， environmental friendliness， and smart technology. Since May， new construction in China must meet stricterstandards forsound insulation，natural lighting，and ventilation， while also adhering to aminimumfloorheight of three meters and requiring elevators in any building of four stories or more.

At the time of writing， the homeowners of Xin'aoVillaremain ina frustrating limbo-still negotiating with the current contractor in the hope they'll complete theworkalreadyunderway， while simultaneously trying to find a new company to handle the remaining tasks.The difficulties this community encounters，and howit continues to tackle them with persistence，are a microcosm of China'surbanization process.