□ Our reporter Chen Lei
Within the scope of Beijing, there are clear guidelines for starting the installation of elevators in old buildings — — The legal majority of the owners participate in the voting, and with the consent of the owners who participate in the voting of more than three-quarters of the exclusive part area and more than three-quarters of the voting people, the confirmation of the project construction application will be started.
Recently, the Beijing Municipal Commission of Housing and Urban-Rural Development and other four departments have compiled and issued the "Operational Guidelines for Installing Elevators in Existing Multi-storey Houses in Beijing (Trial)" (hereinafter referred to as the "Operational Guidelines"), clarifying the complete set of standardized procedures for application, construction and operation management of installing elevators in old buildings.
The interviewed experts explained that the release of the Operational Guidelines provided a standardized application, construction and operation management process for residents in old communities, and promoted the installation of elevators in old communities more reasonably and legally, making it convenient for residents in old communities to go upstairs and downstairs and travel.
There are standard guidelines for installing elevators.
Mr. Jiang, 67, is a resident of Chaoyang District, Beijing. His residential area was built in the 1990s. The residential buildings are mainly board buildings with six floors above ground and one underground floor, and there is no elevator.
Mr. Jiang once suffered from poliomyelitis, and his sequelae included muscular atrophy of his right leg and right arm, which made him unable to exert his strength. He was a physically disabled person. Although he lives on the second floor, it takes several minutes to go downstairs every time, because he has to hold the railing with his hand and move down step by step. For him, the biggest trouble in life is the problem of going upstairs and downstairs. "If only there were an elevator.".
Mr. Jiang’s expectation has become a reality in many old communities in Beijing. According to public information, since 2017, Beijing has vigorously promoted the installation of elevators in old buildings. By the end of August this year, more than 3,370 elevators had been installed.
Nowadays, the promulgation of the "Operational Guidelines" means that Beijing has a guidance document issued by the government department to promote the installation of elevators in old buildings, and there is a complete set of standardized procedures for the installation of elevators in old buildings from proposal to landing. The "Operational Guidelines" clearly put forward the "three-on-one work method" for installing elevators in old buildings, that is, one household will start when it applies, confirm when it reaches the proportion, and start work after consensus.
Sun Baiying, secretary of the Party Committee of School of Public Administration, Renmin University of China, believes that the release of the Operational Guidelines has clearly defined the conditions and technical standards for installing elevators in existing multi-storey residential buildings in Beijing, which will have a positive impact on the installation of elevators in Beijing. On the one hand, the Operation Guide establishes the standardized process and technical standards for installing elevators, and points out the safety requirements for the supply of community public facilities; On the other hand, the installation of elevators can solve the problem of elderly residents going upstairs and downstairs, improve the social welfare and quality of life of elderly people, and help improve the infrastructure of "old and small" communities.
In her view, if analyzed from the perspective of grassroots public governance in megacities, the installation of elevators in "old and small" communities is a major public affair of urban renewal and facility renovation, and the Operation Guide not only promotes the installation of elevators and facility renovation, but also provides residents with a platform and field for democratic consultation and discussion around the supply of quasi-public goods, reaching consensus, promoting public participation and developing autonomous governance, thus generating community cooperative collective action.
Bi Wenqiang, vice president of Beijing Property Law Research Association, believes that the Operational Guidelines can promote the installation of elevators in old residential areas more reasonably and legally, make the process of installing elevators in old buildings more standardized and the mechanism more formed, solve the problems in the process of installing elevators before, and make it easier for residents in old residential areas to go upstairs and downstairs.
"Especially for the elderly, due to physical reasons, there are certain difficulties in going up and down the stairs, and the demand for installing elevators in old buildings is increasing. Therefore, no matter from the perspective of safety, improving the quality of life of the elderly or improving the quality of urban living, there is a strong demand for installing elevators. " Bi Wenqiang said.
One owner can ask for additional equipment.
The first step in the implementation process of installing an elevator is to put forward the demand.
The "Operational Guidelines" clarify that units (collectives) or owners put forward the demand for installing elevators to the streets (towns) or communities (villages) where the houses are located. If the relevant units have the conditions to install elevators, the streets (towns) and communities (villages) will start the work of consulting the wishes of the relevant owners, so that the work of consulting the wishes will be started as soon as one household applies.
Bi Wenqiang explained that the "Operational Guidelines" clarified the application criteria, and one owner could apply, which essentially optimized the process. On the whole, the Operational Guidelines greatly simplified the complicated application and approval process in the past.
The second step in the implementation process of installing elevators is to organize consultation, that is, the residents’ committee (villagers’ committee) guides and supervises the owners’ organization (industry committee or property management committee) to organize the owners to vote. When the proportion of owners’ consent reaches the requirement stipulated in Article 278 of the Civil Code, the owners whose exclusive parts account for more than two-thirds of the area and the number of owners account for more than two-thirds, and the owners who participate in voting for more than three-quarters of the exclusive parts and the number of owners who participate in voting agree, the confirmation of project construction application will be started.
"The Operational Guidelines clarify that the main body of organizing owners to vote is the community residents’ committee or the villagers’ committee, and clarify the voting ratio and legal basis for installing elevators." Bi Wenqiang said.
According to the provisions of the Civil Code, although it is only necessary to obtain the consent of the legal majority of owners to install elevators, the owners of the first and second floors whose interests are damaged by installing elevators cannot be ignored, so as not to affect the harmony of the neighborhood.
To this end, the "Operational Guidelines" clarify that the owners who benefit from installing elevators can take appropriate measures to give appropriate compensation to the first and second floor owners. These appropriate compensation methods include: on the basis of the joint decision of the owners organized by the industry Committee (property management Committee), the lower floor owners can give priority to the parking spaces; When installing elevators, if the low-rise owners have the need for indoor local renovation, the implementer and the construction unit can help to implement the renovation, and can give relevant expenses reduction and exemption.
According to Bi Wenqiang, the "Operational Guidelines" strengthened the supervision of installing elevators in old buildings, including construction quality and safe operation, ensuring the safety of elevators; It allows the introduction of third-party organizations for construction and operation management, breaking the previous mode that only government departments can manage it.
In his view, these institutional arrangements made in the Operational Guidelines, on the whole, constitute a normative document to promote practical operation, which is conducive to the installation of elevators.
Give full play to residents’ enthusiasm and initiative
The reporter found out that it is not just Beijing that issued documents similar to the "Operational Guidelines". In recent years, Guangzhou, Shanghai and other places have issued guidelines for installing elevators.
In March, 2020, the relevant departments of Guangzhou compiled and issued the Atlas of Guidelines for Installing Elevators in Old Residential Areas in Guangzhou, in order to strengthen the technical guidance on standardized design, installation, quality and safety of installing elevators in old residential areas in the city.
In addition, some cities have issued special regulations for installing elevators. For example, in June 2020, the General Office of Guangzhou Municipal Government issued the Measures for Adding Elevators to Existing Houses in Guangzhou; In July 2022, the office of Sanming Municipal Government of Fujian Province issued the "Implementation Measures for Adding Elevators to Existing Houses in Sanming City (Revised)"; In September this year, the General Office of Chongqing Municipal Government issued the Administrative Measures for Adding Elevators to Existing Houses in Chongqing … …
Bi Wenqiang believes that the background of such measures in various places is that with the urbanization reaching a certain level, urban renewal will become a key task for a period of time. Therefore, urban renewal will be carried out in various places according to law, including actively promoting the transformation and upgrading of old residential areas and improving the infrastructure of residential areas by installing elevators to improve the quality of life of urban residents.
"Some places have issued guidelines for installing elevators, clarifying the procedures, fund-raising methods and safety management of installing elevators, which can provide reference for other places to formulate relevant policies." Bi Wenqiang said that promoting the installation of elevators in old residential areas, especially by means of local legislation, can not only provide a clear legal basis for the installation of elevators, but also formulate regulations that are more in line with local needs according to local actual conditions.
However, in the opinion of some interviewed experts, the installation of elevators is a matter of autonomy and autonomy for community residents and should not be excessively raised to the legal responsibility of the government.
"It should be noted that the installation of elevators in existing multi-storey houses is the business of community residents and owners, not the responsibility of grass-roots governments. It is a good thing to promote the installation of elevators, but the financial affordability should be considered, and at the same time, the installation of elevators cannot be turned into an assessment index for grass-roots governments." Li Ling, a professor at the School of Applied Science and Technology of Beijing Union University, reminded that installing elevators is a matter of residents’ autonomy, and should not be "across the board" and pushed away by administrative order, but should respect the enthusiasm, initiative and autonomy of community residents and villagers.
Li Ling believes that in the process of installing elevators, the government should ensure the openness, rationality and compliance of the financial funds invested, and at the same time do a good job in elevator acceptance, and ensure the quality of installed elevators.
In Sun Baiying’s view, the government is only an advocate and promoter of improving the community infrastructure, rather than a direct supplier of elevator goods. Local governments can provide an advocacy "Operational Guidelines" to guide community residents to negotiate on installing elevators. At the same time, they advocate innovating the supply mode of community facilities such as elevators through multi-subject and diversified joint production mechanisms such as individual residents, markets and enterprises, and social organizations, and through multi-channel financing channels.