Authorities intensify crackdown on residential complex violation
An urban management and law enforcement official educates a tenant about group rentals in Jiangqiao Town today.
Group renting is detected at an apartment in Jiading District's Jiangqiao Town today.
Shanghai's urban management and law enforcement authorities are intensifying crackdowns on violations regarding the environments of residential complexes citywide via various approaches, officials revealed today.
More than 3,100 illegal structures totaling 99,000 square meters at residential complexes were dismantled this year, and 506 cases involving greenery occupation and damage have been cited, according to the Shanghai Urban Management and Law Enforcement Bureau.
Nearly 2,400 cases concerning housing management have been handled across the city. Among them, 22 percent were related to damage of load-bearing structures, followed by violations by go-between property agents, improper decorations, group rentals and converting residential spaces into non-residential properties such as businesses.
Shanghai's urban management and law enforcement authorities received more than 14,400 complaints related to the environments of residential communities this year.
They have established a coordinated law enforcement mechanism with property management authorities, police and market watchdogs that relies on community-based workshops and "grid management" at the grassroots level to identify and stop offenses.
An app enabling property management companies to report irregularities to urban management authorities has also been created to improve handling efficiency.
An employee of a property management company takes photos of an e-bike placed in the corridor of a residential building today as proof of an irregularity.
Authorities said the intensified campaign to improve the city's living environment will continue this year, specifically targeting 10 issues, including illegal structures and property service providers failing to stop or notify authorities about violations by property owners or users.
In serious cases, property management companies will have their information listed in the city's public creditability platform and exposed if they conceal property owner violations, fail to stop violations in time or do not report violations, the bureau said. Those property management companies will be scored and downgraded, and their credibility files will be referenced for project bidding and awarding.
At Jiangqiao Town in Jiading District, property management companies are graded on four levels, and will be listed in the city's public creditability platform if they score at the bottom based on irregularities detected to curb violation incidences.
"We will recommend that property owner and neighborhood committees cut ties with property management service providers that have scored at the bottom twice," said Hu Qiuqi, deputy Party secretary of Jiangqiao Town.
A total of 59 community-based urban management workshops have been set up in Jiangqiao, creating a blanket network on irregularities.
"Illegal structures, damage to load-bearing structures and converting residential spaces into non-residential properties are long-term headaches for the management of residential complexes," said Wang Ruimin, director of the Jiading District Urban Management and Law Enforcement Bureau.
"We found that the root lies in residents' unwillingness to abide by relevant regulations, the inadequate coordination of property management companies and officials and the difficulty of detecting violations and collecting evidence," Wang added. "Some property service providers are negligent in their management and lack awareness of the law."
A quick reporting and response system has been established to tackle these problems, and officials are required to arrive at the scene within two hours of being alerted.
