The city is making it easier for elevators to be installed in old residential buildings.

Previously, a lift could only be installed when 90 percent of a building’s residents agreed and there were no strong objections.

“The ratio is being reduced to two thirds,” said Hu Guangjie, head of the city’s housing management department. However, the strong objections clause will remain, but with disputes mediated by residential communities.

The city is home to a large number of residential buildings with no elevators. The buildings are growing old, like many of their residents, but remain fit for purpose. The residents, however, are less able than they were to get up and down stairs.

According to the city’s housing authority, around 220,000 residential buildings have no elevator and more than 40 percent of the people living in them are 60 or older.

The need for elevators in these buildings is now urgent and a number of very successful new lifts in old buildings have prompted the government to lower the threshold for installations.

The city issued guidance on installing elevators in old buildings in 2011. Since then, regulations have been modified, with matters requiring approval reduced from 46 to 15.

There are now 47 new elevators are in operation in old residential buildings and 29 are being installed. Another 204 installations will begin soon as residents have reached agreement.

Meanwhile, the housing authority is tackling a shortage of kitchens and bathrooms in some of the same buildings.

Buildings built as staff dormitories in the 50s and 60s often had shared kitchens and bathrooms. The authority is planning to make use of public space in such buildings to create private facilities.

If such renovations prove impossible, buildings will be demolished and new ones built.

The city plans to renovate 50 million square meters of old buildings by the end of the 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-2020).

Source: SHINE   Editor: Zhang Shunyi