DOZENS of homeowners in an expensive residential estate in Nanshan District sealed ventilation shafts outside their apartments to add an extra room, the Southern Metropolis Daily reported Thursday.

    The outer walls of two buildings in Tianyuewan Garden in Nanshan District were knocked down by many homeowners who proceeded to each build rooms over ventilation shafts located next to their apartments.

    A homeowner, going by the alias Li Yun, said ventilation exits from the second to the 19th floor of his building were walled off by his neighbors, making him concerned because the ventilation is meant to allow smoke to exit in case of a fire.

    “The ventilation shafts in blocks D and E were sealed with flooring by homeowners who lived next to the shafts,” Li said.

    He added that homeowners would gain 4 square meters by building the extra room. The space was worth about 200,000 yuan (US$30,769) in the estate where a square meter costs 60,000 yuan.

    Li said construction workers were hired to build the extra rooms after sealing the ventilation.

    Li said other residents had complained to the property management office and law enforcement department about the illegal construction, but homeowners ignored warnings.

    “If the building caught fire and the ventilation shaft was sealed — with the smoke not being discharged — it would pose a danger to all residents living in the building,” Li said.

    A contractor for a construction team on the 15th floor said building the extra room costs about 6,000 yuan for each, and about 50 home owners paid for the construction. He added it was easier to carry out the construction if most homeowners had it done, otherwise neighbors may complain.

    “The urban management officer will only issue a warning notice, and the property management office will fine a homeowner 1,000 yuan for the illegal construction, but nobody dared to dismantle a room that was already built,” the contractor said.

    A spokesperson at the estate’s property management office, surnamed Zhong, said they tried to stop homeowners with verbal warnings, but most homeowners ignored them.

    He added that involved homeowners would be fined 1,000 yuan according to the contracts they signed with the property developer.

    Zhong said the property management office had reported the situation to a government agency because the agency doesn’t have the power to dismantle the illegal structures.

    Illegal rooms built at the ventilation shafts outside 20 apartments have been removed by a law enforcement team, the report said.

    The team leader, who wasn’t identified, said it was hard for law enforcers to judge if there was illegal constructions inside a building, and they had to inspect the apartments floor by floor. He said they will enhance law enforcement and step up inspections with irregular patrols.

    (Zhang Yang)