The "aged" elevator wants to retire, but encounters obstacles in the election of the owners' committee! Here's how they solved it →

The community elevator is "aged", having been in use for over 20 years. Some buildings have successfully replaced their elevators, but others face significant difficulties.

Recently, Grandma Xiao from Building 9 of Chaoyang Garden in Chengdu High-tech Zone reported to the Red Star News reporter that the elevator in her unit frequently malfunctions, and the original elevator company has gone bankrupt. They planned to follow the example of other buildings to replace the elevator, but unexpectedly encountered the election of the owners' committee, with no one taking the lead. After reporting to the property management, they were again complained about, causing the replacement plan to be obstructed.

The reporter learned from the Xingrong Community that,Under the guidance of the community, the owners of the unit went through voting and other processes, ultimately electing 4 owner representatives, which allowed progress on the elevator replacement. After discussion, about 90% of the unit's owners agreed to the replacement, raising over 190,000 yuan in funds, and a contract has been signed with the elevator company, with overall matters being advanced.

Huang Silei, deputy secretary of the Xingrong Community Party Committee, told the reporter that the elevator replacement should have been led by the community's owners' committee. However, due to the election of the Chaoyang Garden community's owners' committee, the owners' urgent need to replace the elevator arose. "After consulting with a lawyer, we learned that owners can elect representatives to temporarily perform the functions of the owners' committee to promote the elevator replacement."

The lawyer stated that the self-funded replacement of the elevator by the owners is a matter jointly decided by the owners. According to the law, it should be voted on by owners whose exclusive area accounts for more than 2/3 of the total area and whose number accounts for more than 2/3 of the total number of owners. The voting result is valid only if more than 3/4 of the owners participating in the vote agree, and it is binding on all owners.

Frequent malfunctions of the "aged" elevator over 20 years.

—— "Finding support from the owners' committee coincided with the election, and seeking help from property management led to complaints from owners."

"The elevator in our building often malfunctions; just a few days ago, it trapped an elderly woman inside." Recently, Grandma Xiao from Unit 2 of Building 9 in Chengdu's Chaoyang Garden reported to the Red Star News reporter that the community's elevator is "aged" and frequently malfunctions. "Sometimes the elevator shakes during operation, and for elderly people like me with poor mobility, it's easy to fall if we're not careful."

It is understood that Chaoyang Garden was completed in 2000 and currently has about 2,500 residents, with a total of 10 buildings in the community. Unit 2 of Building 9, where Grandma Xiao lives, has 12 floors and 67 households, with only one elevator for residents. "Our elevator has been in use for over 20 years, and it started malfunctioning frequently a few years ago," said Grandma Xiao, who lives on the 10th floor.

Grandma Zhang, who lives on the 8th floor, told the reporter, "I still remember the first time it malfunctioned, trapping an elderly person inside. Later, the owners of Unit 2 pooled over 10,000 yuan for repairs, but since then, there have been constant major and minor repairs, with the longest repair taking half a month, which greatly affected our lives."

The reporter visited Chaoyang Garden and took the elevator of that unit, discovering that the elevator has a capacity of 10 people, with obvious signs of use inside, and the button numbers on most floors are unclear. The community security guard told the reporter that the elevator occasionally stops suddenly or drops unexpectedly during operation.

It is understood that the designed service life of residential elevators is generally around 15 years. As the "age" of the residential buildings continues to increase, the number of old residential elevators increases year by year, leading to issues such as component aging, sudden stops, and drops.

▲ The numbers on the "aged" elevator buttons have become quite blurry.

After experiencing multiple elevator repairs, the owners of Unit 2 in Building 9 found that the difficulty of repairs was increasing, and costs were rising accordingly. "The original elevator company has gone bankrupt, and in August 2023, we began discussing replacing the elevator," said Grandma Xiao.

"Previously, other buildings in our community had precedents for replacing elevators, so we initially followed their practices, such as unifying opinions, raising funds, contacting manufacturers, signing contracts, etc., but unexpectedly encountered difficulties before we even started," Grandma Xiao explained.When other buildings replaced their elevators, they had the support of the owners' committee, but when Unit 2 was preparing to replace theirs, the term of the previous owners' committee members had ended, and the next committee had not yet been elected. "With no one taking the lead, the replacement work could not be advanced."

The owners of Unit 2 sought help from property management. Mr. Li, the property manager, stated in an interview that after an owner in Unit 2 proposed the need to replace the elevator in August last year, the property management helped collect opinions. "But within half a month, we received complaints from owners stating that the elevator is a shared property of the owners and should be led by the owners' committee, not the property management." After being complained about, the property management had to withdraw, and the elevator replacement work for Unit 2 was thus suspended.

90% of owners agree to replace, self-funding 190,000.

—— "Under community guidance, 4 owner representatives were elected to collect opinions."

With the next owners' committee members yet to be determined and property management being complained about by owners, how should the elevator replacement work proceed? Grandma Xiao said they sought help from the community.

Ultimately, with the community's assistance, there was new progress in the elevator replacement matter.

Recently, Huang Silei, deputy secretary of the Xingrong Community Party Committee, told the reporter that the elevator replacement should have been led by the community's owners' committee. However, due to the election of the Chaoyang Garden community's owners' committee, some owners had objections to the new member list, and the election work had not been completed. However, the owners of Unit 2 had an urgent need to replace the elevator. "After consulting with a lawyer, we learned thatowners can elect representatives to temporarily perform the functions of the owners' committee to promote the elevator replacement.""

Subsequently, under the guidance of the community, the owners of Unit 2 went through self-nomination, voting, and public announcement processes, ultimately electing 4 owner representatives, including Grandma Xiao. "When we elected representatives, it had already been over two months since we proposed replacing the elevator," said Grandma Xiao.

▲ Grandma Xiao was elected as the owner representative for Unit 2.

In October 2023, the 4 owner representatives, under the guidance of the community, collected opinions from the owners of Unit 2 and organized a vote. They visited households offline and communicated via phone online, ultimately getting 60 out of 67 households in the unit to agree to fund the replacement. "Among the remaining 7 households that disagreed, 4 were on the first and second floors, and they stated during the initial opinion collection that 'they would not contribute and would not use the elevator,'" Grandma Xiao told the reporter.

Mr. Xiong, a resident on the second floor, told reporters, "The housing originally came with an elevator, not an added one. The owners on the first and second floors believe that the elevator can still be used after maintenance, and the cost of direct replacement is too high."

According to Mr. Xiong, currently no owners on the first or second floors are willing to contribute funds, and most hold similar opinions. The final handling method is still to be discussed.

Reporters learned that despite differing opinions, according to the vote, 90% of the owners agree to replace the elevator, and more than 190,000 yuan has been raised for the replacement funds. "We have already signed a contract with an elevator company, and installation is expected to take place after the Spring Festival," said Grandma Xiao. As for the owners who did not contribute, they can only be treated according to the situation of "no contribution, no riding," as the new elevator requires a card to use, and those who do not contribute will not have an elevator card.

On January 23, Mr. Li, the property manager of the community, told reporters,Before replacing the elevator in Unit 2 of Building 9, more than 10 elevators in the community had already completed their replacement work, and the process was relatively smooth., "The elevator in Unit 2 of Building 9 cannot directly access the basement, so the ground floor owners are unwilling to contribute. The other buildings with basements had more cooperation from the ground floor owners when replacing elevators."

Lawyer: There is currently no owners' committee, and it is legal for the owners' representatives to take the lead.

Is it legal and compliant to promote elevator replacement without reaching a consensus among all owners? Reporters consulted relevant staff from the Chengdu Housing and Urban-Rural Development Bureau, who stated that the bureau is only responsible for the installation of elevators in old communities, while the replacement of elevators in communities that already have elevators is managed by the relevant departments of the Market Supervision Administration.

Subsequently, reporters learned from relevant staff of the Chengdu Market Supervision Administration that replacing the elevator is a matter jointly decided by the owners. In communities that already have elevators, the replacement can proceed after discussion and approval by the owners. After the new elevator is installed, it can be accepted by the special equipment safety supervision and management department.

Lawyer Guo Gang from Sichuan Fangce Law Firm stated that the community elevator has safety hazards, and the owners' decision to raise maintenance funds to replace the elevator to solve the inconvenience of life is reasonable and legal. According to Article 278 of the Civil Code, the reconstruction and renovation of buildings and their ancillary facilities, as well as the raising of maintenance funds, are matters jointly decided by the owners. The residents of the aforementioned community building unit replacing the elevator and raising funds should be voted on by owners whose exclusive area accounts for more than 2/3 and whose number accounts for more than 2/3. In Unit 2, there are 67 owners, of which 60 agree to contribute to the replacement, and this voting result meets legal requirements.

Due to the vacancy of the owners' committee, the residents of Unit 2, under community guidance, elected owner representatives to legally perform the duties of the owners' committee. Lawyer Guo Gang also stated that according to legal provisions, the decisions of the owners' meeting or owners' committee are legally binding on the owners. The representatives of Unit 2 solicited opinions on the funding for the elevator replacement and formed an effective voting result, which meets legal requirements. This decision is binding on all owners of Unit 2, including those who disagree with the replacement.

Regarding the statement "no contribution, no riding the elevator," Lawyer Zhou Yan from Taihe Tai Law Firm stated that owners should be clearly informed at the initial vote, otherwise it may infringe on the legitimate rights and interests of the owners.

Source: Hongxing News

If there is any infringement, please contact for deletion.