Typical Cases of Owners' Tolerance Obligations in the Case of Installing Elevators in Old Residential Areas (Part I)

This article selects some reference cases from the case database of the people's courts, and sorts out the relevant adjudication rules, expert opinions, laws and regulations around the topic of the owner's tolerance obligation in the case of installing elevators in old residential areas, for readers' reference.

This article was originally published on the WeChat public account of "Faxin".

Cases in the case database of the people's courts

1. If the installation of elevators in accordance with the law to occupy public green space has little impact on other owners, the right holder has the right to request other owners to stop obstructing construction and remove the nuisance - Kang et al. v. Liu et al

The gist of the case: The policy of adding elevators to existing residences is an important measure to implement the Law on the Construction of People's Republic of China Barrier-free Environment, and an important starting point to protect the rights and interests of the disabled and the elderly. When it is necessary to install elevators in existing residences and need to occupy public green space, under the condition that the location and area of the land occupied are reasonable, if the installation will not cause obvious adverse effects on other people's lighting, access, safety, etc., the relevant owners shall uphold the principle of conducive to production and convenient life, and give convenience to the elevator installation activities. This case fully implements the core socialist values of civilization, harmony and rule of law, and has a positive exemplary role in building a free, equal, harmonious and friendly neighborhood relationship.

Case No.: (2022) Chuan 01 Min Zhong No. 11265

Trial court: Chengdu Intermediate People's Court of Sichuan Province

2. The owner shall be liable for compensation in accordance with the law for illegally obstructing the construction of the elevator installation - a company v. Zhong in a dispute over the elimination of nuisance

The gist of the case: The installation of elevators in old communities is easy to cause conflicts between neighbors, and the two sides should communicate and negotiate with each other in line with the principles of harmony and friendliness. In the process of designing the installation of elevators, the owners of the high and low floors can determine the plan after full consultation, so as to reduce or avoid the impact on the owners of the lower floors as much as possible. In the process of publicity and approval of the installation of elevators, low-rise owners should reasonably exercise their right to object, and submit claims to the relevant administrative departments within the statutory pre-approval publicity time, so as to substantively resolve the dispute over the installation of elevators. In the case that the installation of elevators cannot be technically avoided and administrative permission is obtained, the owners of the lower floors shall reasonably claim their rights through negotiation compensation or litigation. The court judgment made a negative evaluation of the low-rise owners for taking various behaviors without authorization to rudely obstruct the elevator construction, and advocated that the low-rise owners should take legal and reasonable measures to protect their own rights, rather than grossly interfering or even obstructing the construction by putting themselves in a dangerous situation, which has positive guiding significance for building a harmonious coexistence, solidarity and mutual assistance in the neighborhood.

Case No.: (2022) Yue 01 Min Zhong No. 16535

Trial court: Intermediate People's Court of Guangzhou Municipality, Guangdong Province

Referee Rules

1. The owner of the elevator installed in accordance with the law has the right to request the owner of the adjacent building to stop the act of obstructing the installation of the elevator - Xu and six others v. Fan to eliminate the nuisance dispute

The gist of the case: The installation of the elevator was voted and agreed by the relevant owners of the building, and the owner carried out the construction according to the legal and valid record notice of the commencement of the construction of the elevator in the existing residence, and the act of obstructing the installation of the elevator was carried out by others, which infringed on the legitimate rights and interests of the owner, and the owner had the right to require him to stop the obstruction.

Trial court: Intermediate People's Court of Wuxi City, Jiangsu Province

Case source: The Supreme People's Court released a typical case of installing elevators in existing residential buildings in old residential areas

2. After democratic decision-making, the installation of elevators in old residential areas in a reasonable way is protected by law - Fang Moumou, Huang Moumou v. Zhou, Chen Moumou and other property rights protection disputes

The gist of the case: The installation of elevators in old residential areas in a reasonable way through democratic decision-making is protected by law. The installation of elevators in old communities involves the convenience of the masses and is related to the harmony and stability of society. Even if the installation of elevators does bring certain changes to the living environment of low-rise residents, under the condition that the corresponding rights such as lighting, passage and ventilation are not hindered as a whole, low-rise residents should have a certain tolerance obligation for the installation of elevators in the community.

Source of the case: The Supreme People's Court released the second batch of typical civil cases in which the people's courts vigorously promote the core socialist values

3. The owner's vote and approval of the installation of the elevator shall comply with the law and will not cause damage to the rights of other owners to the exclusive part of the building, and other owners shall not obstruct the construction of the installation of elevators in the community - Xiang XX v. Deng et al

The gist of the case: the owner's vote and approval of the installation of the elevator are in accordance with the law, and from the on-site conditions such as the construction location of the pre-installed elevator and the location of the houses of each owner, the installation of the elevator will not cause damage to the rights of other owners to the exclusive part of the building, and other owners shall not obstruct the construction of the elevator installation in the community.

Trial court: Intermediate People's Court of Zhangjiajie City, Hunan Province

Source: People's Court Daily, April 12, 2023, page 3

4. Residents of the lower floors should treat the installation of elevators within the public passage area in the spirit of friendship and neighborliness, mutual understanding and mutual concession - Chen, Lu et al. v. Jiao, a dispute over adjacent relations

The gist of the case: the adjacent rights holder of the immovable property shall correctly handle the adjacent relationship in accordance with the principles of conducive production, convenient life, solidarity and mutual assistance, fairness and reasonableness, and under the circumstance that the planning and design scheme for the installation of additional external elevators in the old unit building meets the standards, the owners jointly decide, and the functional departments approve the situation, the residents of the lower floors have a reasonable obligation to tolerate, and should treat the installation of elevators within the public passage area in the spirit of friendship and neighborliness, mutual understanding and mutual concession, and cannot obstruct or obstruct without authorization. Disrupt the normal construction of the installation of elevators.

Trial court: Intermediate People's Court of Xiangyang City, Hubei Province

Source: People's Court Daily, November 2, 2022, page 3

5. As the adjacent rights holders of immovable property, residents of the community have the obligation to tolerate the installation of elevators - Zheng et al. v. Peng and Jiang, a case of eliminating nuisance disputes

The gist of the case: As the adjacent rights holder of the immovable property, the residents of the community have the obligation to tolerate the installation of elevators, and should correctly handle the adjacent relationship in accordance with the principles of conducive to production, convenient life, solidarity and mutual assistance, fairness and reasonableness.

Case source: The Hubei Provincial High People's Court released the Top 10 Typical Cases of Socialist Core Values

6. Low-rise residents should have a certain obligation to tolerate the installation of elevators in the unit - a case of adjacent relationship disputes between He and Chen

The gist of the case: Under the condition that the overall rights such as ventilation, lighting and sunshine are not hindered, the low-rise residents should bear a certain obligation to tolerate the installation of elevators in the unit.

Trial court: Qingcheng District People's Court, Qingyuan City, Guangdong Province

Source of the case: The High People's Court of Guangdong Province released typical cases of Guangdong courts implementing the Civil Code

The full text is reprinted from the WeChat public account "Huazheng Minshang"