Since April this year, there have been issues with property management disorder at Hengcheng Huayuan in Hongkou District, Shanghai. The security and cleaning services for nearly 400 households in the residential area have been suspended one after another, significantly affecting their daily lives and causing safety and environmental hazards.
Residents like Ms. Pan living in Hengcheng Huayuan on Ouyang Road in Hongkou District stated that the residential area consists of two 24-story high-rise buildings with nearly 400 households. Starting from April 1st this year, the security services in the community suddenly stopped for 4 consecutive days, with the main entrance wide open, allowing people and vehicles to freely enter and exit, leaving the area unattended.
Ms. Pan mentioned that the entrance gates for vehicles in the community have been left open for an extended period, and even the entrance doors to the buildings were wide open.
What’s more unbearable for the residents is that after the interruption of security services, the cleaning services also came to a halt on the evening of April 7th, leading to a rapid accumulation of garbage in the community, causing the environment to deteriorate quickly, which greatly unsettled the residents.
What caused the suspension of security services? It was explained that the entrusted property management services for the community had expired at the end of last month. Disputes arose between the community and the previous property management company in July last year. After the termination of the contract by the residents’ committee, the community temporarily fell into a property vacuum, and it was later coordinated by the street office to have a temporary property management service provider. The contract was for 6 months and specifically designated as a one-time transitional arrangement.
However, during the entrusted period, the residents’ committee failed to finalize the selection of a new property manager, leading to a management gap after the expiration of the contract.
Regarding the issue of continuing services, there were disagreements between the residents’ committee and the property management company. Disputes also arose over personnel arrangements, with each side holding their own stance.
The residents’ committee expressed the desire to retain the original security, cleaning, and engineering staff, citing their long-term service in the community, familiarity with the situation, and approval from the homeowners.
However, the property management company stated that due to their own staff not being able to enter the premises and restrictions on management rights, their willingness to continue providing services was weak.
Disputes also arose between the two sides regarding whether there were demands for personnel replacement or not, with both parties sticking to their own explanations.
Yang Zouhua, the chief lawyer of Shanghai Shen Dao Law Firm, mentioned that from the residents’ committee’s perspective, the biggest issue lies in deciding which personnel to hire, indicating a complete lack of adherence to normal legal regulations in managing the community.
This incident sparked discussions online, with some viewpoints suggesting that the delayed completion of property selection for the community is the crux of the problem.
Some netizens expressed disbelief, stating that it is unexpected for such situations to occur in urban areas, assuming they only happen in rural areas.
Currently, with the intervention of the street office, the basic services in the community have been restored. However, the issue of property selection remains unresolved. Balancing the demands of homeowners while regulating property management continues to be a challenging reality facing all parties involved.