Recently, in Nanming District, Guiyang City, Guizhou Province, a residential community faced difficulties in collecting property management fees, resulting in the shutdown of the elevator. An elderly resident living on the 20th floor expressed deep frustration over the issue.
According to a report by “People’s Concern” on May 4th, the property management fee in Jiaojian Garden Community in Nanming District, Guiyang City, is only 1 yuan per square meter. However, most homeowners are unwilling to pay. The long-term non-payment of property management fees has led to the property management company owing over 30,000 yuan in electricity bills to the power supply department. On May 3rd at noon, the power supply department cut off the electricity supply to the public areas of the community, including the elevator and the secondary water supply for high-rise residents.
Ms. Li, a homeowner living on the 20th floor, who is 71 years old, expressed that the power outage of the elevator has made it very difficult for her to go about her daily life. She said, “I can manage to not go downstairs for a few days, but what if I get sick? How will I go to the hospital?”
She has visited the property management company multiple times seeking a solution, but the company claimed they were powerless to act.
The person in charge of the property management company in Jiaojian Garden Community stated that there are 576 housing units in the community, of which 531 are occupied. However, they have only received property management fees from 25 households so far. The electricity bill for the public areas of the community fluctuates between 22,000 to 26,000 yuan. They have been in arrears with electricity bills multiple times due to the non-payment of property management fees and have subsidized these costs for over a year.
Ms. Li explained that most residents of the community were villagers resettled from Qin Qi Village, who used to live in self-built houses in rural areas where they didn’t have to pay a penny for property management fees or sanitation fees. But now, with elevators requiring maintenance every half month, as well as the costs for lighting in public areas and the salaries of property personnel, property management fees are necessary. However, most homeowners in the community are unwilling to pay.
The incident has sparked attention on the internet. Many netizens commented that before the resettlement, individual households only needed to pay a small fee for garbage disposal. But after resettlement, especially in high-rise buildings, the various necessary expenses have increased. If homeowners do not pay property management fees, it leads to elevator shutdowns, lack of lighting, and accumulation of garbage.
Some people also stated, “When we first moved into our community, no one owed property management fees. But within half a year, the service quality halved and deteriorated, leading to more non-payment.” “For high-rise residential buildings, more problems will arise in the future. This is just the beginning.”