“The foundation downstairs has been damaged, making living above it truly worrisome!” said Ms. Dai, a resident of Xianglinxuan Community in Longmatan District, Luzhou City. She explained that the open-floor space below her building had been converted into a kitchen by a club, compromising the safety of the entire building and leaving her feeling anxious every day.

Reporters learned that, at the request of relevant departments, the club has reinforced the load-bearing walls of the building.

Residents complain: Excavated foundation poses safety hazards

Ms. Dai lives on the first floor of Building 3 in Xianglinxuan Community, Longmatan District, Luzhou City. One day in March this year, she suddenly heard the sound of an electric drill hitting the wall. She found it strange—shouldn't the space below her home be the building's open-floor area? Why would there be construction noise?

Because Xianglinxuan Community is built on a slope, there is a newly opened club below Building 3. Sensing something was wrong, Ms. Dai went downstairs to check and discovered that the club had extended the open-floor space downward and converted it into a kitchen.

When the owners of Building 3 learned that the open-floor space below had been converted into a kitchen, they were unhappy. “They hollowed out our open-floor space; it's so dangerous for us to live here.” “They've weakened the overall load-bearing capacity of our building; it could collapse at any time.” The owners expressed serious concerns about the safety of the entire building.

Official response: Load-bearing walls have been reinforced

After several unsuccessful negotiations with the club owner, the residents of Xianglinxuan Community approached the Luzhou Housing Safety Appraisal Office. Staff from the office conducted a building appraisal and issued a document clearly stating that the Yinhe Club had not installed or had not fully installed [structures] according to design requirements, “significantly affecting the overall safety of Building 3.”

On the 2nd, reporters visited the Yinhe Club and saw that the open-floor space, once piled with rubble, had been transformed into a splendid kitchen. However, reporters learned from the owner of the Yinhe Club that they had immediately carried out rectification after receiving the notice.

The club owner's statement was confirmed by the person in charge of the relevant unit: after being ordered to rectify, the Yinhe Club reinforced the load-bearing walls with steel bars and cement. Related links

Unauthorized construction projects are all illegal structures

Wang Youbin, section chief of the Business Section of the Luzhou Urban Construction Inspection Detachment, told reporters: “Within urban and town planning areas, various buildings, structures, roads, pipelines, and other engineering constructions that are started without the permission of the competent urban and rural planning department are all illegal or unlawful structures.” The Urban Construction Inspection Detachment can demolish such structures in accordance with the law.

At the same time, Wang Youbin stated that in order to provide the public with a good and orderly living environment, both individuals and units should refrain from illegal construction or renovation activities; otherwise, they will be investigated and punished according to the law.