A research report shows that conflicts between homeowners and property management companies have become the major issue breaking the harmony of urban communities.
At the fourth annual meeting of the Beijing Homeowners' Committee, which kicked off on Sunday, most representatives of homeowners from different communities pointed out the variety of conflicts between the homeowners and their property management companies.
Sun Long, of the Renmin University of China, in 2008, conducted a survey on the management of urban communities and finished it in February, releasing the results at the annual meeting.
"The conflicts between the homeowners and property companies are becoming harmful to the stability of urban communities," Sun said.
The survey of 606 homeowners from 23 communities in Beijing showed about one-fifth of homeowners conceded that they had experienced "serious conflicts" with their property management companies.
Half of the homeowners said infringements on their legal rights led to the conflicts.
Of the 64.5 percent of homeowners who said they adopted "moderate" ways to protect their rights, questioning their property developers and management companies was the primary tactic. Some resorted to tougher moves, such as refusing to pay management or parking fees.
More than 7 percent of the homeowners surveyed admitted they had adopted "extreme" means of safeguarding their rights, such as demonstrating and blocking streets.
Experts pointed out that the very existence of property management companies, which sign contracts with real-estate developers and control public facilities in the communities, has deprived homeowners of their rights.
"It is an unfair system that causes many problems and conflicts," said Shu Kexin, an expert on civil rights. "It is clearly written in the property law that homeowners have rights to manage their properties in their communities."
The self-management of homeowners was widely considered by session participants as the ultimate way to solve the problem.
"Houses are becoming the most valuable assets for most urban Chinese, therefore the self-management of homeowners is an inevitable trend," said Sun.
He suggested the government should codify the management rights of homeowner committees and conventions.
"Self-management does not mean to totally exclude the specialized management companies," said Ren Chenguang, who convened the homeowners' committee.
"The homeowners still need to adopt professional knowledge to manage their properties. Meanwhile, the democracy of the homeowner committee is an important topic to research."
