Residents told to demolish illegal balconies
Print Edition
MORE than 100 households in Zhabei District have been told to tear down flimsy illegal balconies jutting out from their homes.
The authorities say these structures — often knocked together by residents outside windows or after they’ve made a hole in the wall — pose a safety risk.
This clampdown follows online posts raising concerns about the great number of hanging balconies at the community on Zhijiang Road.
Following an investigation, the Demolition Office for Illegal Structures in Zhabei District has said that the 111 unauthorized extensions must go.
Ranging from 5 to 10 square meters, these are used for extra living or storage space.
Some consist of a simple framework of metal bars for hanging clothes, growing plants and storing sundries.
Others can be more elaborate, as Shanghai Daily discovered on a visit yesterday to a second floor apartment in a five-story residential block on Zhijiang Road.
Here part of the external wall has been removed and the extension, supported by four iron poles, stretches out from the living room.
The tenant, surnamed Wu, has put a sofa and bookshelf on the balcony, creating a cozy — if precarious — reading space.
The extension measures about 10 square meters, significant extra space in a 40-square-meter apartment.
“We can put a lot of stuff on the balcony, leaving more empty space inside,” said Wu.
Wu said safety wasn’t a big problem as long as items on the balcony weren’t too heavy.
But other residents said the illegal balconies were a hazard.
“I’ve seen many people building these balconies, but they’re very dangerous,” said a neighbor of Wu’s, surnamed Chen.
“Gaining an extra room seems good to them, but it would be too late to regret it if one fell and people were hurt.”
Chen added that the mish-mash of styles in different sizes and materials also affects the appearance of the buildings and the community as a whole.
Authorities in Zhabei District have promised that all the unauthorized hanging balconies built at Zhijiang Road will be removed.
The neighborhood committee also said it would urge the residents to remove these.
Residents who don’t face fines or being taken to court, according to a circular on illegal extensions issued by nine city departments last month.
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