‘Need some buzz’: Shanghai firm turns dead woman’s flat into illegal staff dormitory, says place needs livening up
- Elderly woman dies without will, with no relatives to inherit estate
- Firm moves employees in without permission, angering neighbours
A property management company in China which turned the flat of a dead woman into a dormitory for its staff has angered many people on mainland social media.
Residents of a building in a Shanghai compound noticed strangers moving into the empty home of their deceased neighbour a year after she died.
They knocked on the door and discovered the firm’s employees were occupying the property after it had been turned into a staff dormitory.
A manager from the company tried to convince the residents that occupation of the small flat was a good idea because the building needed “some buzz”.
Reports said that the late owner did not have any living relatives and had not made a will.
According to China’s Civil Code, an estate without a will belongs either to the country or an organisation of which the deceased was a member.
Yang Zouhua, a lawyer with the Shanghai Sun Road Law Firm, said the company was breaking the law by squatting in a deceased resident’s property.
Concerned about health and safety in the overcrowded accommodation, residents complained to their neighbourhood committee.
It transpired that it was the committee that had given the key to the management company.
Committee member, Chen Yiwen, told Shanghai Television they had given permission for the company to clean the flat so they could use it for storage.
But the company did not return the key, claiming they had redecorated the flat at a cost of 30,000 yuan (US$4,200), and refused to move staff out.
Yang advised that the neighbourhood committee should report the case to the civil affairs bureau, which is responsible for managing properties of the dead who have left no will and have no heirs.
The news has touched a nerve in China, given the country’s ageing population and plummeting marriage and birth rates.
It is estimated that 400 million people on the mainland will be over the age of 60 by 2040, according to the World Health Organization.
Meanwhile, the number of marriages hit a record low in 2022 at 6.8 million, after declining for nine consecutive years from 13.5 million in 2013. China had 9.56 million births in 2022, the lowest since records began in 1949.
“For those who are prepared to remain unmarried for life, remember to settle your property before you die,” a contributor on Weibo wrote.
“I will sell my flat at 70 and live in a retirement home,” said another.
Others claimed they did not care what happens after their death: “I will be dead. Why should I care about how my flat is being dealt with?”
