Anhui Rural Prefabricated Panel Houses

The renovation of prefabricated panel houses in rural areas of Anhui does not involve comprehensive demolition but rather classification and handling based on the specific conditions of each house.

Policy Background: In May 2026, the State Council issued the '15th Five-Year Plan for Urban Renewal', incorporating the governance and renovation of prefabricated panel houses into the national five-year plan. It specified the renovation of over 500,000 sets (rooms) of C- and D-grade dangerous housing and prefabricated panel houses on state-owned land within the built-up areas of cities and county towns, aiming to basically eliminate the safety hazards of documented D-grade dangerous housing. Although the policy primarily targets housing on state-owned land within the built-up areas of cities and county towns, the renovation of rural prefabricated panel houses will also be influenced by policy guidance, following a similar safety governance logic.

Demolition Principles: The renovation of prefabricated panel houses in rural areas of Anhui adheres to the principle of 'classification and handling' without adopting a 'one-size-fits-all' approach. This means that not all prefabricated panel houses will be demolished; instead, the handling method will be determined based on the actual condition of each house.

Types of Houses Prioritized for Demolition:

• D-grade Dangerous Houses: Houses identified as D-grade dangerous by professional institutions, whose load-bearing structures can no longer meet safety requirements and are in a dangerous state overall, are the top priority for policy handling. If such houses exist in rural areas of Anhui, they will face demolition.
• Houses in High-Risk Areas: Prefabricated panel houses located in earthquake-prone areas or high-risk geological disaster areas, even if their current identification grade has not reached D-grade, will be prioritized for demolition due to the extremely high risks associated with their locations, ensuring the safety of residents.
• Old and Valueless Houses: Prefabricated panel buildings that are over 40 years old and lack value for repair and reinforcement, suffering from severe pipeline corrosion and structural aging over time, cannot be fundamentally resolved through minor repairs. Such houses will also be prioritized for demolition.

Hazards of Prefabricated Panel Houses: The brick-concrete and prefabricated panel structure commonly used in rural house construction in the past, although inexpensive, is not earthquake-resistant. During renovation, removing walls that support the panels can easily lead to chain collapses. Some prefabricated panel manufacturers, for profit, reduce the size of the steel bars inside the panels or even omit them entirely, resulting in poor load-bearing capacity. Some construction workers, lacking knowledge of how to connect prefabricated panels to walls, casually place them, resulting in overall looseness and poor stability. These hazards are also important factors in determining whether a house should be demolished.