Renovation of Container Houses in Chongming District

Renovation of container houses in Chongming District without approval is considered illegal construction and should not be carried out without authorization.

Legal Aspect

According to Article 65 of the Urban and Rural Planning Law of the People's Republic of China, in township and village planning areas, if construction is carried out without obtaining a rural construction planning permit in accordance with the law or without complying with the provisions of the rural construction planning permit, the township or town people's government shall order the cessation of construction and rectification within a specified time limit; if rectification is not made within the time limit, the construction may be demolished. Container houses that have undergone housing renovation are clearly identified as a type of illegal construction. This means that renovating container houses in Chongming District without obtaining relevant approval permits violates the law and will result in consequences such as being ordered to stop construction, rectify within a specified time limit, or even face demolition.

Practical Cases

Multiple places in Chongming District have launched special rectification campaigns targeting container houses that have undergone housing renovation. For example, in Miaozhong Village, Miaozhen Town, there were containers of unknown origin that residents purchased for living purposes. These were identified as illegal construction by law enforcement officers, and ultimately, the container owner refunded the residents' purchase money and moved the containers away. The Comprehensive Administrative Law Enforcement Team in Xianghua Town conducted investigations and identified 26 key container houses for rectification, using methods such as relocation and division for disposal. The team in Xinhai Town discovered a container house that had undergone housing renovation next to a farmland in Hongxing Farm. After legal publicity, the party involved cooperated with the demolition work. These cases all demonstrate that Chongming District has a zero-tolerance attitude towards illegal construction related to the renovation of container houses and will carry out rectification in accordance with the law.

Safety Aspect

Container houses that have undergone housing renovation have numerous safety hazards. Some of these renovated container houses are used for living or are transformed into functional facilities such as warehouses and kitchens. There are behaviors such as unauthorized electrical wiring and the illegal use of liquefied petroleum gas cylinders, which can easily lead to fire accidents and other safety incidents. Moreover, some "container houses" have safety hazards in terms of hygiene and fire safety due to unauthorized renovations and electrical wiring, posing a threat to the lives and property of the occupants and surrounding residents.