The Prefabricated Slab of the House Ceiling Falls Down

The falling of the prefabricated slab of a house ceiling may be caused by excessive load, the age of the house, decoration or construction issues. Measures such as clarifying responsibility, negotiating with the community or property management, and taking legal actions for rights protection can be taken.

Reasons for Falling

• Fracture due to excessive load: When the temporary load accumulated on the second-floor slab exceeds the bearing capacity of the prefabricated slab, the prefabricated slab will undergo brittle fracture and fall. For example, such an accident occurred in Fengshou Community, Guanba Town, Zhong County, Chongqing, resulting in casualties.
• Structural damage due to the age of the house: When a house has been in use for a long time, its structure will suffer varying degrees of damage. For instance, Building No. 172 on Youyi Road in Harbin City, built in 1957, had its top-floor prefabricated slab fall off due to age, with the steel bars separating from the building body. The whole building had multiple problems and was rated as Dsu in safety assessment.
• Decoration or construction issues: Non-standard decoration, such as not wiping off the dust on the slab during construction, incorrect cement-mortar ratio, or not using an interface agent, can affect the bonding between the prefabricated slab and the wall. In addition, water leakage from the upstairs or vibrations caused by neighbors' decoration work such as wall demolition can also damage the stability of the prefabricated slab.

Solutions

• Clarify responsibility: If the house is within the warranty period, the developer is responsible for the repair. If the warranty period has expired and the damage is not caused by human factors or force majeure, for problems in public areas or shared facilities and equipment, the community or property management should be responsible for the repair and management.
• Negotiate with the community or property management: Submit a written repair application to the community or property management company, describing the situation, location, and impact in detail, and request repair within a reasonable time limit. At the same time, keep communication records, photos, videos, and other evidence.
• Take legal actions for rights protection: If negotiation and complaints are unsuccessful, you can file a complaint with the local real estate administration bureau's property management department, the community neighborhood committee, or relevant administrative departments, or call the consumer association hotline 12315 to file a complaint. You can also file a civil lawsuit with the people's court in accordance with relevant laws and regulations, requesting the community or property management to assume repair responsibilities and compensate for losses.