Demolition of Prefabricated Panel Houses in Xiamen

Under certain conditions, prefabricated panel houses in Xiamen can apply for demolition and renovation, primarily through self-initiated renovation and renovation of dilapidated houses.

Conditions for Self-Initiated Renovation

According to the 'Notice of the Xiamen Municipal Natural Resources and Planning Bureau and the Xiamen Municipal Housing and Construction Bureau on Printing and Distributing the Guiding Opinions on Self-Initiated Renovation of Old Urban Residential Communities,' in Xiamen, for multi-story or high-rise residential buildings owned by multiple households in old urban residential communities, if they meet the following conditions under the premise of complying with the national spatial planning, the property owners can apply for self-initiated renovation:

• Building Service Life: The building has been in use for more than 40 years. Over time, such buildings may develop safety hazards due to issues such as material aging and structural fatigue, affecting living safety and functionality.
• Building Structure and Functionality: The building has a poor structure, incomplete functionality, and lacks value for repair and reinforcement. For example, the load-bearing structure of the house is severely damaged and cannot be restored to its load-bearing capacity through conventional repairs; or the layout of the house is unreasonable and cannot meet the needs of modern life, with excessively high repair costs.
• Building Danger Level: The building structure has been severely damaged and has been identified as a Class C or Class D dilapidated house through risk assessment. A Class C dilapidated house refers to one where part of the load-bearing structure cannot meet the normal use requirements, with local hazards constituting a partial dilapidated house; a Class D dilapidated house refers to one where the load-bearing structure can no longer meet the normal use requirements, with hazards throughout the building constituting an entire dilapidated house. For Class D dilapidated houses, demolition and renovation need to be accelerated.

Renovation Methods for Dilapidated Houses

The 'Implementation Plan for Urban Renewal Work in Xiamen' proposes the renovation of dilapidated houses, adopting methods such as dilapidated house exchange and self-initiated renovation to promote the renovation of urban dilapidated houses, inefficient buildings, and the transformation and utilization of existing houses, and implementing actions for the governance and renovation of urban prefabricated panel houses and house facility reinforcement projects. This provides multiple avenues for the renovation of prefabricated panel houses, and property owners can choose the appropriate method according to the actual situation.

National Policy Support

The '15th Five-Year Plan for Urban Renewal' issued by the State Council on May 22, 2026, clearly states that for Class C and Class D dangerous houses and non-complete houses in cities, a file system should be established for dynamic updates, and the demolition and renovation of Class D dangerous houses should be accelerated. At the same time, it supports the self-initiated renovation and original-site reconstruction of old houses and proposes to steadily promote the governance and renovation of prefabricated panel houses, providing policy basis and support for the demolition and renovation of prefabricated panel houses in Xiamen.