Prefabricated Panel Houses in Guangzhou

There are renovation cases for prefabricated panel houses in Guangzhou, which have common defects, and policies clearly state that classification and disposal will be accelerated.

Renovation Cases: No. 2 Juqun Street, Fengsheng Community, Xinhua Subdistrict, Huadu District, Guangzhou, is a typical prefabricated panel house. Built in 1976, it is a five-story prefabricated panel mixed-structure residential building. Due to long-term disrepair, the house was identified as a Class D dilapidated building, with its load-bearing structure not meeting safety requirements overall. In March 2024, the house was officially demolished. Residents raised more than 8 million yuan on their own and, with government support, carried out reconstruction in accordance with the principle of "demolishing and rebuilding on the original site while adding public services." In January 2025, the reconstruction project was completed and handed over, with the house value increasing by 1.6 times. Its renovation experience was also included in the national promotion list. This case shows that under suitable conditions, prefabricated panel houses in Guangzhou can be renovated through resident self-financing and government support to improve living quality and house value.

Common Defects: Prefabricated panel houses in Guangzhou generally have four major defects: poor seismic performance, inadequate fire resistance, severe structural aging, and overall落后 (lagging behind) living quality. Due to the simply-supported connection between the prefabricated panels and the walls, the overall integrity and seismic performance are low. Many houses had limited consideration of fire protection design during construction, with a large amount of flammable materials used on exterior walls and roofs, resulting in inadequate fire resistance. Some houses were built in the 1980s and 1990s and are approaching or have exceeded their service lives. Moreover, unauthorized renovations by residents pose a dual risk. There are also widespread issues such as unreasonable house layouts, aging pipelines, and the lack of elevators, resulting in an overall落后 (lagging behind) living quality.

Policy-Based Classification and Disposal: In May 2026, the State Council issued the "15th Five-Year Plan for Urban Renewal," which clearly states that Class C and Class D dangerous housing and non-complete housing in cities will be registered and dynamically updated, and the demolition and renovation of Class D dangerous housing will be accelerated. Over the next five years, more than 500,000 sets (units) of Class C and Class D dangerous housing and prefabricated panel houses in urban and county built-up areas will be renovated, basically eliminating the safety hazards of registered Class D dangerous housing. This means that prefabricated panel houses in Guangzhou will be classified and disposed of in accordance with policy requirements, and Class D dilapidated buildings with prominent safety hazards and no reinforcement value will be demolished more quickly.