Collapse of Prefabricated Slab Houses in Hunan

The collapse incident of prefabricated slab houses in Hunan reflects that such houses have serious safety hazards and require high attention and the implementation of governance measures.

Typical Cases of Prefabricated Slab House Collapse in Hunan

• Wall Collapse Incident on Chaozong Street in Changsha: At around 8:00 p.m. on October 31, 2025, a temporary scaffold erected on the exterior wall of a shop under renovation on Tongtai Street, Kaifu District, Changsha City, partially collapsed. The floor with prefabricated slab components, along with the scaffold, crashed to the ground, injuring 4 people, 2 of whom died after rescue efforts failed. Prior to the incident, neighbors had complained about excessive renovation, and after holes were made in the wall, steel bars were exposed. This indicates that non-standard renovation behaviors may damage the structural stability of prefabricated slab houses and become a cause of collapse.
• Collapse of Prefabricated Slabs on a Four-Story Attic in a Certain Place in Hunan Due to Hurricane and Heavy Rain: Under extreme weather conditions of hurricane and heavy rain, the prefabricated slabs of a four-story attic collapsed instantly. Although the couple was on the third floor at the time and was unharmed, they hurriedly went downstairs and drove away. This incident highlights the vulnerability of prefabricated slab houses in harsh natural environments, as their structures are difficult to withstand the impact of extreme weather.

Current Situation of Safety Hazards in Prefabricated Slab Houses Across the Country

• High Proportion of Grade D Dilapidated Houses: According to a survey by the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development in February 2026, there are more than 120,000 households of Grade D dilapidated houses in urban areas across the country waiting to be dealt with, with prefabricated slab houses accounting for more than 60%. Grade D dilapidated houses mean that the load-bearing structure has completely failed, and the entire building may have problems at any time. This fully shows that prefabricated slab houses have serious structural safety hazards.
• Large Existing Stock: There are approximately 18.7 million sets of prefabricated slab residential buildings in the country, accounting for 7.3% of the total urban residential buildings and involving about 56 million residents. They are mainly concentrated in old industrial cities such as Changsha, Wuhan, and Xi'an. Such a large existing stock makes the safety issues of prefabricated slab houses an important隐患 (hidden danger, here it remains in Chinese as there's no perfect single-word equivalent in this context but the meaning is conveyed in the full text) affecting the lives and property safety of many residents.

Governance Policies and Directions

In May 2026, the State Council issued the '15th Five-Year Plan for Urban Renewal', proposing to start the renovation of 115,000 old urban residential communities and renovate more than 500,000 sets (rooms) of Grade C and D dangerous housing, prefabricated slab houses, and non-complete housing. This policy provides a clear direction and goal for solving the safety hazards of prefabricated slab houses. Through large-scale renovation projects, it is expected to gradually eliminate the safety risks of prefabricated slab houses and ensure the residential safety of residents.