Prefabricated Panel Houses

Prefabricated panel houses are buildings constructed primarily using prefabricated panels. In 2025, three types of prefabricated panel houses will be prioritized for demolition, with multiple compensation and resettlement options available after demolition.

Prefabricated panel houses originated in the early 20th century. In China, most residential buildings constructed before 1985 adopted this structural type, primarily built rapidly in the 1970s and 1980s to address the housing needs of workers. These houses feature short construction periods and low costs but have several drawbacks, including limited service life (typically designed for 30 - 50 years), numerous safety hazards (such as easy wall cracking and fire risks due to aging pipelines), poor living conditions (inadequate sound and thermal insulation, weak waterproofing, and unreasonable floor plans), and weak seismic performance (houses with seismic resistance below 70% of current standards will be prioritized for demolition, along with deficiencies in fire prevention and thermal insulation).

Since 2022, China has implemented urban renewal policies focusing on the repair and renovation of prefabricated panel houses, with demolition limited to buildings classified as dangerous. In 2025, the following three types of prefabricated panel houses will be prioritized for demolition:

• Dangerous buildings with structural damage: Classified as Grade D dangerous buildings by professional institutions, such as those with foundation settlement exceeding 5 cm or cracks in load-bearing walls exceeding 1 mm.
• Buildings unable to withstand natural disasters: Prefabricated panel houses with seismic resistance below 70% of current standards or poor flood resistance.
• Buildings affecting urban planning: Prefabricated panel houses located in planned areas for municipal projects (such as subways and elevated roads) or commercial development zones in urban cores.

Compensation and resettlement methods after demolition, in accordance with the Regulations on the Expropriation of Houses on State-Owned Land and Compensation and local policies, include:

• Monetary compensation: The compensation standard is not less than 110% of the market price of similar houses in the surrounding area, offering flexibility for residents to purchase homes independently.
• Physical resettlement: Provision of newly built government resettlement housing, typically located farther from the original site but with complete facilities.
• Housing voucher resettlement: Issuance of housing vouchers to offset purchase costs, with some regions offering additional rewards of 5% - 12%. However, these vouchers must be used within designated areas or for properties from specific developers and can be converted to cash if unused by the deadline.
• Original-site reconstruction: Residents temporarily relocate for about 2 years, with reconstruction on the original site and return based on the original area. Expansion is possible at an additional cost, suitable for cases where residents have a strong dependence on the original community and the land has development value.