My neighbor changed the entrance door from \”opening inward\” to \”opening outward\”. Is it legal?

Small apartments should make full use of space

Change the entry door that opens inward to outwards

Can it be done?

Recently

Hangzhou Linping District Court

heard a case

because a neighbor changed the direction of the entrance door without permission.

Case involving nuisance exclusion disputes

Case Introduction

The plaintiff Li and the defendants Liu and Zhang are neighbors. When Liu and Zhang renovated their houses, because the houses were small, they designed the entrance door to open outwards in order to maximize the utilization of the area. Liu and Zhang sought the opinions of their neighbor Li, who was nearly seventy years old, before renovating. Li clearly expressed his disagreement, but Liu and Zhang still changed the entrance door to open outwards.

Li believes that Liu and Zhang changed the direction of the entrance door without authorization. When the entrance door is fully opened outward, it will cause the public passage to be narrow and pose a safety hazard to his passage. Therefore, the lawsuit was brought to the court, requiring Liu and Zhang to restore the entrance door to open inward.

Court Judgment

1. There are obstructive facts in this case

Liu, When Zhang\’s house was delivered, the entrance door opened inward. The two defendants changed the direction of the entrance door, which must comply with the corresponding national standards. Article 6.11.9 of the \”General Principles for Civil Building Design\” (GB50352-2019) of the Ministry of Construction of the People\’s Republic of China stipulates: \”When the doors opening to evacuation walkways and stairwells are fully opened, they should not affect the evacuation width of walkways and stairwells.\” China \”Residential Design Code\” of the Ministry of Construction of the People\’s Republic of China (GB500 96-2011) Article 5.8.5 stipulates: \”Doors that open outwards should not hinder public transportation and the opening of adjacent doors.\” In this case, the original and defendant families were relatively close to each other, and the public walkway between them was narrow. The defendant changed the door to open outwards, which would affect the passage of neighbors and prevent adjacent doors from opening, posing certain safety risks.

2. The nuisance behavior has exceeded the scope of the plaintiff’s necessary tolerance obligations

The resolution of rights conflicts between adjacent real estate owners should be based on the principles of conducive production and convenient life We adhere to the principles of solidarity, mutual assistance, fairness and reasonableness, adhere to the principle of being good to our neighbors, advocate empathy, and take into account the interests of all parties. In this case, when the two defendants communicated with the plaintiff about changing the direction of the entrance door before the renovation, the plaintiff made it clear that he did not agree. However, the two defendants only considered their own interests and insisted on changing the direction of the entrance door, which affected the passage of the plaintiff\’s elderly people and hindered the adjacent areas. The fact that the door is open is a hindrance.

At the same time, respecting the elderly is a traditional virtue of the Chinese nation and a socialistIt is an important part of the core values ​​of justice. Caring for and helping the elderly is the common responsibility of the whole society. In this case, the plaintiff Li is nearly 70 years old and has higher requirements for safety. The defendants Liu and Zhang, as neighbors of the elderly, should have a higher duty of care in handling neighbor relations. The two defendants’ obstructive behavior exceeded the necessary tolerance of the plaintiff.Therefore, the court ruled that Liu and Zhang Someone changed the direction of the entrance door to open inward.

Currently, the judgment has taken effect.

The judge said

Adjacent relationship refers to the relationship between two or more adjacent real estate owners, usufruct holders or occupiers who use water. , drainage, ventilation, lighting and other aspects of rights and obligations arising from legal provisions. The purpose of establishing adjacent relationships is to ensure as much as possible the harmonious relationship between adjacent real estate rights holders, resolve conflicts arising from the exercise of rights by adjacent real estate owners or users, and balance the interests of adjacent parties to the real estate.

Article 288 of the \”Civil Code of the People\’s Republic of China\” stipulates,Adjacent relations must be handled in compliance with the principles of benefiting production, facilitating life, solidarity and mutual assistance, and being fair and reasonable. This requires people to adhere to people-oriented, neighborly and friendly, mutual benefit and win-win when dealing with neighboring relations, and to oppose self-interest at the expense of others. They must fully consider the convenience of neighboring rights holders and provide each other with assistance and convenience within their capabilities. When disputes occur, neighboring parties should maintain tolerance and restraint and try their best to resolve conflicts through friendly consultations.

Law link

◆Article 271 of the Civil Code of the People\’s Republic of ChinaThe owner\’s right to the building The exclusive parts such as residences and commercial buildings within the project enjoy ownership rights, and the shared parts other than the exclusive parts enjoy the right to share ownership and joint management.

◆Article 288Adjacent rights holders of real estate shall correctly handle adjacent relationships in accordance with the principles of conducive to production, convenient life, solidarity and mutual assistance, fairness and reasonableness.

◆Article 291The real estate right holder shall provide necessary conveniences to adjacent right holders who must use their land due to traffic, etc.

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Reprinted from: Hangzhou Linping District Court

Source: Shandong High Court