\”Inward-opening\” or \”outward-opening\”, can the owner change the direction of the entrance door?

As the saying goes,

Distant relatives are not as good as close neighbors.

However,

as neighbors, Fang and Hu

had a dispute over \”a door\”.

Fang changed the entrance door

from \”inside opening\” to \”outside opening\”,

It affected the travel of his neighbor Hu,

The court ruled to restore the status quo ante.

Is there a legal basis for the orientation design of the entrance door?

Can the owner change the direction of the entrance door without authorization?

Let’s take a look at the professional interpretation of Liu Tingyan, a member of the Lawyer Expert Database of \”Rule of Law Daily\” and a partner of Beijing Dacheng (Shenzhen) Law Firm!

1

Does the entrance door orientation design have a legal basis?

For residential buildings, the entrance door is the evacuation door for each household. According to the current \”Code for Fire Protection Design of Buildings\” and the relevant provisions of the \”General Code for Fire Protection of Buildings\” that will be implemented on June 1, 2023, civil In principle, the evacuation door of a building should be Swing doors that open in the evacuation direction. However, considering that there are fewer people in each household, it does not belong to a room with more than 60 users and the average number of people evacuated per door exceeds 30. Therefore, the opening direction of the residential entrance door is not restricted. It can be designed to open internally or externally. However, the \”Residential Design Code\” also stipulates: \”Doors should use protective doors with anti-theft and sound insulation functions. Doors that open outwards should not hinder public transportation and the opening of adjacent doors.\” Therefore, without affecting the public Residential entrance doors can be designed to open outwards when traffic and adjacent entrance doors are opened. For some units where the corridor outside the entrance door is not wide, in order to avoid obstructing the traffic in the stairwell and \”fighting\” when adjacent entrance doors are opened, the entrance door will be designed to open inward.

2

Can the owner change the direction of the entrance door without authorization?

Unless the entrance door does not meet the design specifications and must be rectified, in principle, the owner cannot change the opening direction of the entrance door without authorization. The owner changes the original planned architectural design on his own and changes the entrance door from \”opening inward\” to \”opening outward\”. On the one hand, it violates the original planned architectural design of the project. On the other hand, it usually also infringes on the adjacent residents\’ surroundings. rights, hindering the needs of adjacent residents to pass, and even causing safety evacuation risks.

According to the relevant provisions of the Civil Code, the passage outside the general entrance door is jointly owned by the owners and jointly managed by the owners. No one may privately occupy the shared part as his own. In practice, behaviors such as changing the entrance door from \”opening inward\” to \”opening outward\” and blocking the passage for one\’s own use are actions of occupying public passages, affecting the rights of other co-owners and affecting the rights of neighboring residents. Life and travel will be adversely affected. Therefore, in order to maintain a harmonious and orderly neighborhood relationship, owners should maintain the original condition of the house when the developer delivered it, and should not change the entrance door without the consent of the other party, without affecting fire safety or causing evacuation hazards. Orientation. Owners who change the direction of the entrance door without authorization will be in trouble with neighboring residents or property management companies.When a request is made to restore it to its original state, the entrance door should be changed back to its original state in a timely manner.

Law link:

Article 271 of the Civil Code

The owner’s rights to the exclusive parts of the building such as residences and commercial buildings Enjoy ownership and the right to share and jointly manage the common parts other than the exclusive parts.

Article 288 of the Civil Code

Adjacent 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, and fairness and reasonableness. .

Article 236 of the Civil Code

Where property rights are obstructed or may be interfered with, the obligee may request that the obstruction be eliminated or the danger eliminated.

Planner: Yang Xinshun Song Shengnan

Text: Luo Congran

Source: Rule of Law Daily