Hapulico Apartment Complex, an apartment building in Thanh Xuân District. The Hà Nội Construction Department will inspect all apartment buildings in the city in the coming months. Photo dantri.com.vn

HÀ NỘI — The Hà Nội Construction Department has announced that it will inspect the use and management of apartment buildings in Hà Nội this year.

The move aims to solve difficulties and clarify the cause and responsibilities of State management agencies, authorities, businesses and people in the management, operation and use of apartment buildings.

Apartment buildings to be inspected in the second quarter of this year include those in Long Biên, Nam Từ Liêm, Bắc Từ Liêm, Hà Đông, Thanh Xuân, Cầu Giấy, Ba Đình, Đống Đa, Tây Hồ, Hai Bà Trưng, Hoàng Mai and Thanh Trì districts.

Gia Lâm, Hoài Đức, Chương Mỹ, Thanh Oai, Mê Linh, Đan Phượng and Quốc Oai districts will be examined in the third quarter.

Disputes and complaints related to the management and operation of apartment buildings have become a widespread problem in the capital, where 13.5 per cent of the population lives in an apartment building.

The city has nearly 2,600 buildings, accounting for 58 per cent of the total number of apartment buildings across the country, including nearly 1,580 old buildings, 845 commercial buildings and 174 resettlement apartment buildings.

About 130 commercial apartment buildings have witnessed disputes.

Most disputes relate to the use of management and maintenance funds at apartment buildings.

According to the current Housing Law, the owner of an apartment must pay an extra 2 per cent of the total apartment selling price for maintenance inside the building. The fees collected by property developers must be passed on to residents’ committees no later than seven days after a residents’ committee is set up.

However, several developers have delayed transferring the fees to residents’ committees, causing disputes among residents and developers.

After the inspections, the Construction Department will name investors who do not comply with regulations on management and use of apartment buildings.

Previously, Hà Nội Police Department examined fire safety measures in residential buildings and issued 57 fines for violations of regulations on fire prevention and control. — VNS