As the new heating season approaches, residents of the Zhengzhou Zhongmu County SUNAC Guanlan No. 1 Phase II community are facing frustration. Recently, several homeowners expressed their concerns about the unresolved heating issue after five years of property handovers, relying only on air conditioning and electric heaters to endure the cold winters.
Homeowner Ms. Wang lamented, “The contract clearly states central heating, but even now, after having children, there’s still no sign of heat!” Homeowners revealed that the community, developed by Zhengzhou Qian-Shan Real Estate Co., promised central heating via boiler systems at the time of sale, but this commitment has never materialized. In contrast, the neighboring Lvdou Community achieved central heating last year, and Vanke Rongcheng Community has signed a heating contract, expecting to have heating available next year.
“Using air conditioning and electric heaters costs us thousands in electricity bills each month,” one homeowner calculated, adding that the burden is becoming unbearable. Some residents, due to the frigid indoor temperatures, have even sent postpartum mothers back to their hometowns to recover. “We worked hard to afford a home here, thinking the conditions would be better, but it’s even colder than our hometown in winter.”
The property manager, Huang Zhen, explained that the developer had previously signed contracts with two heating companies and made initial payments, totaling approximately 6 million yuan. However, due to policy adjustments regarding heating, the original equipment became obsolete, and only over 1 million yuan can be recuperated from the contracts. The 2024 action plan from local government specified that new coal-fired boilers are not to be built outside of centralized heating systems, pushing for the use of clean energy alternatives.
Huang stated, “The new heating company, Henan Wanjing New Energy Heating Co., needs to procure new energy equipment with an estimated cost exceeding 10 million yuan, which our developer can’t afford.” Currently, SUNAC Guanlan No. 1’s occupancy rate is around 21%, or 460 households, significantly hindering the previously contemplated plan to use property fees to cover heating costs. Huang revealed that the local Liuji Town government had organized coordination meetings, but no solution has been reached due to funding and occupancy rate issues.
Residents have expressed their exhaustion from years of waiting and hope for intervention from the relevant authorities to effectively resolve the heating problem. “We aren’t asking for much, just a warmer home in winter,” one homeowner said, choking back tears. In response to the residents' persistent demands, on October 22, this issue was brought to the attention of Liuji Street in Zhongmu County, and on the 23rd, the community secretary responded that a coordination meeting had occurred in September with the development and heating companies, indicating that they will review asset situations and continue discussions.
The relevant departments have intervened, but a concrete solution is yet to be defined. For the residents of SUNAC Guanlan No. 1, this winter might still depend on electric heating devices, as they await their voices to be heard.