The General Office of the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development recently issued a notice requiring a focused rectification of quality issues in urban residential projects, such as sound insulation, odor transmission, and water leakage.
The notice specifies that the requirements of standards and regulations must be strictly implemented, and new residential projects must comply with the new standards. Local authorities are to urge participating units to strictly enforce the mandatory standards for construction projects. Design units must not lower design standards under the guise of "design optimization," and construction units are strictly prohibited from violating construction technical standards. From the date of implementation of the "Residential Project Standards," new residential projects must strictly adhere to the new standards. Local authorities are to fully implement standards for sound insulation, odor prevention, and waterproofing, and refine relevant technical measures based on actual conditions.
Strict review of construction design documents is required, with sound insulation, odor prevention, and waterproofing as key review points. Local authorities are to urge construction units to promptly submit residential project design documents to relevant agencies for review, guiding review agencies to focus on sound insulation, odor prevention, and waterproofing in their reviews. Sound insulation should focus on active noise reduction and passive sound insulation measures. Odor prevention should focus on detailed design of floor drains, smoke exhaust ducts, and drainage pipe traps. Waterproofing should follow the principle of "combining prevention and drainage, with drainage as the priority," ensuring that drainage and waterproofing measures are complete. Supervision must be strengthened, and participating units must not modify reviewed and approved construction drawings without authorization. If modifications are necessary, they must be submitted to the original review agency for review.
The notice emphasizes the need to organize full-chain supervision and inspection, and to severely punish non-compliant and untrustworthy enterprises according to law. Local authorities are to organize full-chain supervision and inspection of the design, materials, construction, and acceptance of new residential projects, and promptly report any issues found. Strengthen credit management and on-site market linkage, and severely punish and expose units and individuals involved in quality accidents or serious quality issues that result in full work stoppages, as well as those who cut corners or fail to follow construction plans. Strengthen penalties such as qualification and employment restrictions, and enforce market entry bans according to law.
Notice from the General Office of the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development on the Focused Rectification of Quality Issues in Urban Residential Projects
To the Housing and Urban-Rural Development Departments of Provinces and Autonomous Regions, the Housing and Urban-Rural Development (Management) Committees of Municipalities Directly Under the Central Government, and the Housing and Urban-Rural Development Bureau of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps:
To thoroughly implement the decisions and deployments of the Party Central Committee and the State Council, effectively improve the quality of residential projects, and continuously meet the people's new expectations for high-quality housing, the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development will focus on rectifying quality issues in urban residential projects, such as sound insulation, odor transmission, and water leakage. The relevant matters are hereby notified as follows.
I. Strictly Implement Standard and Regulatory Requirements, New Residential Projects Must Comply with New Standards
Local authorities are to urge participating units to strictly enforce the mandatory standards for construction projects. Design units must not lower design standards under the guise of "design optimization," and construction units are strictly prohibited from violating construction technical standards. From the date of implementation of the "Residential Project Standards" GB 55038-2025, new residential projects must strictly adhere to the new standards. Local authorities are to fully implement standards for sound insulation, odor prevention, and waterproofing, and refine relevant technical measures based on actual conditions.
II. Strictly Review Construction Design Documents, with Sound Insulation, Odor Prevention, and Waterproofing as Key Review Points
Local authorities are to urge construction units to promptly submit residential project design documents to relevant agencies for review, guiding review agencies to focus on sound insulation, odor prevention, and waterproofing in their reviews. Sound insulation should focus on active noise reduction and passive sound insulation measures. Odor prevention should focus on detailed design of floor drains, smoke exhaust ducts, and drainage pipe traps. Waterproofing should follow the principle of "combining prevention and drainage, with drainage as the priority," ensuring that drainage and waterproofing measures are complete. Supervision must be strengthened, and participating units must not modify reviewed and approved construction drawings without authorization. If modifications are necessary, they must be submitted to the original review agency for review.
III. Strictly Control Material Inspection, Resolutely Prevent Inferior "Project Windows" and Floor Drains from Entering Construction Sites
Local authorities are to strictly implement the system of inspecting materials before use, increase supervision and inspection efforts, and promote inspection agencies to sample materials at construction sites to ensure randomness and representativeness of samples, and prohibit false sampling and submission. Guide participating units to appropriately increase the sampling ratio of key materials such as doors and windows, floor drains, and waterproof membranes. If non-compliant items are found, further expand the sampling scope. For windows, focus on testing diagonal dimensions, main profile wall thickness, glass thickness, air tightness, water tightness, and wind pressure resistance. For floor drains, focus on testing material, water seal depth, and sealing structure. Materials that fail inspection must be removed from the construction site according to regulations.
IV. Conduct Physical Performance Testing, Include Test Results in Residential Quality Assurance Certificates
Local authorities are to urge construction units to organize physical performance testing for sound insulation, odor prevention, and waterproofing before the final acceptance of residential projects. Sound insulation performance testing should focus on the air sound of doors and windows and partition walls, and the impact sound of floors. After the installation of the smoke exhaust system, conduct tests for air tightness, ventilation power, and roof wind cap wind protection. Residential waterproofing should test both waterproofing and drainage. Urge construction units to include test results in the "Residential Quality Assurance Certificate."
V. Organize Full-Chain Supervision and Inspection, Severely Punish Non-Compliant and Untrustworthy Enterprises According to Law
Local authorities are to organize full-chain supervision and inspection of the design, materials, construction, and acceptance of new residential projects, and promptly report any issues found. Strengthen credit management and on-site market linkage, and severely punish and expose units and individuals involved in quality accidents or serious quality issues that result in full work stoppages, as well as those who cut corners or fail to follow construction plans. Strengthen penalties such as qualification and employment restrictions, and enforce market entry bans according to law.
Local authorities are to strengthen organizational leadership, consolidate local responsibilities, and deploy focused rectification based on local conditions, with regular scheduling and solid progress. Strengthen technological support, organize expert teams, deeply analyze the causes of residential quality issues in the region, and, based on the collection of practical technologies for the benefit of the people, remove technical implementation bottlenecks and guide enterprises to practice and promote them. Establish the concept of "delivery means qualification," actively promote good experiences and practices during the rectification process, and create a good social atmosphere for providing high-quality housing to the people.
General Office of the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development
April 9, 2025
