Residents living in Baishizhou recently received notices about the termination of their tenancy, which made them feel at a loss as they struggled to find new residences and schools for their children, the Southern Metropolis Daily reported.
A resident who has lived for some 22 years in Baishizhou, one of the largest urban villages in Shenzhen, surnamed Chu, said he received a notice from his landlord Monday saying that the renovation of the village had started and tenants needed to move out before September.
Chu said that although he had been hearing about the renovation project for about 10 years, the notice came abruptly leading many tenants to doubt whether the relevant departments had done a proper job in notifying them in advance.
A resident living in Baishizhou surnamed Li hopes relevant departments will issue a notice that specifies the deadline for moving out of the village.
“I hope all the notices about moving out can be released in the form of an official document from the subdistrict office, in order to prevent tenants from panicking,” Li was quoted as saying.
According to the Daily report, not a few tenants have started to look for new residences since they were told about the news, which has caused a hike in the rent prices of nearby housing estates.
Another resident, identified as Huang, whose two children are attending schools near the village, said relocating her family will undoubtedly affect her children’s schooling.
Shenzhen Baishizhou Joint Stock Co., which is in charge of the village’s renovation, responded that it will respect the tenants’ interests and provide them with services to solve problems caused by the renovation.
The head of the company, identified as Chi, said the work relocating the tenants will proceed in an orderly manner. According to the plan, only 25 percent of all the tenants will need to relocate in the next two months.
Additionally, Chi said in order to respect the tenants’ legal interests and avoid conflicts, the company will provide them with services that help with finding new rental apartments and try to arrange buses to carry their children to and from various schools.
Xintang Community Work Station under Shahe Subdistrict Office in Nanshan District said it will pay close attention to the inconveniences caused by the renovation.
According to the head of the work station, surnamed Wei, it has convened several coordination meetings between developers and other parties to discuss the issues caused by the renovation.
Baishizhou, covering an area of 0.6 square kilometers, has more than 2,500 buildings that were built by the villagers and accommodates more than 150,000 people.