Chinese reno workers go to wrong unit & completely destroys it, owner comes home to find renovated house destroyed

A completed renovated unit was mistakenly demolished by workers when they entered the wrong unit in Jiangsu, China.

The bizarre mishap landed all parties in court, where the affected homeowner was awarded RMB11,000 (S$2,087) in compensation, ST Headline reported.

The wrong unit

The incident occurred in a residential complex in Wuxi City, Jiangsu.

The owner of the third unit on the fourth floor (unit 403) had hired a renovation company to carry out demolition and renovation work.

The project foreman instructed the workers to head up and retrieve the key, which was left at the unit's door.

However, the workers failed to check the floor numbers and accidentally stopped at the third unit of the third floor (unit 303) instead.

Furthermore, the previous tenant of unit 303 had just moved out and routinely hid the key under the doormat, ST Headline noted.

Since the units had identical layouts and the key was found at the door, they assumed that unit 303 was the correct unit and started work.

As a result, unit 303 was completely demolished, with the walls, false ceiling, kitchen and bathroom facilities all torn down and removed.

All existing furniture and appliances were also cleared out.

When the owner of unit 303 visited the apartment the next day, he was shocked to find it in ruins.

He immediately called the police.

Judge's ruling

According to Tianyan News, the apartment owners of units 303 and 403 attempted mediation multiple times but were unable to reach an agreement.

The case was then transferred to a local court.

The judge clarified the responsibilities of each party, saying that it was the workers' failure to verify the unit number before entering the house, and that they were directly at fault for causing the accident.

The project foreman was also held liable for his failure to fulfil his on-site management responsibilities, indicating a clear oversight in supervision.

The judge mediated the dispute based on the original renovation agreement and the loss of items.

The apartment owner of 303 agreed to make concessions and voluntarily reduced the compensation claim from the initial RMB20,000 (S$3,794) to RMB11,000 (S$2,087), Tianyan News reported.

The renovation workers and the contractor bore the cost of RMB6,000 (S$1,138) and RMB5,000 (S$949), respectively.

Both parties have since paid the amount in full.