The Hanoi City Police Investigation Agency has just issued a decision to initiate a criminal case, indict the suspect, and order the temporary detention for 4 months of Nghiem Quang Minh (born in 1979, residing in Yen Hoa, Cau Giay District, Hanoi) for investigation into the crime of violating fire safety regulations under Article 313 of the Penal Code. Minh is the owner of the mini-apartment building at 37 Alley 29/70 Khuong Ha Street where a particularly serious fire occurred late on September 12th.
To date, 56 people have died in the fire at the mini-apartment building in Khuong Ha.
To date, authorities have confirmed 56 deaths and 37 injuries (of which the identities of 39/56 deceased have been confirmed).
Regarding the incident, Mr. Nguyen Duy Thanh, General Director of Global Home Management Company, stated that the concept of mini-apartments has been clearly defined in Article 22 of Decree 71 and Decision 24/2014/QD-UBND.
Accordingly, mini-apartments are residential buildings constructed by individuals or households. They typically consist of two or more floors, with two or more apartments on each floor. Apartments in mini-apartments are designed and built as self-contained units, including a separate living room, toilet, bathroom, and kitchen area. They have a minimum floor area of 30 square meters and often include a mezzanine level to optimize living space.
Mr. Nguyen Duy Thanh, General Director of Global Housing Management Company
With their modest size and affordable prices, mini-apartments are often suitable for people with average incomes who want to live near the city center for convenient commuting to school or work.
However, mini-apartments must comply with the regulations on apartment buildings stipulated in Article 70 of the 2014 Housing Law, which states that each apartment must meet the minimum floor area standards according to construction regulations and standards; and must have both privately owned and commonly owned areas of the apartment building.
"Therefore, very few mini-apartment buildings meet all the legal and fire safety requirements. As a result, this type of building is often spontaneous and unsafe when it comes to fire safety and elevator operation. The responsibilities of the owners are not strictly defined," Mr. Thanh assessed.
According to him, in reality, very few mini-apartment buildings fully meet the above conditions of the Housing Law, and many are even built illegally with typical violations such as: exceeding the permitted number of floors; failing to meet conditions regarding wastewater treatment, fire safety, security and order, and poor general environmental hygiene…
Furthermore, in these cases, buyers of mini-apartment units will not be able to obtain ownership certificates. Without an ownership certificate, buyers will face many difficulties in transferring ownership, as well as being unable to mortgage the property for loans, unable to bequeath it, and restricted in some other civil rights…
Mini-apartment buildings typically share common characteristics: they are located near the city center but in narrow alleys, making them difficult for firefighting vehicles to access in case of a fire. These buildings are often constructed in a tube-house style with many rooms designed to maximize space, sometimes even built illegally without emergency staircases, and fire safety standards are often disregarded.
"Mini-apartment buildings are often confused with rental rooms because they have many separate rooms and always house many people. Therefore, fire safety inspection agencies pay less attention to strengthening inspections and supervision of fire safety activities in these mini-apartment buildings," the CEO of Global Home pointed out.
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