Han Heung Soo, a South Korean man who lives in Mandarine City in Changning District, plans to file a lawsuit against his upstairs neighbor who had two of his apartment's supporting walls knocked down.
"I'm afraid the ceiling of my apartment will collapse one day," said Han.
The upstairs apartment is owned by a Japanese family, according to Wang Peizi, an official with Mandarine City Service Center.
"We have sent a notice to the home owner asking him to have the walls rebuilt before August 24, otherwise we will ask the authorities to do so," said Wang. "Knocking down a weight-support wall is strictly prohibited in our complex."
Home owners in Mandarine City are mainly foreigners from more than 20 countries and regions, according to Wang.
Han says many residents in the building have changed the structure of their apartments by knocking down supporting walls or pillars at will.
"With so many supporting walls pushed over, I'm afraid the whole building would also collapse one day," said Han, adding that he will move to a new building if the problem isn't solved.
Han also complained about the noise and dirty caused by the decoration work upstairs. He said he could bear the noise caused by decoration, but the sound his neighbor made was like a pile driver.
Xu Yuyang, Han's lawyer, said the removal of the wall and loud decoration were illegal.
According to the city's property management law passed by the Standing Committee of Shanghai People's Congress, the city's top legal panel, last week, home owners who pull down supporting walls while decorating apartments will face a fine of up to 200,000 yuan (US$24,096). In addition to the penalty, those who tear down support walls will be forced to rebuild them.