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A man from Guangzhou collapsed and died after living in an apartment for two days. The court found that the protective features of the property were not in compliance and he would have to pay compensation. The landlord was also responsible for supplementary repayments. The property owner has said he will rehear the case.
A man in Guangzhou, Guangdong collapsed and died two days after moving into an apartment. His family later admitted that the apartment’s protective features did not meet safety standards and sought compensation from the property management and the landlord. In the first instance, the court ruled that the property owner should bear 60% of the compensation liability. In the second instance, the judgment was reduced to 40%, and family members should be compensated more than 760,000 yuan (same currency value below, approximately US$113,000). The landlord will have to bear 30% of the worker’s compensation liability as supplemental compensation liability. The business owners were still dissatisfied with the decision and said they would apply for a rehearing.
China News Weekly reported that on April 18, 2023, a 34-year-old man surnamed Jing moved into an apartment in Guangzhou’s Haizhu district with his wife and children. Two days later, he fell from the room window and died. After investigation, police ruled out criminal suspicion. According to the police interrogation transcript, Xing Nan’s wife said at the time that her husband had quarreled with her before the incident because of their son’s long-term hospitalization and family pressure. She believed her husband had committed suicide out of compulsion and said she had no objection to the cause of death.
More than a year after the incident, Jing Nan’s family took Qingyu Company, which actually operates the apartment, and the original landlord, a woman surnamed Liu, to court on the grounds that the apartment failed to meet its safety guarantee obligations, and demanded a total of more than 1.9 million yuan in death compensation, funeral expenses and mental damage consolation. Family members reported that the features fixed on the connection between the anti-theft net outside the apartment window and the wall did not meet specifications, the protection strength was insufficient, and there were no warning signs on the windows.
Qingyu Company and the landlord claimed that Xing Nan committed suicide by destroying the safety net and then jumping from the building, and that the property owner should not be liable for compensation. Mr. He believed that the installation of anti-theft nets had improved security.
Guangzhou Haizhu District People’s Court first found in June 2025 that the window wall of Room 501 involved in the case was only 23.5 centimeters from the ground, which was less than 0.8 meters required by relevant building regulations, and there was insufficient evidence to prove that the anti-theft net had passed full approval. The court held that the apartment operator provided protective features that did not meet safety standards and did not install warning signs. He must bear 60% of the compensation liability, an amount exceeding 1.146 million yuan; Xing Nan itself bears 40% of the liability. The landlord must bear 30% of the worker’s compensation liability, which is 344,000 yuan.
Kingyue Company and the landlord were dissatisfied with the prima facie decision and appealed. In September 2026, the Guangzhou Intermediate People’s Court of Second Instance held that the window height did not meet specifications after the apartment was renovated, and the protective features were inadequate, increasing the risk of falling from high places. There was only one manager at the site at the time of the incident and he was sleeping. It failed to detect and handle abnormal situations in time, and the operator actually failed to meet its safety guarantee obligations.
However, the court also found that Xing Nan should bear more responsibility for its actions, and changed the sentence so that Xing Nan should herself bear 60% of the compensation liability, and Qingyue Company should bear 40% of the compensation liability, and should compensate her family members more than 760,000 yuan; The landlord must bear 30% of the supplementary liability for compensation of Qingyu Company, which exceeds 230,000 yuan.
Regarding the results of the second instance, Mr. Jing Nan’s wife told the media that the cause of death recorded in the police investigation was a fall from height and could not be used to conclude that her husband had committed suicide. He expressed hope that the industry will complete the decision as soon as possible.
Summary FAQ
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The man fell from his room window and died two days after moving into the apartment. His family believed that the protective features, warning signs and safety standards outside the window were inadequate, so they filed a lawsuit against the original operator and the landlord.
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The second instance found that the operator failed to meet his safety protection obligations, but the individual himself should bear greater responsibility. The verdict was changed so that the man would have to pay 60% and the Qingyu Company would have to pay 40%, and the family would have to pay more than 760,000 yuan.
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The court held that the landlord must bear 30% of the compensation liability for the operator, which is approximately 230,000 yuan. Neither Qingyu Company nor the landlord accepted the decision and said they would apply for a rehearing.
