If you feel the need to tell off your neighbor, let loose by turning your speakers up to 11 or just want to start an innocent fight club in your apartment, you better get to work, as none of these will be technically allowed beginning this Saturday.
The Ministry of Construction has issued a new set of rules pertaining to civilized behavior in the country’s apartment buildings, reports Thanh Nien. As of April 2, apartment dwellers will no longer be able to hinder public security, litter or curse in public areas, use common areas for personal purposes, dry clothes on balconies or windows or fight each other.
In addition, security guards and receptionists can hang onto visitors’ personal documents for security purposes.
If you think this all sounds impractical or unenforceable – or both – you’re not alone. Thanh Nien, citing VnExpress, wrote that both residents and managers alike voiced concerns about the new rules, adding that many buildings have similar rules which were neglected by residents.
Some have likened the new rules to previous bans on votive paper and funerals in apartment buildings which were put in place in 2008. However, they lacked specific penalties and no one was ever punished, according to a manager of Hanoi’s My Dinh Urban Complex.
Hanoi in particular has been taking similar measures to “civilize” the city, including a war on public profanity last year.
