Shanghai's housing authorities say that by 2015 all new homes sold in the city will be delivered fully finished in order to save energy and reduce waste.

"It represents a new choice of living that is more environmental friendly in the future," said Xu Shiliang, an official with the Shanghai housing support and building administration bureau.

In Shanghai, many new apartments are unfinished units without basic living facilities. Buyers would then hire contractors to complete the interiors.

The bureau estimates that each household produces 1.5 to 2 tons of construction waste during the process. The situation is made worse when decoration companies just threw away waste in an improper way, further damaging the environment.

Some units' structures were even found to have been damaged after the interior decoration work had been completed. "It will be much better when the licensed developers deal with the decorations more properly," said Xu.

Housing authorities will also supervise the decoration more thoroughly after receiving complaints about quality.

The length of the warranty of the finished decoration by developers is usually two years, Xu said.

Xu added that the decoration costs will also be lower as the developers can buy the materials wholesale.

In 2001, local government announced plans to increase the number of finished apartment units in the city, but developers said customers' different requirements and budgets were hindering the effort.

According to the plan, about 60 to 70 percent of new apartment units in downtown areas were to be made available with fully finished interiors.

At present more than 50 percent of new homes sold are finished units.

(Shanghai Daily June 23, 2010)