Outside Wall Tiles Hit Taxi Passing By 磁磚脫落砸中車輛 所有住戶協議共同賠償

A few days ago, tiles fell off from a building and hit a taxi while it was driving in New Taipei City's Xizhi. In the end, all the building's residents agreed to pay compensation together. But whose responsibility was it? The public works department said households from the entire building are actually responsible for the maintenance and management of its walls.

The taxi suddenly braked and stopped directly in the middle of the road. The driver quickly got out of the car and went around the car to check; then, the police came.

The rear windshield was shattered into pieces, and the car's body panel was also damaged. It turned out that the tiles on the outer wall of the nearby apartment fell and hit the passing taxi.

Taxi Driver: “I was going to confirm a pickup. Just when I pressed to confirm, the outrageous tile hit.”

“See, the tiles on this side are still on the building. Only the tiles from this side came off. ”The accident happened in New Taipei City's Xizhi District. Tiles obviously fell off from the wall on the side of the building's top floor. The taxi driver posted a note on the apartment's door saying if the owners don't take care of the damages, a legal notice will be sent. Fixing the car cost tens of thousands of NT dollars. In the end, the entire building reached a consensus to share the cost.

Building Resident: “Actually, the taxi driver was very kind. He's bound to be angry. It's okay. Everyone agreed to share the cost. Each household will pay around NT$3,000 to take care of this accident.”

This dispute was finally resolved by the residents together. However, who was responsible for the falling tiles on the outer wall of the apartment building? Who is responsible for repairs and maintenance?

Hsu Ya-hui, Director, Head, Building Permit and Inspection Sec., Public Works Dept., New Taipei: “Owners are responsible for the proportion of the fair share. The falling tiles caused a public safety incident. And if an injury results from this, we can issue a fine of NT$60,000 to NT$300,000 in accordance with the Building Act.”

According to regulations on the management of apartment buildings, the public works department stated that the walls are a common area and handled by the building's management committee. However, for old apartments without a management committee, the owners have the obligation to maintain them under joint management. In the event of a death or injury from an accident, not only will they be punished, but everyone will also face criminal-related responsibilities.

計程車突然煞車，直接停在路中央，駕駛趕緊下車，繞到車後檢查；緊接著，警察也來了。

後擋風玻璃，碎成一團，車殼板金也有受損，原來附近公寓，外牆磁磚掉落，剛好砸中路過的計程車。

計程車司機：「我要接案子，剛按下去而已，恭喜接派，那時候碰就下來了，壓到超離譜。」

「這邊你看沒掉了 掉這片而已。」磁磚掉落意外，發生在新北市汐止的連興路上，重回事發地點，頂樓側邊的牆面，明顯有斑駁脫落痕跡，計程車駕駛還在公寓門口，張貼公告指出，如果住戶無心處理，就要寄出存證信函，因為車子前後維修，花了上萬元，最後，整棟住戶達成共識，要共同分攤。

其他樓層住戶：「其實那個司機也很好意，他難免會生氣，沒有什麼事啦，大家都說好了，我們一個人要出3千多塊，花錢消災。」

這起爭議，最終由住戶共同化解，只是，公寓大廈外牆磁磚掉落，到底是誰的責任？誰又該負責修繕與維護？

新北市工務局使用管理科長許雅惠表示：「區分所有權人都要共同去負責他應有部分的比例，因為磁磚掉落引起公共安全，那造成人員一個受傷情形的話，這部分按照建築法，我們是可以處6到30萬這樣的一個罰款。」

依《公寓大廈管理條例》，工務局表示，牆面屬於共有部分，由管委會負責處理，但沒有管委會體制的老舊公寓，區分所有權人都有維護義務，也就是整棟住戶，平時必須共同管理，一旦發生死傷意外，不只被開罰，所有人也都將面臨刑事相關責任。