Going up

For example, according to the policy, a proposal for installing an elevator needs to be agreed on by 90 percent of the residents who live in the building and two-thirds of the residents in the same neighborhood. If the other 10 percent of residents are against the proposal, it will be vetoed.

Such a consensus can be hard to get.

Many ground floor residents do not agree with adding an elevator as it might block sunlight and ventilation, and create noise.

Some are also concerned about their housing prices, said Shi Jiankang, deputy president of the Kunming Elevator Association.

"Before adding elevators, the first- and second-floor apartments are more expensive than the fifth and sixth floor, as residents do not need to climb up stairs. But after the construction, the housing price situation will be reversed," said Shi.

Cost sharing is another major issue open to disputes, Shi added.

According to the current policy, the government provides no more than 240,000 yuan for installing each elevator, which means the rest of the cost - around 260,000 to 460,000 yuan - should be covered by residents themselves.

It took the Nujiang Yuan building a year and almost 30 meetings attended by officials in the city and representative residents in the neighborhood to strike a consensus among all the 12 households living in the building.

They agreed that residents living on the higher floors paid more than those living on the lower ones and residents on the first floor needn't pay at all.

Such an agreement, however, has become a reference for future projects to follow.

Apart from interpersonal and economic obstacles, low government efficiency has also caused trouble.