Parking Space Occupied for Eight Days: Is Welding Steel Pipes Around the Car Lawful?

The short answer

• Where your registered parking space is occupied, you can demand that the car be moved, seek removal of the obstruction and claim compensation for the loss suffered during the occupation, under Article 235, Article 236 and Article 1165 of the Civil Code of the PRC.
• Blocking the car, locking it or welding steel pipes around it is “self-help”. The thresholds are: a right is being infringed, the situation is urgent, there is no time to seek protection from a state organ, the means do not exceed what is necessary, and the state organ is asked to deal with the matter immediately afterwards. Fail any one of them and the person protecting a right becomes the infringer (Article 1177).
• In the Changsha “eight days squatting in someone else’s space” dispute, the owner fenced the car in for eight days and added concrete posts and U-shaped pipes; in law this already goes beyond what is necessary — it is only that the other side did not counterclaim.
• Keying, smashing or throwing paint over a car is destroying property: loss of RMB 5,000 or more may constitute the crime of intentionally destroying property, and below RMB 5,000 there is still detention and a fine (Article 59 of the Public Security Administration Punishments Law).
• Calling the police works, but do not count on the traffic police to tow the car: an underground garage in a residential compound is generally not a “road” under the Road Traffic Safety Law, so the traffic police can only notify the owner to move it. The most reliable route is to preserve the evidence and sue for the occupation fee — the filing fee for a claim under RMB 10,000 is RMB 50, halved under the summary procedure.

1. When your space is occupied, what right is infringed

A registered parking space is a separate unit of exclusive ownership on the real property register and is a property right. When another person’s car occupies it, that is “possession without right”. Article 235 of the Civil Code of the PRC (text): where immovable or movable property is possessed without right, the right holder may request the return of the property. Article 236 (text): where a property right is obstructed, or may be obstructed, the right holder may request removal of the obstruction or elimination of the danger.

Where a rented space or a co-owned space is occupied over a long period, the basis of the right is the lease contract and the protection of possession: Article 462 (text, excerpt) provides that where possessed immovable or movable property is encroached upon, the possessor has the right to request the return of the property, and may claim compensation for loss caused by the encroachment. A tenant can assert this in the same way.

Loss during the occupation is calculated under Article 1184 (text): where another person’s property is infringed, the property loss is calculated according to the market price at the time the loss occurred or by another reasonable method — in practice by reference to the monthly rent or the short-term parking rate in the same residential compound.

2. The four thresholds for self-help

Article 1177 of the Civil Code (text, excerpt): where a lawful right or interest is infringed, the situation is urgent and protection from a state organ cannot be obtained in time, and failure to take immediate measures would cause the lawful right or interest to suffer harm that is difficult to remedy, the victim may take reasonable measures such as retaining the infringer’s property within the scope necessary to protect his own lawful right or interest; but he shall immediately request the relevant state organ to deal with the matter. Paragraph 2: where the measures taken by the victim are improper and cause harm to another person, the victim shall bear tort liability.

• The right is being infringed: the space is yours, so this threshold is met.
• The situation is urgent: you can park somewhere else and claim afterwards, so it is hard to say that failing to seize the car at once would cause harm that is difficult to remedy. This is the hardest threshold to pass.
• No time to obtain protection from a state organ: calling the police and suing really are slow, but the law asks whether protection can be obtained, not whether it is quick.
• The means stay within what is necessary: blocking the car for one night and leaving a note asking the owner to move it comes close to reasonable; installing posts and welding U-shaped pipes to seal the car in for eight days has become a continuing seizure of another person’s vehicle.

My summary: the first three barely hold; the fourth clearly goes too far. Once you cross the line, the initiative passes to the other side — they can rely on paragraph 2 and counterclaim for taxi fares, car rental and lost earnings; and if during those eight days the car is keyed, flooded or caught in a fire, liability may also fall on the person who fenced it in.

Why is calling the police often only “coordination”? Article 119(1) of the Road Traffic Safety Law (text): “road” means highways, urban roads and places which, although within the jurisdiction of a unit, allow social motor vehicles to pass. An underground garage in a residential compound is usually open only to the vehicles of that compound and generally does not fall within this definition, so the traffic police have neither the power to punish illegal parking nor any basis for towing; the 12123 move-your-car text message is a convenience service, not a penalty. The Public Security Administration Punishments Law contains no item for “occupying another person’s parking space”; a bare occupation is a civil dispute, and the police can only mediate, persuade and make a record. But the police record is itself evidence: it fixes when you found the car, when you asserted your right and when the other side refused. Once there is shoving, a smashed car or a blocked fire lane, the nature of the matter changes.

3. The cost of keying, smashing or painting a car

Article 275 of the Criminal Law of the PRC (text): whoever intentionally destroys public or private property, where the amount is relatively large or there are other serious circumstances, is to be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than three years, criminal detention or a fine; where the amount is huge or there are other especially serious circumstances, to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than three years and not more than seven years.

“Relatively large amount” follows Article 33 of the Provisions (I) of the Supreme People’s Procuratorate and the Ministry of Public Security on the Threshold Standards for Filing and Prosecuting Criminal Cases under the Jurisdiction of Public Security Organs: causing loss to public or private property of RMB 5,000 or more; destroying property three times or more; assembling three or more persons to destroy property openly; other serious circumstances.

But the number of times is not the only test. Supreme People’s Court Case Database, database entry no. 2026-05-1-230-001: several swimming coaches destroyed a competitor’s advertising banners six times, RMB 1,699 in total; convicted at first instance, acquitted on appeal. The holding is that although the number of instances exceeded three, the loss was clearly below RMB 5,000, the degree of social harm did not reach the threshold, and the number of times cannot be the sole criterion.

Falling short of criminal liability does not mean nothing happens. Article 59 of the Public Security Administration Punishments Law (text): whoever intentionally damages public or private property is to be detained for not more than five days or fined not more than RMB 1,000; where the circumstances are relatively serious, detained for not less than five days and not more than ten days, and may also be fined not more than RMB 3,000. The repair bill still has to be paid. Garages are thick with cameras, and keying a car or letting down a tyre is the easiest thing to be filmed doing.

4. The three steps that actually work

First, preserve the evidence. Film as soon as you arrive; the footage should carry the time, the space number, the other car’s plate and the fact of occupation. Keep the ownership certificate or the lease, the property manager’s vehicle registration record, the time and what was said at each approach, the police receipts, and the receipts for the alternative space you were forced to pay for.

Second, bring the property manager in. Article 942 of the Civil Code (text, excerpt): the property service provider shall ... maintain the basic order within the property service area and take reasonable measures to protect the personal and property safety of the owners; for conduct in the area that violates laws and regulations on public security, environmental protection, fire safety and the like, it shall promptly take reasonable measures to stop it, report to the competent administrative department and assist in dealing with it. In the Changsha dispute the occupying car was recorded in the system as a temporary vehicle and the telephone number left was a dead line; the property manager’s lax verification can serve as the basis for saying that it did not perform its duties.

Third, sue. The cause of action is a dispute over removal of the obstruction or a dispute over protection of property rights, with three claims: that the vehicle be moved immediately and the occupation stopped; that an occupation fee be paid at the monthly rent or the short-term parking rate of the same compound; and that the other side bear the litigation costs. Article 13(1)(1) of the Measures for Payment of Litigation Costs provides that for a property case not exceeding RMB 10,000, RMB 50 is paid per case; Article 16 provides that where the summary procedure applies, the fee is halved. A few dozen yuan is enough to file, and where the amount is small and the facts are clear the small-claims procedure is available, with no appeal from the first-instance judgment. If the car is still not moved after judgment, apply for enforcement: the court clears it on the other side’s behalf, and the cost is borne by them.

5. In the Changsha dispute, who is on solid ground

According to the notice issued by the Changsha joint investigation team on 11 July 2026: on the evening of 30 June, Peng parked the car in the registered parking space of the owner Min, the telephone number recorded in the system was wrong and the property manager could not reach her; in the early hours of 1 July Min blocked the other car with his own, and over the following days Peng said several times that he was away on business while in fact she was at her workplace or at home; on 2 and 3 July Min installed concrete posts and U-shaped pipes on the space. After six mediation sessions the two sides settled on 10 July, and Peng apologised in person and in writing and paid compensation; on 11 July the Changsha Municipal Sports Bureau suspended Peng from duty, and the discipline inspection and supervision organs verified the matters concerning her.

On Peng’s side, leaving the wrong number, falsely claiming to be away on business and refusing to move the car constituted an infringement of the property right in the space in civil law, and an apology, removal of the car and payment of the occupation fee were all unavoidable; the suspension and the discipline inspection verification belong to the cadre-management track and are a separate line from the civil one. On Min’s side, demanding that the car be moved and demanding an apology are entirely sound; but installing posts and welding U-shaped pipes to fence the car in for eight days went beyond the necessary scope of self-help and carries legal risk — it is only because the other side was in the wrong first and did not counterclaim that the affair did not turn into a second case.

So in this dispute there was no side that “won completely”: one lost face and was suspended from duty, the other fenced a car in for eight days and placed himself at the edge of the law.

6. Action checklist

• First confirm your documents of title: the ownership certificate, the sale contract or the lease, photographed and stored.
• On arrival, collect evidence before you negotiate; do not lay hands on anything first.
• Demand in writing that the car be moved: a text message, WeChat or the property group chat all count; state the deadline and “otherwise I will sue and claim the occupation fee”.
• Call the police, involve the property manager, involve the community — leave a record at every step.
• Do not lock the car, do not weld it shut, do not key it: you can hold on to the facts, but as far as possible do not hold on to the car.
• If negotiation fails, sue directly; a filing fee of a few dozen yuan is less trouble than eight days of fencing a car in.

Two closing reminders

The provisions quoted here are taken from the Civil Code, the Criminal Law, the Public Security Administration Punishments Law (as amended in 2025), the Road Traffic Safety Law and the Measures for Payment of Litigation Costs as currently in force; the facts of the Changsha incident rest on the notice of the joint investigation team of 11 July 2026, and details beyond that notice come from media reports and have not been officially confirmed. The outcome of an individual case depends on the evidence and on the practice of the local court.

If you are facing a dispute over a parking space, over property management or over neighbouring relations, you are welcome to contact Wang Xin: telephone 186-0113-9509, WeChat wang223040.

This is an English edition of Wang Xin’s original Chinese article, 车位被占八天，业主焊钢管围车：解气，但合法吗？. It explains the law of the People’s Republic of China in general terms and is not legal advice for any particular case; outcomes depend on the specific facts and on how local authorities apply the rules.