This is pretty common in Hungary. One old homeowner doesn’t want to pay the reconstruction fees, because they either won’t live for so long, or doesn’t think it would help and/or a good idea. One such case ended up in having to call the cops on an old man after he got so angry at the others for wanting to replace his beloved gas convectors with central heating instead, that he attacked the others and screamed constantly while being pinned down until the cops arrived. Others just really surprised why this is needed as “Viktor Orbán is getting cheap gas for us” (only in propaganda, but since Orbán’s best friends own 80-90% of the media, none of them hear about it).
In my building, some apartments just couldn’t afford to do this. At the time, I was able to chip in, but lately I’ve been pretty broke so I wouldn’t be able to afford it right now.
FYI, this is not just painted, this is paint over insulation for the apartment. Should keep things warmer in winter and colder in summer.
