Legal information

Introduction to the article: Zhou built a house in a cherry orchard to manage the garden, but the village committee demolished the house on the grounds of illegal construction. After the house was demolished, some time later, Zhou learned that the land was going to be expropriated. Can he get compensation?

Part One: Case Story

In June 2008, Zhou contracted a piece of land in the village to plant cherry trees. In order to facilitate the management of the garden, he built a house on the land to live in. He lived in peace for ten years. Two days ago, he was informed by the village committee that his self-built house was illegal and would be demolished. But Zhou invested all his money here. If the house is demolished, where will he live? The village committee said that they did not care about this matter and asked Zhou to find a way on his own. They suggested renting a house outside. The Yingting demolition team learned that people from the village committee warned Zhou to demolish the house within three days to avoid the forced demolition of the house from affecting the cherry orchard. Zhou was very hesitant. The dozens of acres of garden needed to be guarded. What if no one was watching and the cherries and field facilities were stolen? However, Zhou heard that several cherry growers in neighboring villages had reached an agreement and had received compensation. Why would the planning results be different if they rented land to grow cherries in the same town? Are you going to cut off water and electricity, and forcibly demolish the house? A few days later, some people came and forcibly demolished his self-built house. They also demolished Zhou's cherry orchard facilities and knocked down the cherry trees. The village committee did not mention compensation. A month later, Zhou heard that his land was going to be expropriated for road construction. He wanted to know if he could be compensated?

Part 2: When illegal construction encounters land acquisition and demolition, can there be compensation?

1. Does an unlicensed house necessarily equal an illegal construction?

No! Undocumented houses do not mean illegal construction, such as houses built on one's own homestead, such as houses built before January 1, 2008, or houses whose real estate certificates were not obtained in time due to changes in relevant government departments and other reasons. There are many reasons for being unlicensed, so unlicensed housing does not mean illegal construction.

2. Do illegal buildings have to be demolished?

No! Buildings constructed without obtaining a construction project planning permit, or in violation of the relevant content approved by the construction project planning permit, are considered illegal constructions. According to Ying Ting’s past experience in handling cases, it was found that there are many reasons for illegal buildings, some are due to the parties involved, and some are due to government agencies. The legal consequences for illegal buildings are not unique. There are confiscation and demolition within a time limit, and there are also fines and reissue procedures, and confiscation and demolition within a time limit are limited to serious violations of urban planning. It can be seen that illegal buildings do not necessarily have to be demolished.

3. What are illegal buildings?

Ying Ting believes that according to the provisions of the Urban and Rural Planning Law, illegal buildings include: (1) Buildings built without application or application approval, and without obtaining a construction land planning permit and a construction project planning permit. (2) Buildings built by changing the provisions of the construction project planning permit without authorization. (3) Buildings built with unauthorized changes in use. (4) Buildings that have not been demolished to become permanent buildings after the construction of temporary buildings have exceeded their validity period.

4. Which illegal buildings can be compensated?

(1) Investment promotion enterprises with incomplete procedures

For investment promotion companies with incomplete procedures, in order to quickly implement the project, the government opened a green channel to handle various licensing procedures, allowing construction first and approval later. Later, due to some reasons, the relevant procedures were not completed. In this case, Ying Ting believes that as long as it does not exceed the scope of planning permission, it has a certain degree of legitimacy and complies with the principle of reliance on interests. Therefore, such investment enterprises should receive reasonable compensation during demolition.

(2) Breeding farms, planting farms and individual business houses with incomplete procedures

Some farms and plantations supported by local governments did not have complete procedures at the time. When faced with subsequent expropriation, the expropriating party would demolish them in the name of "illegal construction." However, according to the "Notice of the Bureau of Land and Resources and the Ministry of Agriculture on Issues Concerning Improving the Management of Facility Agricultural Land" issued in 2010, those who occupy agricultural land for the construction of agricultural facilities do not need to go through the approval procedures for agricultural land conversion. Therefore, if the farms and planting farms built before 2010 have not gone through the formalities for agricultural facilities, they can seek reasonable compensation.

(3) Private houses with incomplete building procedures

Due to historical reasons, the building construction procedures are incomplete and the ownership registration of the houses cannot be carried out in the normal way. my country's Urban and Rural Planning Law was implemented on January 1, 2008. Houses built after that date must obtain building approval procedures. According to the principle of non-retroactivity of the law, for houses built before 2008 and with complete land use rights, such houses cannot be easily identified as illegal construction.

Part Three: Can Zhou be compensated? In such a situation, what should the demolition households do?

1. Some plantations supported by local governments did not have complete procedures at the time. When faced with subsequent expropriation, the expropriating party will demolish them in the name of "illegal construction." According to relevant regulations, those who built agricultural facilities to occupy agricultural land before 2010 did not need to go through the approval procedures for agricultural land conversion. Zhou's cherry orchard was built in 2008. Although the agricultural facilities procedures have not been completed, he can seek reasonable compensation. Compensation includes compensation for young cherry trees, cherry fruit compensation, cherry orchard ancillary buildings or proposed sheds (not used for residence, only buildings related to cherry orchard management), cherry orchard ancillary equipment (pools, water towers, etc.).

2. my country’s Urban and Rural Planning Law was implemented on January 1, 2008. Houses built after that date must obtain building approval procedures. Zhou's house was built in June 2008. And it is illegal to build owner-occupied houses on agricultural land. Therefore, this house is an illegal building. Under the law, no compensation should be awarded.

3. Ying Ting suggested that whether it involves illegal construction or land acquisition and demolition, it is best not to demolish the house involved by yourself. If you dismantle it yourself, it will be difficult to get compensation later. Because you can’t find a reason to ask for compensation, it’s also difficult to determine who to sue in court. If your house has been forcibly demolished, you can take relevant photos and videos before, at, and after the demolition as evidence of the demolition and as the basic basis for proposing compensation conditions. It is also easy to identify the subject who carried out the forced demolition, know who to sue, and find out who should bear the responsibility for the forced demolition.

4. This case involves forced demolition. According to the relevant laws and regulations of our country, even forced demolition must be carried out in accordance with legal procedures and the court shall organize the implementation of forced demolition in accordance with the law. It is illegal for the village committee to demolish the property without legal procedures. Zhou can file an administrative compensation lawsuit to claim compensation for losses.

Yingting reminds you:

1. If your house is identified as an illegal construction, please first find out whether your house is an illegal construction. If you have any questions, please consult a professional land acquisition and demolition lawyer for professional legal advice.

2. Because illegal construction refers to houses and facilities constructed outside the planning area without obtaining the planning permit for the proposed project (original site, site selection and construction opinions), and in violation of the provisions of the Land Management Law, the Urban and Rural Planning Law, the Regulations on the Planning and Construction Management of Villages and Towns and other relevant laws and regulations. Due to historical reasons, there may be some houses suspected of illegal construction. Whether it needs to be demolished and whether compensation can be given after demolition should be treated differently according to different situations. In practice, illegal buildings may not necessarily be demolished, but may also be converted into legal buildings and remain there permanently. There are many reasons for illegal construction, including the parties involved and the administrative agencies. The legal consequences for illegal buildings are not the only ones. There are confiscation and demolition within a time limit, as well as fines and reissue procedures. Moreover, confiscation and demolition within a time limit are limited to serious violations of urban planning.

3. If you encounter illegal demolition, you must file an administrative lawsuit within 6 months from the date you learned about the demolition. Because according to the relevant laws of our country, when encountering land acquisition and demolition, the expropriated and demolished persons can file an administrative review within 60 days of receiving the expropriation decision, expropriation compensation decision and other specific administrative actions, and file an administrative lawsuit within 6 months. If your house is forcibly demolished, you must file a lawsuit to defend your rights within 6 months of knowing the date of demolition. Some relocated households will petition, but petitioning is not a legal channel, and no matter how long the petition lasts, it does not constitute a reason to interrupt the time limit for prosecution. Many people who were demolished were delayed in filing petitions and missed the statute of limitations. Even if they sued, the court would not accept it. Even if you find a lawyer, there is nothing you can do to help you! In practice, no matter how you report the situation to your superiors, report it to local staff, or visit everywhere, you can't actually solve the problem. What you only waste is your precious time to protect your rights and interests! If you cannot reach an agreement with the expropriation and demolition party, please contact a professional expropriation and demolition lawyer as soon as possible to find a solution.