Legal information

Article introduction: Do unlicensed houses really “deserve” to be demolished as “illegal construction”?

1. Case

The Yingting Demolition Team found many such cases where the houses of the people being demolished did not have certificates, but the administrative agencies failed to demolish the houses in accordance with legal procedures, which was completely inconsistent with the provisions of the Urban and Rural Planning Law, Land Management Law and Administrative Enforcement Law for demolishing illegal constructions. For example, there is a case where Jia built a house on rural collective land in the late 1980s, and the demolition party demolished the house in accordance with the 2008 Urban and Rural Planning Law. This is obviously an error in the application of law and violates the principle of "non-retroactivity of law".

2. These unlicensed houses are not illegal construction

1. Old houses built before the 1980s

There are currently a large number of houses built in the 1980s or even earlier. When these houses were built, laws such as the Urban Planning Law (implemented in 1990) and the Urban and Rural Planning Law (implemented on January 1, 2008) may not have been implemented, so they were not illegal construction at the time.

2. Building houses in rural areas

There are no clear legal provisions on the application and approval procedures for rural villagers to build housing on their homesteads. In some rural areas, villagers can build their own houses as long as they obtain a homestead use right certificate and obtain the approval of the village committee leaders.

3. The administrative department failed to perform its duties

Due to changes in relevant government departments and other reasons, the real estate certificate of the house was not obtained in time.

3. Is the fate of illegal buildings only to be demolished?

1. 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.

2. The Yingting demolition team learned that there are many reasons for the occurrence of 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, as well as fines and reissue procedures. Moreover, confiscation and demolition within a time limit are limited to serious violations of urban planning.

Yingting reminds you:

(1) If your house is identified as an illegal construction, please first find out whether your house is an illegal construction. After encountering forced demolition, or within 60 days of receiving specific administrative actions such as expropriation decisions and expropriation compensation decisions, administrative reconsideration is filed, and administrative litigation is filed within 6 months. Don’t miss the statute of limitations through petitions, reports, etc.

(2) For legal houses that have been forcibly demolished, the statute of limitations is 6 months. After being identified as an illegal building, if you are dissatisfied with the decision to order demolition within a time limit, you must file a lawsuit with the People's Court within 15 days from the date of receipt of the demolition decision.

(3) Before the demolition of illegal construction is carried out, a final announcement still needs to be made. If the person being demolished files an administrative review or administrative lawsuit, the house involved in the case cannot be forcibly demolished before the judicial review is completed.

(4) If you have any questions, please consult a professional land acquisition and demolition lawyer for professional legal advice. Whether it involves illegal construction or land acquisition and demolition, it is best not to demolish the house involved yourself. If you dismantle it yourself, it will be difficult to get compensation later.