Legal information

During the process of rural collective land acquisition, if farmers refuse to hand over their land and houses or sign a compensation agreement, the entrusted expropriation department or execution unit will usually force them to relocate. When houses are demolished and land is occupied, farmers want to defend their rights, but they don't know who to sue. Therefore, during the expropriation process, who has the right to demolish farmers’ legal houses? So who is the qualified defendant?

1. Who has the right to forcibly demolish farmers’ legal houses?

The relevant provisions of the "Regulations on the Implementation of the Land Management Law of the People's Republic of China" stipulate that those who violate land management laws and regulations and hinder the state's requisition of land shall be ordered by the land administration department of the people's government at or above the county level to hand over the land. Those who refuse to hand over the land shall apply to the People's Court for compulsory execution.

The lawyer believes that if the local city or county people's government has no special provisions on the subject of compensation and resettlement, the administrative power to demolish legal buildings within the scope of expropriation should belong to the land management department.

During the collective land expropriation process, if the expropriated person refuses to hand over the land or house or fails to sign a compensation and resettlement agreement, the land administration department of the people's government at or above the county level shall order him to hand over the land decision letter. After receiving the decision, if the expropriated person does not apply for administrative reconsideration or administrative litigation within the statutory period, and refuses to hand over the land, the land management department will apply to the People's Court for compulsory execution. With the consent of the court, the land management department will organize personnel to implement forced demolition. According to the above relevant legal provisions, we can know that the land administration departments of the people's governments at or above the county level have the right to demolish farmers' legal houses during the process of expropriating collective land.

2. Who should I sue after my legal house is demolished?

During the land acquisition process, the land administration department will make a written expropriation decision on the demolished persons who refuse to hand over their land, houses or sign an agreement, and will demolish them within a time limit or order them to hand over the land decision letter and other relevant documents.

However, in most of the cases handled by lawyers, due to the weak legal awareness of the expropriation department, farmers were forced to demolish their legal houses without receiving any relevant government documents. Therefore, there is no way to determine who is responsible for the forced demolition through the signature of the administrative action.

Lawyers believe that in administrative cases arising from the forced demolition of legal houses during the land acquisition process approved in accordance with the law, it should be assumed that the land administration department is a qualified defendant. Unless there is contrary evidence sufficient to overturn the above decision.

3. How long is the time limit for prosecution?

The relevant provisions of the Administrative Litigation Law stipulate that if a citizen, legal person or other organization directly files a lawsuit with the People's Court, it shall do so within six months from the date it knows or should know that the administrative action has been taken. Except as otherwise provided by law. Paragraph 1 of Article 64 of the "Interpretation of the Supreme People's Court on the Application of the Administrative Procedure Law of the People's Republic of China": "If an administrative agency fails to inform citizens, legal persons or other organizations of the time limit for prosecution when taking administrative actions, the time limit for prosecution shall be calculated from the date when the citizens, legal persons or other organizations know or should know the time limit for prosecution, but the maximum period from the date when the citizens, legal persons or other organizations know or should know the content of the administrative action shall not exceed one year."

The above is about the forced demolition of legal buildings in rural areas. If it is an illegal building, the urban and rural planning department may decide to suspend the construction within a time limit or demolish it. If the parties concerned have not stopped the construction or failed to dismantle it within the prescribed time limit, the local people's government at or above the county level where the construction project is located may order the relevant departments to take measures such as blocking or forced dismantling.