Land Administration Law of the People's Republic of China (Amended in 2004)
Land Administration Law of the People's Republic of China (Amended in 2004)
Land Administration Law of the People's Republic of China (Amended in 2004)
Order of the President No.28
August 28, 2004
(Adopted at the 16th Session of the Standing Committee of the Sixth National People's Congress on June 25, 1986, amended for the first time according to the Decision on Revising the Land Administration Law of the People's Republic of China made at the 5th Session of the Standing Committee of the Seventh National People's Congress on December 29, 1988, revised at the 4th Session of the Standing Committee of the Ninth National People's Congress on August 29, 1998, and amended for the second time according to the Decision on Amending the Land Administration Law of the People's Republic of China made at the 11th Session of the Standing Committee of the Tenth National People's Congress on August 28, 2004)
Contents
Chapter I General Provisions
Chapter II Ownership and Use Rights of Land
Chapter III Overall Land Utilization Plan
Chapter IV Protection of Cultivated Land
Chapter V Construction Land
Chapter VI Supervision and Inspection
Chapter VII Legal Liability
Chapter VIII Supplementary Provisions
Chapter I General Provisions
Article 1 This Law is enacted according to the Constitution for the purposes of strengthening the administration of land, safeguarding the socialist public ownership of land, protecting and developing land resources, ensuring the rational use of land, effectively protecting cultivated land and promoting the sustainable development of the society and the economy.
Article 2 The land of the People's Republic of China is subject to the socialist public ownership, namely, ownership by the whole people or collective ownership of the working masses.
Ownership by the whole people means that the State Council exercises the ownership of state-owned land on behalf of the State.
No entity or individual is allowed to seize, trade, or otherwise illegally transfer land. Land use rights may be legally transferred.
The State may, for public interest, lawfully expropriate or requisition land and make appropriate compensation.
The State legally adopts the system of compensation for the use of land owned by the State, except where the State allocates the right to use state-owned land within the bounds of the law.
(Relevant articles: Cases 1 Articles 2 Legislation 1)
Article 3 Highly valuing and making rational use of land and effectively protecting cultivated land are the basic national policies of China. The people's governments at all levels shall take measures to prepare an overall plan for the use of land, to carry out strict administration of land, to protect and develop land resources, and to stop any illegal land seizures.
Article 4 The State adopts the land-use regulation system.
The State shall prepare an overall land utilization plan to specify land use, classifying land into agricultural land, construction land, or unused land. The State shall strictly restrict the transformation of agricultural land into construction land, control the total amount of construction land, and implement special protection over cultivated land.
for the purposes of the preceding paragraph, "agricultural land" refers to land directly used for agricultural production, including cultivated land, forest land, grassland, land used for irrigation, and bodies of water used for breeding purposes; "construction land" refers to land on which buildings or other structures are built, including land for urban and rural housing and for the public facilities thereof, land for industrial and mining use, land for the construction of transportation and irrigation facilities, land used for tourism, and land for the construction of military installations; and "unused land" refers to any land other than land used for agriculture or construction.
Any entity or individual must use land in strict accordance with the purposes of land use as specified in the overall land utilization plan.
Article 5 The competent land administrative department of the State Council is responsible for the administration and supervision of land nationwide.
The establishment and responsibilities of the competent land administrative departments of the local people's governments at or above the county level shall be determined by the people's governments of the relevant provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government according to the relevant regulations of the State Council.
Article 6 Any entity or individual is obliged to abide by the laws and regulations concerning land administration and have the right to make report or accusation against the acts violating the laws and regulations concerning land administration.
Article 7 People's governments shall reward entities or individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the protection or development of land resources, the rational utilization of land, or relevant scientific research, etc.
Chapter II Ownership and Use Rights of Land
Article 8 Land in urban areas is owned by the State.
Land in rural and suburban areas, except those of which the ownership belongs to the State according to the law, is collectively owned by peasants; and homestead and private plots in fields or on hillsides are collectively owned by peasants.
Article 9 Land owned by the State and land collectively owned by peasants may be lawfully determined to be used by entities or individuals. Entities or individuals using such land are obligated to protect, manage, and rationally utilize the land.
(Relevant articles: Legislation 1 Cases 1)
Article 10 Where land collectively owned by peasants is collectively owned by the village peasants according to law, the land is operated and managed by a village collective economic organization or the village committee; where the land is collectively owned by the peasants of two or more rural collective economic organizations within the same village respectively, such land is operated and managed by all the rural collective economic organizations or by village groups; where the land is owned by a township (town) peasants' collective, such land is operated and managed by the township (town) rural collective economic organization.
Article 11 People's governments at the county level shall catalogue land collectively owned by peasants, issuing certificates to confirm the ownership of such land.
People's governments at the county level shall catalogue land collectively owned by peasants which is used for non-agricultural construction in accordance with law, issuing certificates to confirm the right to use the land for construction.
People's governments at the country level shall catalogue state-owned land used legally by entities or individuals, issuing certificates to confirm the right to use such land. The specific organs in charge of the registration and certificate issuing of state-owned land used by central State organs shall be determined by the State Council.
The ownership or use rights for forest land or grassland or the use rights for bodies of water or wetlands used for breeding purposes shall be confirmed according to relevant provisions of the Forestry Law of the People's Republic of China, the Grassland Law of the People's Republic of China, and the Fisheries Law of the People's Republic of China.
Article 12 Land change registration procedures must be carried out for all lawful changes of the ownership or use of land.
Article 13 Ownership and use rights of land which are lawfully registered shall be protected by law; no entity or individual may infringe thereupon.
Article 14 Land collectively owned by peasants are to be contracted and operated by the members of the collective economic organization for engaging in the production of crop farming, forestry, animal husbandry, or fishery, with the land contract and management term of no more than thirty years. The contracting parties shall conclude a contract that defines both parties' rights and obligations. Peasants who contract and operate land are obliged to protect and make rational use of the land pursuant to the purposes as stipulated in the contract. The land contract and management rights of peasants are protected by law.
Within the land contract and management term, changes to the land contracted by individuals shall be passed by a two-thirds majority vote of the village congress or approved by two-thirds of the village representatives, and then be submitted to the agriculture administrative departments of the relevant township (town) people's government and the relevant people's government at the county level for approval.
Article 15 State-owned lands may be contracted and managed by entities or individuals for engaging in the production of crop farming, forestry, animal husbandry, or fishery. Land collectively owned by peasants may be contracted and managed by entities or individuals not belonging to the corresponding farming, forestry, animal husbandry, or fishery collectives. The parties shall sign a written land use contract that defines each other's rights and obligations. The land contract and management term is to be stipulated in the contract. Any entity or individual that contracts and manages land are obliged to protect and make rational use of the land pursuant to the purposes as stipulated in the contract.
Where land collectively owned by peasants is contracted and managed by an entity or individual other than the collective economic organization, such contracting and management shall be subject to the approval of a two-thirds majority vote of the village congress or of two-thirds of the village representatives, and shall be reported to the township (town) people's government for approval.
Article 16 Disputes over the ownership or use rights of land shall be settled by the concerned parties through consultation, and if consultation fails, shall be handled by the relevant people's government.
Disputes between entities shall be handled by a people's government at or above the county level; disputes between individuals or between individuals and entities shall be handled by a people's government at the township level or at or above the county level.
Where a party is dissatisfied with the decision of the corresponding people's government, a suit may be filed with the people's court within thirty days of receipt of the notice on the decision.
No party may change the status quo with regards to piece of land before the settlement of any dispute over the ownership of or the right to use the land.
Chapter III Overall Land Utilization Plan
Article 17 People's governments at all levels shall organize the preparation of overall land utilization plans in accordance with their national economy and social development planning, the requirements for territorial management and protection of resources and environment, the supply of land, and the land needs of various construction projects.
The planning term of an overall land utilization plan shall be specified by the State Council.
Article 18 An overall land utilization plan of lower level shall be prepared based on the overall land utilization plan at the next higher level.
The total amount of land for construction in the overall land utilization plan prepared by the local people's government at each level shall not exceed the control target specified in the overall land utilization plan at the next higher level, and the total amount of cultivated land shall not be lower than the control target specified in the overall land utilization plans at the next higher level.
When drafting an overall land utilization plan, the people's government of a province, autonomous region, or municipality directly under the Central Government shall ensure that the total amount of cultivated land within its administrative area is not reduced.
Article 19 An overall land utilization plan shall be prepared according to the following principles:
1.
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