Regulations of Tianjin Municipality on Land Administration

Chapter VI Land for Urban Construction

Article 46 Urban construction must economize on land use. It is prohibited to seize wetland and the use of water surface shall be strictly controlled. Where wasteland can be used, farmland may not be used; where other farmland can be utilized, basic farmland may not be used.

The supply of land for construction shall be determined in the light of different trades and scales of business and in accordance with the quota of land use as stipulated by the State and the Municipality and the area of land use shall be brought under strict control.

Article 47 Before examination and approval, verification, or keeping records of a construction project, the unit undertaking the project shall lodge a pre-examination application for the land for the construction project to the competent administrative department of land. The competent administrative department of land shall examine the application according to relevant provisions of the State and, in the case of meeting the requirements of land use, issue a pre-examination report on the land for the construction project; and, in the case of failure to meet the requirements of land use, inform in writing the applicant thereof.

Article 48 Where a construction project occupies the land of agricultural purposes or the collective-owned land, the district or county competent administrative department of land in the locality of the project shall organize for land survey and demarcation, draw up the programme of transference of the land used for agriculture to other purposes, the farmland replenishment programme, the land requisitioning programme, and the land supply programme and, after assemblage and examination by the Municipal competent administrative department of land, report them to the Municipal People’s Government for approval or submit them to the State Council for approval after examination and approval of the Municipal People’s Government.

Article 49 Where the state-owned land used for a construction project within the city development control area is sold in the form of bidding, auction, or nominal quotation, the Municipal competent administrative department of land in collaboration with other relevant departments shall work out the sale programme in the light of the land supply plan. After the sale programme is submitted to the Municipal People’s Government for approval, the Municipal competent administrative department of land shall organize for its implementation, sign a sale contract on the state-owned land usufruct with the assignee, and issue the letter of approval on the land for construction.

Article 50 Where the state-owned land used for a construction project within the city development control area is sold in the form of agreement or is supplied through the form of allotment, the Municipal competent administrative department of land shall work out a programme and organize for its implementation after approval of the Municipal People’s Government. Where the land is sold in the form of agreement, the Municipal competent administrative department of land shall sign a sale contract on the state-owned land usufruct with the land user, and issue the letter of approval on the land for construction; where the land is supplied through the form of allotment, the Municipal competent administrative department of land shall issue the letter of decision on the allotment of the state-owned land and the letter of approval on the land for construction.

Article 51 Where the land is sold in the form of bidding, auction, nominal quotation and agreement or is supplied through the form of allotment for a construction project outside of the city development control area or within the area of the city land, or village and town land for construction, the district or county competent administrative department of land shall work out the programme and, after approval of the district or county people’s government, submit it to the Municipal competent administrative department of land for the record.

The land supply for construction projects and the land supply for major construction projects involving transference of the land used for agriculture to other purposes and land requisition in the provisions of the preceding paragraph shall be handled after being reported to the Municipal People’s Government for approval.

Article 52 The compensation for land requisition shall be determined in the light of the times of the annual yield value or the comprehensive land value of the requisitioned area. The Municipal People’s Government shall stipulate the specific method in accordance with laws and regulations and the actual situation of this Municipality.

Article 53 After the land requisitioning programme is approved, the district or county competent administrative department of land together with other relevant departments shall organize for its implementation.

Land requisition shall be handled in accordance with the following procedure:

(1) The district or county competent administrative department of land shall post announcements in the township, town and village where land is to be requisitioned in conformity with relevant provisions within ten workdays as from the date of receiving the approval document of the land requisitioning programme.

(2) The rural collective economic organization, the villagers’ committee, villagers or other obligees whose land is requisitioned shall handle registration of compensation for land requisition by presenting their certificates of land ownership right at the appointed place within ten workdays as from the date of public announcement; if they fail to handle registration when the time limit is due, the investigation result of the district or county competent administrative department of land shall be taken as the standard.

(3) The district or county competent administrative department of land in collaboration with other relevant departments shall draw up the programme of land requisition compensation and resettlement, with the township, town and village as the unit within 45 workdays as from the date of announcing land requisition and post announcements in the township, town and village where land is to be requisitioned.

(4) The rural collective economic organization, the villagers’ committee, villagers or other obligees whose land is requisitioned that have different opinions or require public hearings regarding the programme of land requisition compensation and resettlement, shall put forward their opinions to the district or county competent administrative department of land within ten workdays as from the date of announcing the programme.

(5) The programme of land requisition compensation and resettlement that is reported to the district or county people’s government for examination and approval shall be attached with the opinions of the rural collective economic organization, the villagers’ committee, villagers or other obligees whose land is requisitioned; where public hearings are held, records of the hearing shall be attached.

(6) Within 30 days as from the date when the programme of land requisition compensation and resettlement is approved, the district or county competent administrative department of land shall appropriate the compensation for land requisition and resettlement allowances to the rural collective economic organization or the villagers’ committee whose land is requisitioned. The unit whose land is requisitioned should hand over the land in conformity with the prescribed time limit.

(7) The rural collective economic organization or the villagers’ committee shall pay the compensation for land requisition and resettlement allowances to the formers in accordance with the programme of land requisition compensation and resettlement within 60 days and post up the sheet of revenue and expenditure for announcement, and submit the list of distribution and disbursement of the compensation for land requisition and resettlement allowances to the relevant department of the district or county people’s government for the record.

Article 54 The Municipal competent administrative department of land shall verify the number of non-agricultural population shifted from agricultural population in accordance with the amount of the land requisitioned and with the ratio between the agricultural population of the unit whose land is requisitioned at the end of the previous half year before land requisition and the area of farmland, and the Municipal permanent household administrative department shall complete the procedure of permanent household registration in the light of relevant provisions.

Article 55 For the out-of-bounds disposal land bordering the land for the construction project, the unit using the land shall pay the compensation for the requisitioned land and the compensation for relocation. The district or county competent administrative department of land shall be responsible for management of the out-of-bounds disposal land and no unit or individual is allowed to seize it.

The unit using the out-of-bounds disposal land shall pay compensation for the original unit that has paid compensation for land requisition.

Article 56 For the newly erected, expanded and renovated buildings and structures by using the original land which involve changes of the original approved purpose and condition of using the land, the planning competent administrative department shall seek opinions from the competent administrative department of land before issuing the Permit of Construction Project Planning.

Article 57 For those whose state-owned land usufruct is recalled after approval according to the law, the competent administrative department of land shall serve the Letter of Decision Recalling the State-Owned Land Usufruct on them and make it known to the public.

The competent administrative department of land shall cancel the land registration and recall the certificate of the state-owned land usufruct after the Letter of Decision Recalling the State-Owned Land Usufruct is served.

Article 58 For those whose state-owned land usufruct is recalled according to the law, compensation shall be made according to the following provisions:

(1) For the state-owned land usufruct acquired through the form of sale, the sale fund for the land of the remaining number of years set in the contract shall be refunded and adequate compensation shall be made for the input of land development.

(2) For the state-owned land usufruct acquired through the form of allotment, adequate compensation shall be made for the cost in obtaining the land usufruct and the input of land development.

Where the recalled state-owned land is supplied through the form of a second allotment, the new land user shall pay the compensation.

Article 59 Where temporary use of the state-owned land or the collective-owned land is necessitated due to operation of construction projects and geological prospecting, the competent administrative department of land shall examine and approve it, subject to the consent of the planning competent administrative department.

Permanent buildings may not be erected on the land of temporary use. When the service term of the land of temporary use is due, the land user shall be responsible for restoring it back to farmland . Where farmland is temporarily occupied and used, conditions for plantation should be resumed within one year as from the date of expiration of the term of temporary use.

The user of the land of temporary use shall sign a contract on temporary use of land with the competent administrative department of land or with the person of the land ownership right in accordance with the land ownership right, and pay compensation for the land of temporary use and the earnest money for a second reclamation of land as agreed upon in the contract.

The term of temporary use of land shall generally not exceed two years. In special circumstances in which an extension of the term is needed, the term may be extended, subject to the approval of the original approval organ, and an extended contract on temporary use of land shall be signed and compensation for the land of temporary use shall be disbursed. In excess of the term, the competent administrative department of land or the person of the land ownership right shall take the land back unconditionally.

Article 60 Where the state-owned land used for a construction project is identified according to the law as idle, the unit using the land shall pay fees for the idle land monthly and the standard of payment shall be calculated by two percent of the land class base price of the region where the land is located. Those who fail to pay fees for the idle land on time as required shall have to pay an additional daily overdue fine of three per thousand. Where the land remains undeveloped for two consecutive years, the land usufruct of the unit using the land shall be recalled gratuitously, subject to the approval of the Municipal People’s Government. Where temporary afforestation has been effected according to regulations, fees for the idle land may be exempted.

Article 61 Before the state-owned land usufruct is acquired for the land of a construction project, the competent administrative department of land shall conduct cadastral surveys and verify the demarcation line of the land ownership right. Where the demarcation line of the land ownership right has been verified, the boundary address may be determined according to the result of the cadastral surveys.

Chapter VII Land for Village and Town Construction

Article 62 The collective-owned land used for construction of villages and towns, and villagers’ self-built houses must conform to the overall plan of land use, the urban plan and the village and town plans, and be brought in line with the annual plan of land use. Occupation and use of land for agricultural purposes or failure to make use of the land shall, after being reported to the district or county competent administrative department of land for examination and approval, be submitted to the Municipal People’s Government for approval.

Article 63 One household of villagers can only possess one homestead. Where a household has more than one homestead due to such legal reasons as inheritance of residence, and requirements for division into different households are met, homesteads can be determined separately; where requirements for division into different households cannot be met, the homestead can be determined by the standard of the land area of one household.

Article 64 The villager can apply for a homestead when one of the following requirements is satisfied:

(1) Division of the household and the building of houses are absolutely necessary, and the area of the original homestead after division into different households is smaller than the standard homestead of one household;

(2) Relocation is needed due to natural disasters or execution of the village and town plans;

(3) Returning to settle in one’s ancestral home approved by the people’s government at or above the county level, and it is necessary to build new houses as no residence is available;

(4) The original homestead is confiscated according to the law; and

(5) Other circumstances as stipulated by the district or county people’s government.

Article 65 Villagers’ self-built houses should conform to the village and town plans in accordance with the planned quota of land use, and the original homestead or the idle land in the village should be used.

The villager who intends to apply for a homestead should lodge a written application to the villagers’ committee. After it is discussed and passed by the villagers’ meeting or the villagers’ congress, and examined and approved by the township or town people’s government, the application shall be submitted to the district or county people’s government for approval, which shall issue the approval letter of land used for construction, and land registration shall be handled according to the law.

The villager is prohibited to sell houses built on his house site to city residents; and city residents are prohibited to buy rural homesteads.

Article 66 In the place within the city and urban development control area, villagers’ homesteads should be planned and built in a uniform way in accordance with the standard of urban residential areas, and no more homesteads are to be approved.

The land outside of the city development control area used for building houses by villagers themselves should be planned and constructed in a unified manner if possible; where it is impossible to do so, and the per capita farmland area of the village is not as much as 667 square metres, the area of land for each household shall not exceed 167 square metres; where the per capita farmland area of the village is more than 667 square metres, the area of land for each household shall not exceed 200 square metres.

Where villages are relocated to form a town and villagers move into newly built houses, their original houses should be demolished and their homesteads recalled for restore it back to farmland ..

Chapter VIII Paid Use of the State-Owned Land

Article 67 For the state-owned land usufruct to be sold, the competent administrative department of land together with other relevant departments shall work out the land sale programme for each tract of land in accordance with the power of examination and approval and in light of the land supply plan and submit it to the Municipal or district or county people’s government for approval.

Article 68 When the state-owned land usufruct is sold, the qualified land assessment institution shall make assessment of land price, the competent administrative department of land shall confirm the result of the assessment and, in light of the confirmed result of the assessment and other related factors, the sale base price of the land usufruct shall be proposed and submitted to the Municipal or district or county people’s government for approval.

The fund from sale of the state-owned land usufruct should not be less than the sale base price.

Article 69 The land user who leases out the state-owned land, its buildings and other attachments obtained through the form of allotment, or involves land disposal shall go through the formalities of paid use of land usufruct at the competent administrative department of land before he can lease or dispose of them. The land user who acquires the state-owned land usufruct through the form of leasing shall sign a land leasing contract with the competent administrative department of land and pay land rental to the competent administrative department of land as agreed upon in the contract.

Article 70 Where change of the land use purpose of the state-owned land usufruct obtained through the form of allotment is absolutely necessitated due to the execution of the urban plan, the change of business nature of the enterprise and other reasons, the land usufructuary shall, after approval of the original approval organ, complete the procedures of paid use of the state-owned land usufruct at the competent administrative department of land. In particular, the land used for business construction shall be consolidated and reserved in a unified way by the Municipal land consolidation and reserve organ, and brought into the tangible market of land for open transaction.

Article 71 The land of the state-owned land usufruct without buildings and other attachments on it obtained through the form of allotment shall not be established for mortgage without approval.

Article 72 Where residential houses on the land of the state-owned land usufruct obtained through the form of allotment have been transferred, the transferee shall be entitled to 70 years’ state-owned land usufruct. Where transference occurs for a second time, the number of years of the state-owned land usufruct the transferee is entitled to shall be the number of the remaining years, and the transferee shall have to pay transfer fund of the state-owned land usufruct by a certain proportion of the transaction volume. The Municipal People’s Government shall work out the specific methods.

Article 73 Sale of the state-owned land usufruct and leasing of state-owned land and other transactions shall be conducted in a concentrated way in the tangible market of land transaction designated by the Municipal People’s Government. The Municipal land transaction organ shall be responsible for management of the tangible market of land transaction in this city, publish information on land supply and demand and information on transaction and render services for transaction activities of sale and leasing.

Article 74 In transference of the state-owned land usufruct, both parties of the transaction shall subject themselves to the examination of the competent administrative department of land before transference and only after they can satisfy the requirement of laws and regulations can transference be granted.

Article 75 Where change of the state-owned land usufruct is involved due to merge, purchase, reorganization or disposal of assets of enterprises, transference formalities of land usufruct shall be completed according to relevant provisions.

Where the enterprise using land obtained through the form of allotment involves transfer of land usufruct in carrying out the enterprise’s equity transaction, the people’s government has the priority to purchase the land assets on the same condition.

Article 76 The Municipal competent administrative department of land shall exercise dynamic monitoring over land prices and, in collaboration with other relevant departments, classify the land of the whole city into different grades, determine the base land price, and submit them to the Municipal People’s Government for approval before they are announced to the public.

Article 77 The land consolidation and reserve organ appointed by the Municipal People’s Government shall be responsible for organizing the implementation of the land consolidation and reserve plan and do the specific work of land consolidation and reserve, requisitioning of the collective-owned land and land development and treatment.

The Municipal land consolidation and reserve organ shall handle consolidation and reserve of the state-owned land legally recalled according to relevant provisions.

Chapter IX Legal Liabilities

Article 78 Where the real estate development enterprise fails to apply for land registration according to relevant provisions, the competent administrative department of land shall charge it to handle it within a prescribed time limit; if the enterprise fails to do so when the time limit is due, a fine of 50,000 yuan up to 200,000 yuan shall be imposed thereupon.

Article 79 For those who arbitrarily make or falsify or alter the certificate of land ownership right, the competent administrative department of land shall confiscate the illegal certificate and illegitimate proceeds and impose a fine of 30,000 yuan up to 100,000 yuan thereupon.

Article 80 In any one of the following cases, the competent administrative department of land shall mete out punishments:

(1) Those who fetch earth in the non-farmland for business without permission or fetch earth beyond the permitted scope and depth of land shall be ordered to stop their law-breaking acts and restore the status quo within a prescribed period of time; if they fail to make restoration when the time limit expires, a fine of 100 yuan up to 200 yuan each cubic metre of illegally fetched earth shall be imposed thereupon. Where there are different provisions on penalty in laws and regulations, such provisions shall prevail.

(2) Those who leave wasteland and farmland unused, seize farmland for construction of kilns and graves, quarry sand, stone and earth, or mine in farmland, shall be ordered to make corrections within a specified time limit and a fine of 200 yuan up to 500 yuan each square metre of idle, seized or destructed farmland shall be imposed thereupon.

Article 81 For those who sell villagers’ homesteads or houses built on them to urban residents, the competent administrative department of land shall order them to make corrections within a specified time limit; if they fail to do so, their illegal proceeds shall be confiscated and a fine of not more than 50 percent of their illegal proceeds shall be imposed upon them.

Article 82 For those who illegally transfer the state-owned land usufruct obtained through the form of sale, the competent administrative department of land shall order them to complete the formalities retroactively within a prescribed period of time; if they fail to do so at the expiration of the time limit, a fine of three percent up to ten percent of the base land price shall be imposed upon them.

For those who illegally transfer or lease out the state-owned land usufruct obtained through the form of allotment, the competent administrative department of land shall confiscate their illegal proceeds and order them to complete the formalities of paid use retroactively within a prescribed period of time; if they fail to do so at the expiration of the time limit, a fine of five percent up to 20 percent of the base land price shall be imposed upon them and their state-owned land usufruct shall be recalled, subject to the approval of the Municipal, or district or county people’s government.

Article 83 The buildings and other installations confiscated in accordance with the provision of Article 73 of the Land Administration Law of the People’s Republic of China shall be auctioned by the competent administrative department of land, and the buyer shall complete the make-up formalities of land use according to the law.

Article 84 For those who illegally seize land for construction, the competent administrative department of land shall order them to stop illegal construction and may distrain or seal up their equipment and building materials in continuous illegal operation.

Article 85 For those who arbitrarily alter the present state of land-usebefore the dispute of the land ownership or usufruct is settled, the competent administrative department of land shall order them to restore the status quo within a prescribed period of time.

Article 86 The party concerned that refuses to accept the specific administrative act may apply for an administrative review or submit a case to the people’s court. Where the party concerned neither applies for an administrative review nor files a lawsuit nor executes the administrative act at the expiration of the time limit, the competent administrative department of land may apply to the people’s court for enforcement.

Article 87 Where the state organ and its personnel fall into any one of the following circumstances, administrative sanctions shall be meted out to the person(s) directly responsible; if their offence constitutes a crime, they shall be investigated for criminal responsibilities according to the law:

(1) Examining and approving land use by employing trickery;

(2) Examining and approving land use beyond one’s duty and power;

(3) Refusing to grant registration and approval to those who meet the related requirements, or delaying registration and approval;

(4) Inspecting illegally or taking coercive measures;

(5) Failing to inflict administrative penalties on the law-breaking act with regard to land which should have been inflicted according to the law; and

(6) Other acts of inconformity with the law in performing one’s duties.

Chapter X Supplementary Provisions

Article 88 For the purpose of these Regulations, “the city development control area” refers to the downtown area and the specific areas designated by the Municipal People’s Government.

Article 89 Where it is otherwise stated in the State provisions with regard to land administration in Binhai New Area, such provisions shall prevail.

Article 90 These Regulations shall come into effect as from 1 March 2007.