Land Administration Law of the People's Republic of China (2019 Amendment)

Land Administration Law of the People's Republic of China (2019 Amendment) Land Administration Law of the People's Republic of China (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 Amending the Land Administration of the People's Republic of China at the Fifth Session of the Standing Committee of the Seventh People's Republic of China; revised at the Fourth Session of the Standing Committee of the Ninth National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China on August 29, 1998; amended for the second time according to the Decision on Amending the Land Administration of the People's Republic of China at the 11th Session of the Standing Committee of the Tenth National People's Congress on August 28, 2004; and amended for the third time in accordance with the Decision of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress to Amend the Land Administration Law of the People's Republic of China and the Urban Real Estate Administration Law of the People's Republic of China at the 12th Session of the Standing Committee of the Thirteenth National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China on August 26, 2019) CONTENTS CHAPTER ONE GENERAL PROVISIONS CHAPTER TWO OWNERSHIP AND RIGHT OF USE OF LAND CHAPTER THREE GENERAL PLANS FOR THE UTILIZATION OF LAND CHAPTER FOUR PROTECTION OF CULTIVATED LAND CHAPTER FIVE LAND FOR CONSTRUCTION PURPOSES CHAPTER SIX SUPERVISION AND EXAMINATION CHAPTER SEVEN LEGAL RESPONSIBILITIES CHAPTER EIGHT SUPPLEMENTARY PROVISIONS CHAPTER ONE GENERAL PROVISIONS Article 1 The law is formulated in compliance with the Constitution with a view to strengthening the administration of land, safeguarding the socialist public ownership of land, protecting and developing land resources, ensuring a rational use of and giving a real protection to cultivated land to promote sustainable development of the socialist economy. Article 2 The People's Republic of China resorts to a socialist public ownership i.e. an ownership by the whole people and ownerships by collectives, of land. In ownership by the whole people, the State Council is empowered to be on behalf of the State to administer the land owned by the State. No unit or individual is allowed to occupy, trade or illegally transfer land by other means. Land use right may be transferred by law. The state may make expropriation or requisition on land according to law for public interests, but shall give compensations accordingly. The State introduces the system of compensated use of land owned by the State except the land has been allocated for use by the State according to law. Article 3 To cherish and give a rational use to the land as well as to give a true protection to the cultivated land are seen as a basic principle of land use in the country. The people's governments at all levels should manage to make an overall plan for the use of land to strictly administer, protect and develop land resources and stop any illegal occupation of land. Article 4 The State is to place a strict control on the usages of land. The State shall compile general plans to set usages of land including those of farm or construction use or unused. A strict control is to place on the turning of land for farm use to that for construction use to control the total amount of land for construction use and exercise a special protection on cultivated land. "Land for farm use" refers to land directly used for agricultural production, including cultivated land, wooded land, grassland, land for farmland water conservancy and water surfaces for breeding; "land for construction use" refers to land on which buildings and structures are put up, including land for urban and rural housing and public facilities, land for industrial and mining use, land for building communications and water conservancy facilities, land for tourism and land for building military installations. The term "land unused" refers to land other than that for agricultural and construction uses. Land should be used strictly in line with the purposes of land use defined in the general plan for the utilization of the land whether by units or individuals. Article 5 The department of natural resources of the State Council shall be unifiedly responsible for the administration and supervision of land in the whole country. The setup and functions of departments of natural resources of people's governments at and above the county level shall be decided by the people's governments of provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities under the direct jurisdiction of the central government (hereinafter referred to as "municipalities" for short) according to the relevant provisions of the State Council. Article 6 The land utilization and land administration of the people's governments of provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government and the people's governments of cities determined by the State Council shall be subject to the supervision and inspection by the agency empowered by the State Council. Article 7 Units or individuals shall all be obliged to abide by the laws and regulations concerning land administration and have the right to report or prosecute acts of violating land administration law and regulations. Article 8 People's governments shall award units or individuals who have made outstanding achievements in protecting and developing land resources, rational utilization of land and in carrying out research in this regard. CHAPTER TWO OWNERSHIP AND RIGHT OF USE OF LAND Article 9 Land in urban districts shall be owned by the State. Land in the rural areas and suburban areas, except otherwise provided for by the State, shall be collectively owned by peasants including house site, land and hills allowed to be retained by peasants. Article 10 Land owned by the State and land collectively owned by peasants may be allocated to be used by units or individuals according to law. Units or individuals using land shall be responsible for the protection, management and a rational use of the land. Article 11 In lands collectively owned by peasants those have been allocated to villagers for collective ownership according to law shall be operated and managed by village collective economic organizations or villagers' committee and those have allocated to two or more peasants collective economic organizations of a village, shall be operated and managed jointly by the collective economic organizations of the village or villagers' groups; and those have allocated to township (town) peasant collectives shall be operated and managed by the rural collective economic organizations of the township (town). Article 12 The registration of land ownership and rights to use land shall be governed by the laws and administrative regulations related to real estate registration. The legally registered land ownership and rights to use land shall be protected by the law, and no entity or individual shall infringe thereupon. Article 13 The arable land, woodland, and grassland owned by farmers collectively or owned by the state but legally used by farmers collectively, as well as other land legally used for agriculture, shall be available for family-based contracting within a rural collective economic organization, while barren hills, gullies, mounds, and beaches, among others, that are not fit for family-based contracting may be available for contracting by means such as bidding, auction, and open consultation for planting, forestry, animal husbandry, and fishery production. In the case of family-based contracting, the term of a contract for arable land shall be 30 years, the term of a contract for grassland shall be 30 to 50 years, and the term of a contract for woodland shall be 30 to 70 years; and upon expiry, a contract shall be renewed for a term of 30 years for arable land or be legally renewed accordingly for grassland or woodland. Land owned by the state but legally used for agriculture may be available for contracting by entities or individuals for planting, forestry, animal husbandry, and fishery production. The landowner and a usufructuary shall enter into a contract according to the law to agree on the rights and obligations of both parties. Entities and individuals as usufructuaries shall have the obligations to protect and for the purposes specified in the contract, rationally utilize the land. Article 14 Disputes arising from the ownership or use right of land shall be settled through consultation among parties concerned; should consultation fails, the disputes should be handled by people's governments. Disputes among units shall be handled by the people's government at and above the county level; disputes among individuals or between individuals and units shall be handled by township level people's government or people's governments at the county level or above. Whereas parties concerned refuse to accept the decisions by related people's government the dispute may be brought before the people's court within 30 days after the notification on the decision is received. No party shall change the status quo of the land before the disputes over ownership and use right are settled. CHAPTER THREE GENERAL PLANS FOR THE UTILIZATION OF LAND Article 15 People's governments at all levels shall manage to compile general plans for land uses in accordance with the national economic and social development program, requirements of national land consolidation and resources and environmental protection, land supply capacity and the requirements of various construction projects. The validity term of the general plans for land use shall be determined by the State Council. Article 16 General plans for land use at a lower level shall be compiled according to the general plans for the utilization of land at the next higher level. The total amount of land for construction uses in the general plans of land use compiled by local people's governments at all levels shall not exceed the controlled targets set in the general plans for land use at the next higher level and the total amount of cultivated land should not be lower than the controlled targets set in the general plans for land use at the next higher level. In mapping out the general plans for land use, the provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities shall ensure than the total amount of cultivated land under their jurisdiction shall not be reduced. Article 17 The comprehensive plans for land utilization shall be prepared under the following principles: (1) Implementing the requirements for territorial spatial development and protection and strictly controlling the purposes of land. (2) Strictly protecting permanent basic farmland and strictly controlling the occupation of agricultural land for non-agricultural purposes. (3) Improving the conservation and intensive utilization of land. (4) Coordinating the land use arrangements for urban and rural production, living, and ecology, meeting the reasonable land use needs of rural industries and infrastructure, and promoting the integrated development urban and rural areas. (5) Protecting and improving ecology and environment and ensuring the sustainable utilization of land. (6) Maintaining a quantitative balance and a qualitative equivalence between the arable land occupied and the arable land developed and from reclamation. Article 18 The state shall establish a territorial spatial planning system. Territorial spatial plans shall be prepared by adhering to the prioritization of ecology, the green and sustainable development, the scientific, orderly, and coordinated arrangement of ecological, agricultural, urban, and other functional spaces, the optimization of the territorial spatial structure and layout, and the improvement of quality and efficiency of territorial spatial development and protection. Territory spatial plans legally approved shall be the primary basis for various activities of development, protection, and construction. Where a territorial spatial plan has been prepared, the comprehensive plan for land utilization and the urban-rural plan shall no longer be prepared. Article 19 General plans for land use at the county level should define the areas and purposes of land use. General plans for the land use at the township (town) level should define the areas for the utilization of land and define the purpose of each tract of land according to the actual conditions for the use of land and make an announcement. Article 20 General plans for land use shall be examined and approved level by level. General plans for land use of provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities shall be approved by the State Council. General plans for land of cities where the people's governments of province and autonomous regions and municipalities are seated and cities with a population of over one million and cities designated by the State Council shall be examined by the People's governments of related provinces and autonomous regions and municipalities and submit them to the State Council for approval. General plans for land use other than those provided for in the second and third paragraphs of this article shall be submitted for approval step by step to the people's governments of provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities. General plans for land uses of townships (towns) may be approved by the people's governments of cities or autonomous prefectures authorized by the provincial level people's governments. Once approved, the general plans for the land use shall be implemented strictly. Article 21 The amount of land used for urban construction shall conform to the standards prescribed by the State so as to make full use of the existing land for construction purposes, not to occupy or occupy as less agricultural land as possible. Urban general planning and the planning of villages and market towns should be in line with the general plans for land use. The amount of land for construction use in the urban general planning and the planning of villages and market towns shall not exceed the amount of land used for construction purposes in cities, villages and market towns fixed in the general plans for the utilization of land. The land for construction purposes in cities, villages and market towns within the planned areas of cities, villages and market towns shall conform to the city planning and the planning of villages and market towns. Article 22 The plans for the comprehensive control, development and utilization of rivers and lakes should be in accordance with the general plans for land use. Land uses within the areas of management and protection of rivers, lakes and reservoirs and flood storage and detention areas should be in line with plans for the comprehensive control, development and utilization of rivers and lakes and to the requirements of river channels, flood flows of rivers and lakes, flood storage and water transmission. Article 23 People's governments at all levels shall strengthen the administration of plans for land use and exercise control of the aggregate land for construction purposes. An annual plan for land utilization shall be prepared on the basis of the national economic and social development plan, the national industrial policies, the comprehensive plan for land utilization, and the actual condition of land utilization. An annual plan for land utilization shall make reasonable arrangements for the collectively owned for-profit construction land as specified in Article 63 of this Law. The preparation and approval procedures for an annual plan for land utilization shall be the same as those for the comprehensive plan for land utilization, and once approved and issued, the annual plan must be strictly implemented. Article 24 The people's governments of provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities shall report the implementations of their annual plans for the use of land to the people's congresses at the same level as part of the implementation of their economic and social development plans. Article 25 Revision of the general plans for land use shall be approved by the original organ of approval. Without approval, the usages of land defined in the general plans for the utilization of land shall not be changed. Whereas the purpose of land use defined in the general plans for the utilization of land needs to be changed due to the construction of large energy, communications, water conservancy and other infrastructure projects approved by the State Council, it shall be changed according to the document of approval issued by the State Council. If the purpose of land defined in the general plans for the utilization of land needs to be changed due to the construction of large energy, communications, water conservancy and other infrastructure projects approved by provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities, it shall be changed according to the document of approval issued by the provincial level people's governments if it falls into their terms of reference. Article 26 The State fosters land survey system. The departments of natural resources of the people's governments at and above the county level shall carry out land surveys together with related departments at the same level. Land owners or users should provide good cooperation and necessary data and materials required. Article 27 The departments of natural resources of the people's government at and above the county level shall, together with related departments at the same level, grade the land according to the results of the surveys, their planned uses and the unified standards formulated by the State. Article 28 The State establishes the land statistical system. The statistics agencies and the departments of natural resources of the people's governments at or above the county level shall conduct land statistical investigation according to the law, and issue land statistics on a regular basis. The owners or users of land shall provide the relevant materials, and shall not refuse or delay reporting or provide untrue or incomplete materials. The land area statistics jointly issued by the statistics agencies and the departments of natural resources shall be the basis for the comprehensive plans for land utilization prepared by the people's governments at all levels. Article 29 The State shall establish the national land management information system to conduct dynamic monitoring of the utilization of land. CHAPTER FOUR PROTECTION OF CULTIVATED LAND Article 30 The State protects the cultivated land and strictly controls the conversion of cultivated land into non-cultivated land. The State fosters the system of compensations to ......