[Direct answer]In the Beijing area, if the compensation for expropriation is unreasonable, it is not appropriate to just verbally complain. The standard process involves three steps. First, apply in writing to the people's government that made the expropriation decision or its housing expropriation department, specifying the request, factual reasons and basis, and keeping the submission certificate. Second, if you are dissatisfied with the response or the other party fails to respond within the time limit, apply for administrative reconsideration to the higher-level people's government in accordance with the "Administrative Reconsideration Law of the People's Republic of China" (amended in 2023 and implemented on January 1, 2024), requesting the revocation of the illegal response and ordering a new handling; the deadline for applying for reconsideration is usually within 60 days from the date when you know or should have known of the administrative act. Third, if you are dissatisfied with the reconsideration decision or are entitled to directly file a lawsuit according to law, initiate administrative litigation in the people's court with jurisdiction. Regarding the substantive basis, according to Article 2 of the "Regulations on Expropriation and Compensation of Houses on State-Owned Land" (implemented on January 21, 2011), when expropriating units and individuals' houses on state-owned land for the needs of public interest, fair compensation shall be given to the owners of the expropriated houses; the regulations also stipulate the scope of compensation and the appraisal procedures. In addition, the allocated land use rights belong to property rights, and they should also be compensated when being expropriated according to law, rather than being refused solely on the grounds of the nature of the land.Land expropriation and demolition, and administrative litigationYou can view similar questions in the column.

I. Problem Background and Typical Scenarios

Such consultations are commonly seen in four situations: First, the compensation standard is obviously lower than the market price of similar houses in the surrounding area, and the evaluation report has not been delivered or delivered in accordance with the law; Second, the house or land has been actually occupied, developed and constructed, but the compensation has been delayed for a long time, and the government departments have made excuses for various reasons; Third, only the above-ground buildings have been compensated, and no compensation has been given for the land use rights themselves; Fourth, there are already effective reconsideration decisions or judgments requiring re-processing, but the administrative organs still refuse compensation on the same grounds. In other cases, the land acquired by enterprises through auctions is included in the scope of expropriation, and the compensation is refused due to the subject's identity or transfer issues. When handling such cases in Beijing, the key often lies in sorting out the administrative organs' statutory duties and the factual errors in their responses, and forcing them to perform their duties in accordance with the law through reconsideration or litigation. For the supporting issues involving the determination of the scope of expropriation and the registration of real estate ownership, they can be referred to together.Real estate transactions and construction projectsColumn.

II. Key points of contention

Focus One: Is the implementation subject of the expropriation and the subject of the compensation obligation clearly defined? Who is the eligible respondent? Focus Two: Is the scope of compensation complete, and have any statutory items such as land use rights, relocation fees, temporary resettlement fees, and losses from production and business suspension been omitted? Focus Three: Is the evaluation process legal, and are the rights to select an evaluation agency, receive the evaluation report, and request review and appraisal guaranteed? Focus Four: Are there factual misidentifications in the responses, such as confusing the subject of expropriation with the subject of land use rights, or conflating the two legal relationships of expropriation and recovery? Focus Five: Does it violate a previously effective administrative review decision or court judgment, constituting a refusal to comply with the effective decision? Focus Six: Has the time limit for applying for administrative review expired? How is the 60-day period calculated and interrupted? Focus Seven: Can defects such as failure to complete transfer procedures be used as grounds for refusing compensation? If the transfer conditions are lost due to the expropriation action, the responsibility should not generally be attributed to the subject of expropriation. Specific determinations shall be based on the currently effective laws, regulations, and judicial rulings.

III. Professional analysis by Henglue Law Firm

Take a case of administrative reconsideration of state-owned land expropriation and compensation represented by Attorney Xi Chao Li of our firm as an example: In February 2009, a certain Industrial Co., Ltd. won a 13,000-square-meter plot of land and its aboveground buildings in Shuguang Village, a certain district, through a public auction for 1.4731 million yuan. Among them, there were 3,953 square meters of state-owned land allocated for commercial and service use with certificates. In 2011, the land plot was included in the expropriation. The applicant signed an urban housing monetary compensation and resettlement agreement with Qianjin Subdistrict Office, but the respondent only compensated for the aboveground buildings. In November 2011, the subdistrict office issued a supplementary explanation on land expropriation and demolition, promising to settle the land issue within two months, but it never fulfilled its promise. Instead, it unlawfully constructed municipal projects, causing the land to lose its development conditions. Over the next decade, the appraised value ranged from 12.44 million yuan to 16.31 million yuan, but the respondent always refused to compensate. In May 2025, the applicant filed a compensation application, but the district government directly rejected it on the grounds that state-owned land allocated for free could not be compensated. After Attorney Xi Chao Li took over the case, she organized reconsideration opinions from four aspects: First, the facts were misidentified. Both the transaction confirmation and the delivery confirmation stated that the buyer was the company, but the respondent confused the buyer's identity. Second, state-owned land allocated for free could be compensated. According to Article 2 of the "Regulations on the Expropriation and Compensation of Houses on State-Owned Land", the houses and land on state-owned land should be compensated fairly. The respondent confused the legal relations of cessation of use and recovery with state expropriation. Third, the failure to transfer ownership could not be attributed to the applicant. The land had been expropriated as early as 2011, and the respondent's unlawful construction caused the loss of transfer conditions. The auction-agreed land transfer payment could be legally offset in the settlement, not a reason for refusing compensation. Fourth, the respondent's reply directly violated the effective reconsideration decision of the municipal government and constituted refusal to perform the effective administrative decision. After the trial, the municipal government adopted the core opinions and made a reconsideration decision: revoke the respondent's reply on fulfilling the duties of compensation and resettlement made on December 9, 2025, and order it to handle the compensation and resettlement application within 60 days, achieving a key breakthrough in the decade-long rights protection. The case is handled by Beijing Henglu Law Firm.Zhai Chao LiAttorney (Practice Certificate No.: 11101202311629788, subject to the certificate issued by the judicial administrative organ) acting as an agent.

IV. Practical suggestions and legal basis

Action suggestions: Firstly, fix the basic materials, including auction transaction documents, ownership certificates, compensation and resettlement agreements, supplementary explanations, evaluation reports, and correspondence, to form a complete timeline. For related ownership issues, you can refer to the relevant materials for reference.Property sales and construction projects1. Submit a written application to the responsible people's government or its housing expropriation department, specifying the specific items and amounts of compensation requested, and retain the submission certificate; 2. If the application is rejected or there is no response within the time limit, apply for administrative reconsideration to the higher-level people's government within the 60-day reconsideration period, requesting the revocation of the illegal response and ordering a re-processing; 3. If dissatisfied with the reconsideration decision, initiate administrative litigation in a timely manner, paying attention to the litigation time limit; 4. If an appraisal is involved, exercise the rights to review the appraisal and apply for expert evaluation according to law to avoid missing the objection period; 5. Continuously assert rights and preserve evidence to prevent the loss of key materials due to excessive time lapse. Legal basis: Article 2 and related compensation provisions of the "Regulations on the Expropriation and Compensation of Houses on State-Owned Land" (implemented on January 21, 2011); provisions on the scope of reconsideration and application time limits of the "Administrative Reconsideration Law of the People's Republic of China" (amended in 2023 and implemented on January 1, 2024); provisions on the scope of acceptance and litigation time limits of the "Administrative Litigation Law of the People's Republic of China" (amended in 2017 and implemented on January 1, 2020); relevant expropriation and compensation provisions of the "Land Management Law of the People's Republic of China" (amended in 2019 and implemented on January 1, 2020); specific application shall be subject to the currently effective laws, regulations, and judicial rulings.

5. Henglu Law Firm's Reminder

Firstly, when reflecting problems, it is necessary to leave written evidence. Oral complaints are difficult to prove in subsequent review and litigation. Secondly, there is a 60-day application period for administrative review. If the deadline is exceeded, the opportunity for relief may be lost, so it should be initiated as soon as possible. Thirdly, the scope of compensation should be checked item by item. Land use rights, relocation fees, temporary resettlement fees, and losses from production and business suspension are easily overlooked. Fourthly, there is a time limit for disputing the appraisal report. After receiving it, it is necessary to apply for review or appraisal as soon as possible. Fifthly, if the administrative organ refuses to implement the effective review decision or judgment, it can highlight its illegality in subsequent procedures. Sixthly, land expropriation and demolition, as well as administrative disputes, are highly specialized. It is recommended to entrust professional lawyers as soon as possible when rights are infringed to sort out the illegal points, fix evidence, and draft legal documents.

VI. Frequently Asked Questions

Q1: Can I directly sue if the compensation for expropriation is unreasonable?

In most cases, it is necessary to go through preliminary procedures such as reconsideration or applying for the performance of duties first, which will be determined according to the type of dispute. It is generally recommended to first apply in writing to perform the duty of compensation, then apply for reconsideration if you are not satisfied with the response, and, if necessary, initiate administrative litigation.

Q2: Is there a time limit for applying for an administrative review?

Yes. According to the Administrative Review Law of the People's Republic of China, an application should generally be submitted within 60 days from the date when the applicant knows or should have known about the administrative act. Submitting the application after the deadline may affect its acceptance, so it is recommended to initiate the process as soon as possible.

Q3: Is it legal to only provide compensation for surface assets and not for land?

It is usually incomplete. According to Article 2 of the "Regulations on the Acquisition and Compensation of Houses on State-Owned Land", the acquisition should provide fair compensation. The allocated land use rights belong to property rights. When the land is legally acquired, it should also be compensated. It cannot be refused solely on the grounds of the nature of the land.

Q4: Can I still receive compensation if the land has not been transferred yet?

Generally, it is possible. If the transfer conditions are lost due to the expropriation, the failure to transfer the ownership usually does not constitute the responsibility of the expropriated person, and does not affect their right to claim compensation as the expropriated person. The relevant funds can be legally offset in the settlement.

Q5: What should I do if the government refuses to fulfill its duty of compensation?

First, a written application for performance of duties may be submitted. If the request for administrative reconsideration is rejected, the decision shall be revoked and the administrative organ shall be ordered to handle it again. If the administrative organ still fails to perform its duties after the reconsideration, an administrative lawsuit may be filed in accordance with the law to urge the administrative organ to perform its duties in accordance with the law through judicial review.

The above answer is based on the judicial practice in Beijing. The adjudication standards in other provinces and cities may vary. For specific cases, please refer to the local rules and evidence situation.

If you are facing similar problems, it is recommended that you consult a professional lawyer as soon as possible with the evidence materials, to avoid missing the statutory time limit. →Land expropriation and demolition legal services·Attorney Xie Chao Li·Beijing Henglu Law Firm

Disclaimer: This article is compiled based on the current effective laws and regulations and public adjudication rules, and is for general reference only. It does not constitute a formal legal opinion on specific cases. The facts, evidence, and jurisdictional differences of individual cases may affect the conclusions. If you encounter disputes, please consult a practicing lawyer in time.