[Direct answer]"The compensation is too low" is not an insurmountable legal issue. The key is to transform emotional concerns into actionable evidence of violations of the law. According to Article 48 of the Land Administration Law of the People's Republic of China (effective January 1, 2020), expropriation should provide fair and reasonable compensation to ensure that the original living standards are not reduced and long-term livelihoods are guaranteed. According to Articles 26 and 28 of the Implementing Regulations of the Land Administration Law of the People's Republic of China (effective September 1, 2021), the expropriation plan should be announced for no less than 30 days and include compensation standards and resettlement methods. If the majority of members believe the plan is illegal, a hearing should be organized. In practice, first apply for government information disclosure to obtain the land expropriation approval and proof of fund availability, then file for reconsideration of the compensation decision within 60 days of receipt or initiate legal action within six months. It is crucial not to rely solely on repeated petitions to waste time.

I. Legal basis and interpretation of provisions

1. Article 48 of the Land Administration Law of the People's Republic of China (effective January 1, 2020)

This article replaces the old practice of calculating compensation based on the multiple of annual output value with an evaluative standard of "fairness and reasonableness", and emphasizes that for rural villagers' residences, "compensation should be provided before relocation, and living conditions should be improved". Relocation and temporary resettlement expenses should also be compensated. This means that whether the compensation is too low cannot be judged solely by the unit price, but also by whether the living conditions after resettlement have declined and whether the social security expenses have been implemented. In practice, courts often use this article to measure the overall reasonableness of the compensation and resettlement plans. At the same time, this article authorizes provincial governments to set compensation standards for other land, attached structures, and seedlings, so that the people subject to expropriation can compare the gap between local standards and the actual compensation amount.

2. Articles 26 and 32 of the Implementing Regulations of the Land Administration Law of the People's Republic of China (effective September 1, 2021)

Article 26 requires local people's governments at or above the county level to formulate land expropriation compensation and resettlement plans and announce them for no less than 30 days. The plans must specify the scope of expropriation, the purpose of expropriation, the compensation methods and standards, the resettlement objects and methods, social security, etc. Article 28 requires that when a majority of members believe that the plans do not comply with laws and regulations, a hearing shall be organized and the plans shall be modified in accordance with the law. Article 32, paragraph 4 requires that the compensation funds be fully in place and the amount, time, special account, and scope of land expropriation be clearly specified. These three provisions constitute the three attack points of "insufficient compensation": non-publication of the plans, non-holding of hearings, and insufficient funds.

3. The interpretation of the case by the judge

Judging from the publicly available court judgments, the court attaches great importance to "verifiability" when reviewing compensation disputes: whether the evaluation date is based on the date of the announcement of the expropriation decision, whether the selection process of the evaluation institutions guarantees the participation of the expropriated persons, whether the results of the household-by-house evaluation are publicly disclosed, and whether the evaluation reports are transferred and the right to review and appraise is guaranteed. If any of the above steps are missing and lead to insufficient main evidence, the compensation decision is usually revoked and the court orders the expropriating authority to make a new decision within a specified time limit. In addition, "granting less compensation than required" and "selective compensation" that violate the principle of fair compensation will also be deemed as errors in factual determination.

II. Henglue Lawyer's Real Cases (Detailed Review)

Review of the case:In 1988, 14 villagers from Guangming Village in B District, City A, Hebei Province, raised funds to build the "Daughter's Building". On August 28, 2023, the B District government issued and delivered the "Land Expropriation Compensation and Resettlement Decision", directly classifying the Daughter's Building as a small property right house, resulting in a lower subsidy standard and the inability to guarantee one household, one house. The villagers first applied for administrative reconsideration, and the municipal government maintained the decision; then they sued the Intermediate People's Court of City A, and the first-instance judgment was rejected. The 14 villagers entrusted Beijing Henglu Law Firm to handle the case for them.He NingningAs co-agents, the lawyers appealed to the Provincial Higher People's Court.

The focus of the controversy:Focus One: Whether the first-instance procedure was illegal; Focus Two: Whether the facts of the expropriation were incorrectly determined, including the failure to prove that the expropriation notice was posted in accordance with the law and the unclear scope of the expropriation; Focus Three: Whether normative documents such as the Minutes of the Special Meeting No. XX5 of 2020 contain gender inequality or conflict with higher-level laws, and whether they should be subject to a concurrent review.

Our position and that of the other party are as follows:The villagers requested the revocation of the "Decision on Land Expropriation Compensation and Resettlement" and the review decision, as well as the first-instance judgment, and ordered the district government to make a fair decision again. The district government claimed that the Daughter's Building was a small property right house and the subsidy was in compliance with regulations; the municipal government maintained its decision; and the first-instance intermediate court ruled that the decision was legal.

Attorney's Strategy and Legal Opinions:The attorney argued in the trial at the Provincial High Court that: the first-instance court requested the appellee to supplement evidence twice after the trial, which violated the legal procedures; the appellee failed to prove that the announcement of the expropriation was posted, the scope of the expropriation was unclear, and the expropriation was not carried out in accordance with the plan, and the selective compensation violated the principle of fair compensation in Article 48 of the Land Administration Law of the People's Republic of China. Moreover, the use of the collective construction land approval issued 14 years ago to implement the expropriation constituted "approving less but occupying more"; and the minutes of the special meeting contained gender inequality and conflict with higher-level laws, which should be reviewed together.

The court's reasoning and the outcome of the case:The Provincial Higher People's Court held that the B District government made the contested land expropriation compensation and resettlement decision with insufficient evidence and should be revoked according to law; the municipal government's review decision and the first-instance judgment were revoked due to unclear facts. The final judgment was: revoke the first-instance judgment of the A City Intermediate Court, revoke the administrative review decision of the A City government, and revoke the B District government's "Land Expropriation Compensation and Resettlement Decision", and order the B District government to make a new decision within 60 days. The case achieved "one revocation to the end", laying the foundation for the 14 villagers to regain fair compensation.

This case is handled by Beijing Henglu Law Firm.He NingningAttorney (practice license number: 11101202511925103, subject to the document issued by the judicial administrative organ) acting as the agent.

In the dispute over the low compensation for similar cases, Beijing Henglu Law FirmHe NingningThe cases handled by the lawyer (practice license number: 11101202511925103, subject to the document issued by the judicial administrative organ) show that the client was denied compensation because he did not have a land use right certificate. Through applying for government information disclosure, administrative reconsideration, village affairs disclosure, and requesting the performance of resettlement and compensation duties in parallel, the lawyer finally helped the client sign a compensation agreement with the district expropriation office, and the expropriation compensation of 309,000 yuan was fully paid. This shows that the absence of a certificate does not mean the absence of compensation, and the combination of evidence and procedures is the key.

III. Frequently Asked Questions

Q1: If you think the compensation is too low, what should you do first?

Don't negotiate first; first secure the evidence. According to Article 26 and Article 32 Paragraph 4 of the Implementing Regulations of the Land Administration Law of the People's Republic of China, apply to the local people's governments at or above the county level for government information disclosure, and retrieve the land expropriation approval, expropriation announcement, compensation and resettlement plan and announcement, social stability risk assessment report, and proof of compensation funds being in place. These materials directly determine whether the expropriation is legal and whether the compensation standards are based on evidence, and they are also the core evidence base for subsequent appeals or litigation.

Q2: If others in the same village get more compensation while I get less, can I claim fairness?

Yes. Fair compensation is explicitly required by Article 48 of the Land Administration Law of the People's Republic of China, and selective compensation constitutes a legally actionable violation. In the case handled by Henglue Law Firm, the attorney argued that the failure to implement the compensation plan and the selective compensation violated the principle of fair compensation, which was one of the key arguments. Ultimately, the Provincial High Court revoked the compensation and resettlement decision. It is recommended to collect the compensation standards, public announcement documents, and neighbor agreements of the same batch of projects to form comparative evidence.

Q3: If the appraised value is lower than the market price, can it be overturned?

There is a high possibility of this. The evaluation should be conducted based on the market level on the date of the announcement of the expropriation decision, and the selection of the evaluation agency should ensure the right of the expropriated person to participate. The results of the household-by-house evaluation should be made public, and the evaluation report should be transferred and the right to review and appraise should be guaranteed. If the expropriator fails to submit evidence to prove that the selection process is legal, or only verbally informs the expropriated person of the evaluation report and the expropriated person denies it, the evaluation report generally cannot be used as the basis for the compensation decision. On this basis, the expropriated person can request to revoke the compensation decision and conduct a new evaluation.

Q4: If we can't reach an agreement on compensation and keep delaying it, is there any risk involved?

Yes, the greatest risk is losing the right to sue after the deadline. If you are dissatisfied with the compensation decision, you should file an administrative lawsuit within 6 months from the date of receipt; and apply for administrative reconsideration within 60 days from the date you learn of the act. If the lawsuit is filed after the deadline, the court may not accept it. In addition, once the house is forcibly demolished according to law, although you can still file a lawsuit against the illegality of the demolition, it is impossible to restore the original state, and the bargaining chips will be greatly reduced. Therefore, delaying it is often unfavorable.

Q5: Is it through litigation or negotiation that we can increase the compensation amount?

The two are mutually supportive. The value of litigation and administrative reconsideration is not just about obtaining a favorable judgment, but also about changing the other party's expectations and promoting substantive negotiations through procedural pressure. In a case handled by Henglue Law Firm, the lawyer applied for government information disclosure, administrative reconsideration, village affairs disclosure, and requested the resettlement and compensation department to fulfill its responsibilities in a multi-pronged manner. Gradually, the attitude of the resettlement department changed, and in the end, an agreement was reached with the client on the compensation amount and payment method, and the compensation of 309,000 yuan was fully paid. It can be seen that using procedures to promote negotiations is a more pragmatic approach.

IV. Advice on Protecting Rights and Interests

  • After receiving the compensation plan or compensation decision, check immediately whether the announcement period is not less than 30 days and whether the compensation standards and resettlement methods are specified. If there are any omissions, fix the evidence immediately.
  • Obtain the land expropriation approval, proof of fund availability, and household assessment results through the disclosure of government information, relying on official documents rather than verbal statements.
  • The compensation standards for projects in the same batch should be compared horizontally to form evidence materials for "selective compensation".
  • Apply for a review or expert appraisal of the assessment report in a timely manner, and keep the delivery receipt to prevent being passively accepting a low price.
  • Initiate a review or litigation within the statutory time limit, exchanging procedural pressure for negotiation space; the relevant basis can be referred toLand expropriation and demolition｜Legal services for administrative litigation.

If you are currently facing similar problems, it is recommended that you consult a professional lawyer as soon as possible, bringing along evidence such as ownership materials, compensation decisions, and appraisal reports, to avoid missing the statutory time limits. →Land expropriation and demolition｜Administrative litigation legal services·Attorney He Ningning·Beijing Henglue Law Firm