[Direct answer]The signing rate is not enough, and the project will not generally be put on hold, but the government cannot forcibly demolish it. For individual landowners who fail to reach an agreement, the county-level or higher government shall make a decision on land expropriation compensation and resettlement in accordance with Article 31 of the Implementing Regulations of the Land Administration Law (effective September 1, 2021); if they refuse to surrender the land, the government may apply to the people's court for compulsory enforcement in accordance with Article 62. For houses on state-owned land, the government shall apply to the court for compulsory enforcement in accordance with Article 28 of the Regulations on the Expropriation and Compensation of Houses on State-Owned Land (effective January 21, 2011). It is illegal to forcibly demolish without a court's ruling, and the party concerned may apply for confirmation of the illegality and claim compensation; if the party is not satisfied with the compensation decision, he/she may apply for reconsideration within 60 days and file a lawsuit within 6 months. For more details, please refer to the relevant provisions.Legal services for land expropriation and demolition, and administrative litigationAndBeijing Henglu Law Firm.

1. Problem background and typical scenarios

The renovation of old cities and the construction of major infrastructure projects often set a threshold for the signing rate to promote contract signing. The people subject to expropriation often have two conflicting concerns: they worry that if they don't sign, they will hold up their neighbors and the project will be indefinitely shelved; and they also worry that the government will forcefully demolish the property by bypassing the procedures to meet the deadline for the project. In practice, the signing rate mainly affects the pace of project progress. For those who fail to reach an agreement, the expropriation process will transition to the compensation decision and judicial enforcement track: the government makes a decision on land expropriation compensation and resettlement, or a decision on housing expropriation compensation. If the people subject to expropriation do not appeal, litigate, or move out within the legal time limit, the government will apply to the people's court for enforcement. The real risk lies not in whether the project will be halted, but in whether the compensation decision is fair and whether the enforcement is carried out in accordance with the law.

II. Key points of contention

  • Can a compensation decision replace an agreement? When an agreement cannot be reached, the government may make a compensation decision unilaterally, but the decision must be based on a legal assessment, guarantee the right to choose between monetary compensation and property rights exchange, and those who believe the compensation standard is obviously too low may request its revocation.
  • Does the government have the right to enforce the law? According to Article 13 of the Administrative Enforcement Law of the People's Republic of China (implemented on January 1, 2012), administrative enforcement is governed by law. Current laws do not authorize administrative organs to carry out demolitions on their own. They must apply to the court for enforcement, and any unauthorized demolitions are illegal.
  • The order of compensation and execution: It is a statutory principle that compensation should be provided first and relocation should follow. If the land is forcibly handed over or demolished without full compensation in accordance with the law, both the decision and the action may be confirmed as illegal and trigger national compensation.

III. Professional analysis by Henglue Law Firm

Apart from the contract signing process, whether forced demolition is legal is the most typical form of dispute in the contract signing rate controversy. In a case handled by Henglue Law Firm, on the early morning of November 17, 2021, the house on the residential land of Mr. Liu and Mrs. Cui (pseudonyms) in a village in Hanzhong City, Shaanxi Province was forcibly demolished. The implementing unit was the Development Service Center of a certain district in Hanzhong City. The center dispatched a large number of personnel including police, urban management staff, and security guards, and used excavators and forklifts to demolish the house. The couple and their family were detained until after 5 p.m. that day, and the house and its contents were completely destroyed. The couple entrusted Attorney Wu Jiani of Beijing Henglue Law Firm to protect their rights. The focus of the dispute then turned to two issues: who to sue and whether the forced demolition was illegal.

The lawyer argued around the qualification of the defendant and the legality of the forced demolition: The Development Service Center of a certain district, which carried out the demolition, is a public institution established by the Hanzhong Municipal Government and cannot independently bear legal responsibility. According to Article 26 Paragraph 5 of the Administrative Litigation Law of the People's Republic of China (effective May 1, 2015), the administrative acts carried out by organizations entrusted by administrative organs shall be attributed to the entrusting administrative organs as defendants. Therefore, the defendant in this case should be the Hanzhong Municipal Government. According to Article 13 of the Administrative Enforcement Law of the People's Republic of China, the current law does not grant administrative organs the right to directly enforce demolitions of legal houses. Carrying out forced demolitions without any unit applying to the court for enforcement is obviously illegal. The implementation of the expropriation also does not meet the requirements of Article 47 of the Land Administration Law of the People's Republic of China, which stipulates that expropriations shall be approved and announced by legal procedures and implemented by organizations. The court adopted the lawyer's arguments, confirmed that the Hanzhong Municipal Government was the qualified defendant, and ruled that the city government's act of demolishing the house on November 17, 2021 was illegal, laying the foundation for the parties to apply for state compensation in the future. While there are risks in resisting illegal actions through refusing to sign agreements, the legal evaluation of governments that bypass judicial enforcement procedures to carry out forced demolitions is also illegal.

IV. Practical suggestions and legal basis

At the legal basis level: Article 31 of the Implementing Regulations of the Land Administration Law stipulates that where individual land acquisition compensation and resettlement agreements cannot be reached, the local government at or above the county level shall make a decision on land acquisition compensation and resettlement; Article 62 stipulates that those who obstruct the state's land acquisition for construction shall be ordered by the government to surrender the land, and those who refuse to surrender the land shall apply to the people's court for compulsory enforcement in accordance with the law; Article 27 of the Regulations on the Acquisition and Compensation of Houses on State-Owned Land establishes the principle of compensation first and relocation later, and Article 28 stipulates that if there is no review, litigation, or relocation within the statutory time limit, the government shall apply to the people's court for compulsory enforcement in accordance with the law; Article 13 of the Law of the People's Republic of China on Administrative Enforcement stipulates that the right of compulsory enforcement belongs to the government. At the practical advice level: Those who do not sign the agreement should give written reasons and keep evidence, rather than passively delaying; immediately review the evaluation and procedures after receiving the decision on compensation and resettlement, and file for review within 60 days or initiate litigation within 6 months; once the forced demolition occurs, immediately call the police and fix the scene with video, request confirmation of the illegality and apply for state compensation, and then implement the subsequent compensation and resettlement in combination with the above actions.Creditor-debtor relations and enforcement case servicesFollow up.

5. Henglu Law Firm's Reminder

The signing rate is a progress indicator, not a pass to bypass legal procedures; for the expropriated persons, refusing to sign is not the end of protecting their rights, but the starting point of providing evidence after the compensation decision and the judicial enforcement process. By reviewing and evaluating the standards at the decision-making stage and reviewing the procedures and subjects at the enforcement stage, we can ensure that the compensation is fair. The above-mentioned Hanzhong forced demolition case was handled by Beijing Henglu Law Firm.Wu JianiThe lawyer (practice license number: 11101202011245064, subject to the document issued by the judicial administrative organ) acts as the agent, and the court confirms that the city government's forced demolition is illegal. If you encounter similar situations, it is recommended that you seek legal help as soon as possible.Beijing Henglue Law FirmEvaluate the assessment decision and the evidence of forced demolition, and grasp the window for review and litigation.

Q1: If I don't sign it, will the entire project be halted?

Generally, this won't happen. Expropriation is a statutory project led by the government, and the signing rate affects the pace of progress. For those who fail to reach an agreement, the government can make a decision on land expropriation compensation and resettlement in accordance with Article 31 of the Implementing Regulations of the Land Administration Law, and the process will continue; compensation decisions can also be made for houses on state-owned land. After the decision is made, if the expropriated person does not appeal, litigate, or move out within the legal time limit, the government can apply to the people's court for compulsory enforcement. Therefore, refusing to sign and delaying the process won't lead to the suspension of the project, but may instead miss the window for appeal and litigation. The correct approach is to immediately review the legality and compensation standards of the decision after it is delivered, and use legal procedures to strive for reasonable compensation.

Q2: Can the government bypass the court and demolish my house directly?

No. According to Article 13 of the Administrative Enforcement Law of the People's Republic of China, administrative enforcement is governed by law. Current laws do not authorize administrative authorities to forcibly demolish legal houses on their own. Article 28 of the Regulations on the Acquisition and Compensation of Houses on State-Owned Land and Article 62 of the Implementing Regulations of the Land Administration Law both require applying to the people's court for enforcement. If the government, the management committee, or the entrusted public institutions directly demolish houses without a court's ruling, they commit both procedural and substantive violations of the law, and the affected parties may sue to confirm the illegality of the demolition and apply for state compensation. In the demolition case in Hanzhong represented by Henglue Lawyers, the court confirmed that the city government's demolition without going through the judicial enforcement process was illegal, and the principle of compensating first and then relocating violated the law at the same time.

Q3: After receiving the decision on land expropriation compensation and resettlement, how many days do I have to file a lawsuit within?

There are two deadlines that you need to remember: the deadline for applying for administrative reconsideration is within 60 days from the date you learn of the decision, in accordance with Article 20 of the "Administrative Reconsideration Law of the People's Republic of China" (effective January 1, 2024); and the deadline for initiating administrative litigation is within 6 months from the date you learn of the administrative act, in accordance with Article 46 of the "Administrative Litigation Law of the People's Republic of China" (effective May 1, 2015). If you neither request reconsideration nor initiate litigation within the deadline, the compensation decision will take effect, and the government may apply to the court for enforcement, effectively closing off the avenue for relief. After receiving the decision, you should immediately hire a lawyer to review the assessment point, compensation standards, and procedural flaws, and initiate litigation within the deadline to avoid the house being demolished during the dispute.

Q4: The house has already been forcibly demolished. Can I still get compensation or damages?

You can claim compensation. After the forced demolition is confirmed to be illegal, you can apply for administrative compensation for the property losses caused by the illegal exercise of power in accordance with Article 4 of the "State Compensation Law of the People's Republic of China" (implemented on January 1, 1995 and amended in 2012); in practice, the compensation amount should generally not be lower than the compensation that can be obtained through legal expropriation, including the value of the house, decoration accessories, relocation and temporary resettlement costs, and the losses of items in the house can be claimed with evidence. In terms of procedure, you can first confirm that the forced demolition is illegal, and then file a lawsuit for administrative compensation either together with or separately; it is important to note that the police records, photos, videos, and item lists from the scene of the forced demolition are key evidence, and they should be fixed immediately after the demolition. The earlier you apply for compensation, the more favorable it will be for you.

Q5: What evidence should be prepared during the contract negotiation stage?

Prepare along two main lines: ownership and value. First, ownership evidence, including property ownership certificates, residential land certificates, construction approval documents, purchase or family division agreements. For unregistered houses, prepare historical formation evidence and materials issued by the village committee or township government. Second, value evidence, including photos and videos of the current state of the house and its decoration, appraisal reports and service records, prices of similar real estate in the surrounding area, and tax payments and transaction records for commercial properties, which can be used to claim losses from production and business suspension. Third, procedural evidence, including pre-announcements, announcements of compensation plans, materials for selecting appraisal agencies, and communication records. Only when all the evidence is in place can we negotiate with confidence. It can also be directly used as key materials when entering the review of the decision and the litigation stage.

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 Wu Jiani·Beijing Henglu Law Firm