[Direct answer]In the transformation of shantytowns, if legal houses are forcibly demolished, the victims should immediately report the case to the police, record the scene with audio and video to preserve evidence, and file an administrative lawsuit within 6 months from the date they learn about the forced demolition to confirm the illegality of the forced demolition in accordance with Article 46 of the Administrative Procedure Law, and claim state compensation at the same time. According to Articles 27 and 28 of the "Regulations on the Acquisition and Compensation of Houses on State-Owned Land" (implemented on January 21, 2011) and Article 13 of the "Administrative Enforcement Law" (implemented on January 1, 2012), it is a statutory principle that compensation should be provided before relocation. Forced relocation can only be carried out by the municipal or county-level people's governments that make the acquisition decisions and applied to the people's courts for enforcement. Administrative authorities have no right to forcibly demolish legal houses on their own. Forced demolition does not mean losing compensation and indemnity. Victims can first seek compensation through legal means.Legal services for land expropriation and demolition, and administrative litigationEvaluate the plan and conduct a visit.Beijing Henglu Law FirmLearn from the experience of similar cases.

1. Problem background and typical scenarios

The transformation of shantytowns falls within the scope of affordable housing projects and urban renewal. According to Article 8 of the Regulations on the Acquisition and Compensation of Houses on State-Owned Land, the municipal and county-level people's governments can make decisions on house acquisition. The process involves several stages, including acquisition decision-making, appraisal, compensation negotiation, and signing of relocation agreements. In practice, typical scenarios of forced demolitions include: failure to reach an agreement on compensation, the acquisition side first demolishing neighboring houses, cutting off water and electricity to force relocation, and then demolishing the houses at night; using the pretext of investigating illegal construction to demolish unlicensed parts or entire houses instead of relocating them; demolishing houses immediately after the compensation decision is made and before the statutory litigation period expires; and organizing personnel to demolish houses and destroy attached structures on collective land without going through the statutory acquisition procedures. Victims often only realize after their houses are demolished that the acquisition documents are missing and the identity of the demolition entities is unclear, with their chances of seeking justice fading away quickly.

II. Key points of contention

  • It's difficult to identify the main parties involved in forced demolitions: they are often carried out at night or when the homeowners are out, with no one claiming responsibility at the scene, and administrative authorities shifting the blame to each other. In practice, there is a presumption rule for defendants, where the plaintiff provides preliminary evidence and the defendant must prove that the forced demolition has nothing to do with them, otherwise they will face adverse consequences.
  • Is the forced demolition procedure legal? For the forced eviction of legal housing, it is necessary to have a valid compensation decision and a legally required notice, and the government must apply to the People's Court for a ruling on enforcement. If any of the following conditions are missing: a compensation decision, a notice, or an application for court enforcement, the procedure is considered illegal.
  • The scope and standards of compensation: whether the destroyed houses are appraised based on the time of forced demolition or the time of expropriation, how to provide evidence of the losses of indoor items and decorations, and whether the compensation is lower than the compensation that could have been obtained directly affect the final amount received. At the implementation level, it can be discussed with the relevant departments.Creditor-debtor relations and enforcement case servicesConnect the evaluation with the implementation path.

III. Professional analysis by Henglue Lawyers

恒略律师在办理棚改强拆案件中观察到，此类案件胜负多取决于三个动作是否及时。第一是证据固定：强拆当天报警并索要接处警回执、连续录像记录强拆人员车辆与施工过程、对房屋内外及室内物品拍照造册，是事后确定强拆主体与损失范围的基础，报警处警记录还能在公安不作为时成为新的诉点。第二是核实项目合法性：通过申请政府信息公开获取征收决定、补偿安置方案、社会稳定风险评估、补偿资金到位证明等文件，判断征收程序链条是否完整，为确认强拆违法提供支撑。第三是起诉与索赔的衔接：起诉请求确认强拆违法的同时一并提出行政赔偿请求，避免确认违法后再单独走赔偿程序拉长周期；对物品损失，法院通常结合当事人清单、现场照片、生活常理与双方举证情况综合酌定。当事人在强拆后往往陷入信访循环，反而耗尽6个月起诉期限，是最常见的失分点。

IV. Practical suggestions and legal basis

At the legal basis level: Article 27 of the "Regulations on the Acquisition and Compensation of Houses on State-Owned Land" (implemented on January 21, 2011) prohibits the use of violence, threats, or illegal methods such as cutting off water and electricity supplies to force evictions. Article 28 stipulates that if the evicted person does not apply for administrative reconsideration or file an administrative lawsuit within the legal time limit and refuses to move out, the municipal or county-level people's government that made the house acquisition decision shall apply to the people's court for compulsory enforcement in accordance with the law; Article 13 of the "Administrative Enforcement Law" (implemented on January 1, 2012) clearly stipulates that if the law does not grant the administrative organ the right to enforce, it shall apply to the people's court for compulsory enforcement; Article 46 of the "Administrative Procedure Law" (amended in 2017 and implemented on July 1, 2017) stipulates that the time limit for direct litigation is 6 months from the date of knowing the administrative act, and Article 74 stipulates the application circumstances of confirming the illegal judgment; Article 4 of the "State Compensation Law" (implemented on January 1, 2013) stipulates that victims of illegal expropriation and requisition of property have the right to obtain compensation; Article 48 of the "Land Management Law" (implemented on January 1, 2020) and Article 31 of the "Implementing Regulations of the Land Management Law" (implemented on September 1, 2021) establish the principle of compensation before relocation for collective land expropriation. Practical suggestions: Report to the police, record videos, and inventory items immediately on the day of forced demolition; apply for information disclosure to verify project documents within 30 days; file a lawsuit to confirm the illegality and claim compensation within 6 months. For procedural coordination, please consult relevant authorities.Legal services for land expropriation and demolition, and administrative litigationTeam.

5. Henglu Law Firm's Advice

The key to fighting against forced demolition lies in "speed" and "thoroughness": speed in reporting the case to the police, collecting evidence, and filing a lawsuit before the statute of limitations expires and evidence is lost; and thoroughness in confirming the illegality of the demolition and formulating claims for state compensation and compensation simultaneously, without overlooking any compensable items such as indoor items, decoration, and losses from production and business interruptions. The scope of administrative compensation is based on direct losses. In practice, the compensation standards set by the court are generally not lower than the compensation that the parties could have obtained through legal expropriation procedures. Therefore, it is more valuable to preserve housing ownership certificates, decoration receipts, and item lists than to make up for them afterwards. If you encounter forced demolition during the transformation of shantytowns, it is recommended to seek legal advice as soon as possible.Beijing Henglue Law FirmInitiate legal proceedings within the statute of limitations.

Q1: The house was forcibly demolished. Can we win the lawsuit?

The success of the lawsuit mainly depends on whether the forced demolition process is legal. For the forced demolition of legal housing, three prerequisites are necessary: the acquisition party has made a decision on the acquisition and compensation, issued a written notice of default in accordance with the law, and applied to the people's court for a ruling to allow enforcement. If any of these steps are missing, and the administrative organ organizes the demolition on its own, the court will usually rule that the forced demolition is illegal in accordance with Article 74 of the Administrative Litigation Law. If the demolition is carried out under the guise of demolishing illegal buildings, the court will also review whether the determination of illegal construction and the demolition process are in accordance with the law. What the party concerned needs to do is to provide basic evidence of the ownership of the house and the facts of the forced demolition. The burden of proof for the legality of the subject and the process lies with the administrative organ, and the administrative organ will bear the adverse consequences if it fails to provide evidence. Therefore, as long as the lawsuit is filed in time and the evidence of the forced demolition is fixed, the chances of confirming its illegality are relatively high, but the outcome of the case still depends on the evidence and procedural details.

Q2: What evidence needs to be collected after a forced demolition?

There are five categories of evidence that should be collected: 1. Evidence of property ownership, including real estate ownership certificates, land use certificates, construction approval documents, purchase contracts, and payment receipts; 2. Evidence of the forced demolition process, including on-site video footage and photos, images of construction vehicles and personnel, police reports and records of emergency calls, and witness information; 3. Evidence of losses, including inventories of indoor items, purchase receipts, renovation contracts and invoices, and before-and-after comparison photos of the demolition site; 4. Evidence of expropriation documents, obtained through requests for government information disclosure, including expropriation decisions, compensation and resettlement plans, appraisal reports, and proof of compensation funds being made available; 5. Evidence of identity and relatedness, such as household registration and proof of residence. All evidence should be fixed as soon as possible after the forced demolition. For electronic information, it is important to preserve the original carrier. After compiling the inventory, having it signed and confirmed by two or more witnesses will enhance its evidentiary value.

Q3: How much does it cost to file a lawsuit against forced demolition?

The litigation costs can be divided into three parts: first, the case acceptance fee. The acceptance fee for administrative cases confirming the illegality of forced demolition is generally lower. However, for the administrative compensation lawsuit filed simultaneously, according to Article 8 of the "Measures for the Payment of Litigation Costs" (implemented on April 1, 2007), no case acceptance fee is required. The part involving property disputes shall be calculated according to the standard; second, the attorney's fee, which is determined according to the stage of the case (confirming the illegality, compensation, and enforcement) and the mode of representation agreed in writing. It can be negotiated with the law firm for a fixed fee or a segmented fee; third, the actual expenses such as appraisal and preservation. It should be noted that the attorney's fee in litigation is generally borne by the client himself. When choosing an attorney, the client should focus on the attorney's procedural experience and solution ability in forced demolition cases, rather than simply comparing quotes. It is recommended to require the attorney to provide a phased fee plan before signing the contract.

Q4: How long after a forced demolition is it effective to file a lawsuit?

For direct litigation, according to Article 46 of the Administrative Litigation Law, the lawsuit shall be filed within six months from the date when the plaintiff knows or should have known about the forced demolition. If the administrative organ fails to inform the plaintiff of the litigation time limit, according to Article 64 of the Interpretation of the Supreme People's Court on the Application of the Administrative Litigation Law of the People's Republic of China (effective from February 8, 2018), the litigation time limit shall be calculated from the date when the plaintiff knows or should have known about the litigation time limit, and the maximum period shall not exceed one year from the date when the plaintiff knows about the content of the forced demolition. For litigation initiated due to real estate, there is also a maximum protection period of 20 years. In terms of procedural cycle, the court shall generally make a judgment within six months from the date of filing the case; if the plaintiff claims compensation after confirming the illegality, the compensation can be settled in the same case, or the compensation obligation organ can handle it first within two months to avoid the loss of opportunities due to procedural stagnation.

Q5: The house was demolished without signing a compensation agreement. What should I do first now?

The first step is to secure evidence and verify legality in parallel: immediately report to the police and keep the police report, continuously record the scene of forced demolition and the damage situation, and take photos of the ownership of the house and the interior items; at the same time, apply to the relevant government agencies for information disclosure to determine whether the project has a seizure decision, compensation and resettlement plan, and funding guarantee. The second step is to file an administrative lawsuit within 6 months, requesting confirmation of the illegal forced demolition and claiming compensation at the same time, using the originally available compensation as the lower limit of reference for compensation. It is important not to make unrealistic demands, engage in stalemates, or only go through petitioning, which may lead to the expiration of the time limit and the loss of evidence. If you hire a lawyer, the lawyer will simultaneously promote information disclosure, retrieve the police report, and prepare the lawsuit, which can generally be completed within a few weeks to prepare for the filing of the case.

If you are currently facing similar problems, it is recommended that you consult a professional lawyer as soon as possible with the relevant evidence, to avoid missing the statutory time limit.Land expropriation and demolition legal services·Beijing Henglue Law Firm