中华人民共和国土地管理法（修正）
LAND ADMINISTRATION LAW OF THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA

（Adopted at the 16th Meeting of the Standing Committee of the Sixth National People's Congress on June 25， 1986， and revised in accordance with the Decision on Revising the Land Administration Law of the People's Republic of China adopted at the Fifth Meeting of the Standing Committee of the Seventh National People's Congress on December 29，1988）
时效性：已被修正　 颁布日期：19881229 　实施日期：19870101 　失效日期：19990101 　颁布单位：全国人大常委会

Contents

Chapter I General Provisions

Chapter II Ownership of Land and Right to the Use of Land

Chapter III Utilization and Protection of Land

Chapter IV Use of Land for State Construction

Chapter V Use of Land for Township （Town） and Village ConstructionChapter VI Legal LiabilityChapter VII Supplementary Provisions

Chapter I General Provisions

Article 1 This Law is formulated in order to strengthen land administration， maintain the socialist public ownership of land， protect and develop land resources， make proper use of land， effectively protect cultivated land and meet the needs of socialist modernization.

Article 2 The People's Republic of China shall practise socialist public ownership of land， namely ownership by the whole people and collective ownership by the working people.

No unit or individual may seize， buy， sell land or make any other unlawful transfer of land.

The state may， in the public interest， lawfully requisition land owned by collectives.

The right to the use of state-owned land and collective-owned land may be transferred according to law. Specific measures for the transfer of the right to the use of land shall be formulated separately by the State Council.

The state shall， in accordance with the law， implement a system of the compensated use of state-owned land. Specific measures for the compensated use of state-owned land shall be formulated separately by the State Council.

Article 3 People's governments at all levels must observe and implement the guiding principles of valuing land highly and using land rationally， draw up overall plans， strengthen land administration， protect and develop land resources， and prevent acts of unlawful possession of cultivated land and abuse of land.

Article 4 The people's governments shall reward the units or individuals that gain prominent achievements in protecting and developing land resources， using land rationally and carrying out relevant scientific research.

Article 5 The land administration department under the State Council shall be in charge of the unified administration of the land throughout the country.

The land administration departments of local people's governments at or above the county level shall be in charge of the unified administration of the land in their respective administrative areas. The provinces， autonomous regions， and municipalities directly under the Central Government shall set up relevant agencies according to actual requirements.

People's governments at the township level shall be in charge of land administration in their respective administrative areas.

Chapter II Ownership of Land and Right to the Use of Land

Article 6 Land in the urban areas of cities shall be owned by the whole people， namely， owned by the state.

Land in rural and suburban areas shall be owned by collectives， except for those portions which belong to the state in accordance with the law； house sites and private plots of cropland and hilly land shall also be owned by collectives.

Article 7 State-owned land may be lawfully determined to be used by units under ownership by the whole people or units under collective ownership. State-owned land and collective-owned land may be lawfully determined to be used by individuals. Units and individuals that use land shall have the obligation to protect and manage the land and make rational use of such land.

Article 8 Collective-owned land shall belong lawfully to peasant collectives of a village and shall be operated and managed by agricultural collective economic organizations such as village agricultural producers' cooperatives or villagers' committees. Ownership of land already belonging to peasant collective economic organizations of a township （town） may be assumed by peasant collectives in the township （town）。

If land owned by peasant collectives of a village has been divided and belongs to two or more agricultural collective economic organizations in the village， ownership of such land may be assumed by peasant collectives in the respective agricultural collective economic organizations.

Article 9 Land owned by collectives shall be registered and recorded by people's governments at the county level， which shall， upon verification， issue certificates to affirm the ownership of such land.

State-owned land lawfully used by units under ownership by the whole people or under collective ownership or used by individuals shall be registered and recorded by local people's governments at or above the county level， which shall， upon verification， issue certificates to affirm their right to the use of such land.

Confirmation of the ownership of or the right to the use of forest land or grassland and confirmation of the right to the use of water surface or beaches for aquaculture shall be dealt with in accordance with relevant provisions of the Forestry Law， the Grassland Law and the Fisheries Law respectively.

Article 10 If any change is to be lawfully made in land ownership or in the right to the use of land， the formality of registering such change must be gone through and the certificate changed accordingly.

Article 11 Ownership of land and right to the use of land shall be protected by law. No unit or individual shall in fringe upon such ownership and right.

Article 12 Land owned by collectives and state-owned land used by units under ownership by the whole people or under collective ownership may be operated under a contract by collectives or individuals for agricultural， forestry， livestock and fishery production.

Collectives or individuals that contract to operate land shall have the obligation to protect such land and make rational use of it according to the uses provided for by the contract. The right to operate land under contract shall be protected by law.

Article 13 Disputes concerning ownership of land and the right to the use of land shall be solved through consultation between the parties. If no agreement can be reached through consultation， they shall be decided by the people's government.

Disputes concerning ownership of land and the right to the use of land between units under ownership by the whole people， between units under collective ownership， and between units under ownership by the whole people and units under collective ownership shall be decided by people's governments at or above the county level.

Disputes concerning the right to the use of land between individuals， between individuals and units under owner ship by the whole people， or between individuals and units under collective ownership shall be decided by people's governments at the township or county level.

If a party refuses to accept the decision of the relevant people's government， it may file a lawsuit in a people's court within 30 days from the date of receiving notification of the decision.

Before a dispute concerning ownership of land or the right to the use of land is solved， no party may alter the existing condition of the disputed land or destroy anything attached to it.

Chapter III Utilization and Protection of Land

Article 14 The state shall establish a land survey and statistics system. Land administration departments of people's governments at or above the county level together with departments concerned shall carry out land surveys and prepare statistics thereof.

Article 15 People's governments at all levels shall draw up overall plans for land utilization. The overall plans for land utilization of local people's governments shall be implemented upon approval by people's governments at higher levels.

Article 16 Urban planning shall fit in with the overall plan for land utilization. Within areas covered by urban planning， utilization of land shall be consistent with such urban planning.

In the safety zones of rivers and lakes， utilization of land shall be consistent with a comprehensive plan of development and utilization of rivers and lakes.

Article 17 Development of state-owned barren hills， wastelands and beaches for agricultural， forestry， livestock and fishery production shall be subject to the approval of people's governments at or above the county level； such land maybe assigned to be used by the units that develop it.

Article 18 If a piece of land from which minerals have been extracted or soil has been removed can be reclaimed， the land-using unit or individual shall be responsible for reclaiming it and restoring its use.

Article 19 Subject to the approval of a people's government at or above the county level， a land administration department may withdraw the grant of right to the use of state-owned land and cancel the land-use certificate of the land-using unit under any of the following circumstances：

（1） the land-using unit being dissolved or moving away；

（2） the land being set aside without use for two consecutive years without the consent of the original approving authority；

（3） the land being used in a way inconsistent with the approved use； or

（4） public roads， railways， airports， mining areas and so on being abandoned upon due verification and approval.

Article 20 People's governments at all levels shall adopt measures to protect cultivated land， maintain irrigation and drainage installations， improve soil， increase fertility of land， prevent soil from desertification， control soil salinization and soil erosion and prohibit acts allowing land to lie waste and destroying cultivated land.

Economy must be practised in using land for state construction and township （town） and village construction； cultivated land shall not be used when wasteland can serve the purpose； good land shall not be used when poor land is available.

Chapter IV Use of Land for State Construction

Article 21 When the state needs to requisition land owned by collectives or to use state-owned land for economic， cultural or national defence construction projects and for initiating public works， the matter shall be dealt with in accordance with the provisions of this chapter.

Article 22 Upon approval， construction units may apply for use of land needed for state construction projects which are listed in the state fixed-assets investment plan or which may be built in accordance with state provisions.

Article 23 When land is to be requisitioned for state construction， the construction unit must apply to the land administration department of the local people's government at or above the county level by presenting a project plan description or other documents of approval issued by the competent authority under the State Council or a local people's government at or above the county level， according to procedures specified for state capital construction. After the application has been examined and approved by the people's government at or above the county level， its land administration department shall reassign the land.

When the state requisitions land for construction， the units whose land is requisitioned should subordinate their wishes to the needs of the state and shall not obstruct the requisition.

Article 24 If land owned by collectives is requisitioned for state construction， the state shall have title to such land， while the unit using the land shall have only the right to its use.

Article 25 Requisition of more than 1，000 mu of cultivated land or more than 2，000 mu of other types of land for state construction shall be subject to the approval of the State Council.

Requisition of land in the administrative areas of provinces or autonomous regions shall be subject to the approval of the governments of those provinces or regions. Requisition of less than three mu of cultivated and less than ten mu of other types of land shall be subject to the approval of people's governments at the county level. The limits of approval authority of people's governments of municipalities under provinces and of autonomous prefectures shall be decided by the standing committees of people's congresses of the respective provinces and autonomous regions.

Requisition of land within the administrative areas of municipalities directly under the Central Government shall be subject to the approval of the people's governments of those municipalities. The limits of approval authority of the people's governments of districts and counties under centrally administered municipalities shall be decided by the standing committees of the people's congresses of such municipalities.

Article 26 Application for the land needed in a single construction project shall be submitted for approval according to the overall design； such application shall not be broken up into parts. Requisition of land for a project which is being constructed in stages shall be conducted stage by stage but not long before it is used. Application for land needed for the construction of railways， public roads， oil or water pipelines and so on shall be presented for approval section by section and the procedures for land requisition shall be completed accordingly.

Article 27 Units using requisitioned land for state construction shall pay land compensation. The compensation for requisition of cultivated land shall be three to six times the average annual output value of the requisitioned land for the three years preceding such requisition. Provinces， autonomous regions， and municipalities directly under the Central Government shall stipulate standards of compensation for requisition of other types of land with reference to the standard of compensation for requisition of cultivated land.

Standards of compensation for attachments and young crops on the requisitioned land shall be stipulated by provinces， autonomous regions， and municipalities directly under the Central Government.

Units using requisitioned vegetable plots in city suburbs shall pay for a development and construction fund for new vegetable plots in accordance with relevant provisions of the state.

Article 28 In addition to payment of compensation when requisitioning land for state construction， the land-using units shall also pay for resettlement subsidies.

Resettlement subsidies for requisition of cultivated land shall be calculated according to the agricultural population needing to be resettled. The agricultural population needing to be resettled shall be calculated by dividing the amount of requisitioned cultivated land by the average amount of original cultivated land per person of the unit being requisitioned. The standard resettlement subsidy to be divided among members of the agricultural population needing resettlement shall be two to three times the average annual output value of each mu of the requisitioned cultivated land for the three years preceding such requisition. However， the highest resettlement subsidy for each mu of requisitioned cultivated land shall not exceed ten times its average annual output value for the three years preceding such requisition. Provinces， autonomous regions， and municipalities directly under the Central Government shall stipulate respective standards for resettlement subsidies for requisition of other types of land with reference to the standard resettlement subsidy for cultivated land.

Article 29 If land compensation and resettlement subsidies paid in accordance with Articles 27 and 28 of this Law are still insufficient to maintain the original living standard of the peasants needing resettlement， the resettlement subsidy may be increased upon approval of people's governments of provinces， autonomous regions， or municipalities directly under the Central Government. However， the total land compensation and resettlement subsidy shall not exceed 20times the average yearly output value of the requisitioned land for the three years preceding such requisition