(Original title: The new Land Management Law is passed, and major changes are expected in land expropriation compensation, collective land entry into the market, homestead transfer, etc.)

The much-anticipated amendment to the Land Management Law passed the "third reading" today!

On August 26, the 12th meeting of the Standing Committee of the 13th National People’s Congress voted to adopt a decision on amending the Land Management Law and the Urban Real Estate Management Law. This decision will come into effect on January 1, 2020.

It is understood that the revision of the Land Management Law takes protecting the interests of farmers as the basic principle and important goal, and focuses on improving the three aspects of land acquisition, collective commercial construction land, and homestead management. Among them, the entry of collective commercial construction land into the market is the biggest highlight of this revision of the Land Management Law.

It is worth noting that the entry of rural collective commercial construction land into the market has changed the original pattern in which only state-owned land can be used for construction land. Whether it will have an impact on the land supply pattern has attracted much attention. In this regard, Yang Heqing, deputy director of the Economic Law Office of the Legal Affairs Committee of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, made it clear that there will be no impact on the land market.

For the implementation of the draft amendment to the Land Management Law after it is passed, Cheng Lifeng, a member of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, suggested focusing on the connection with relevant laws and reform measures. While implementing the law, further expand the scope of the pilot land system reform to provide more practical experience and legislative basis for the reform to be based on the law.

Three aspects should be improved to effectively protect the rights and interests of farmers

Land is the lifeblood of farmers. According to Yang Heqing, deputy director of the Economic Law Office of the Legal Affairs Committee of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, the revision of the Land Management Law takes protecting the interests of farmers as a basic principle and important goal, and focuses on improving the system in three aspects.

First, in terms of land acquisition, the land acquisition procedures have been reformed, requiring the government to conduct land status surveys and information disclosures before land acquisition, and to negotiate with landless farmers, organize hearings when necessary, and sign an agreement with farmers before they can apply for land acquisition and go through the approval procedures for land acquisition, which greatly protects the interests of farmers. In terms of land acquisition compensation, the previous compensation based on the annual output value of the land has been changed. Now the compensation is based on the comprehensive land price of the area. This is because the comprehensive land price of the area not only takes into account the output value of the land, but also considers the location, local economic and social development conditions and other factors to comprehensively determine the land price.

Second, in terms of collective commercial construction land, it has changed the past problem that rural land must be expropriated as state-owned before it can enter the market, and can directly increase property income for farmers. At the same time, when collective constructive land is put on the market, the law requires that more than two-thirds of the members of the villagers' congress or villagers' meeting must agree before it can be put on the market.

Third, in terms of homestead management, my country implements a basic management system of one household per home for homesteads. In some places with many people and little land, the land for homesteads may be relatively tight in some places. This time the law stipulates that in response to this situation, local governments must find other ways to protect the right of rural residents to live. In addition, this reform also decentralized the authority to approve homesteads and clearly required the rational arrangement of rural homesteads through planning to provide convenience for improving rural living conditions.

“In short, these measures in the newly revised Land Management Law will provide more adequate and tangible protection for farmers’ interests.” Yang Heqing said.

The entry of collective commercial construction land into the market is the biggest highlight

It is worth noting that the newly revised Land Management Law has removed the legal obstacles for rural collective construction land to enter the market.

In the newly revised Land Management Law, Article 43 of the original Land Management Law was deleted, that is, any unit or individual who needs to use land must use state-owned land; it was added that rural collective construction land can be transferred, leased, etc. to units or individuals other than rural collective economic organizations for direct use if it complies with planning, is registered in accordance with the law, and has the consent of more than two-thirds of the members of the collective economic organization. At the same time, users can also transfer the rural collective construction land again through transfer, exchange, and mortgage.

In this regard, Wei Lihua, director of the Regulations Department of the Ministry of Natural Resources, said that this is a major institutional innovation in the Land Management Law. It has eliminated the dual system in which collective construction land cannot directly enter the market for many years, and has removed institutional obstacles for the integrated development of urban and rural areas. The entry of collective commercial construction land into the market is the biggest highlight of this revision of the Land Management Law.

The entry of rural collective commercial construction land into the market has changed the original pattern in which only state-owned land can be used for construction land. Will this have an impact on the next land supply pattern?

In this regard, Yang Heqing said that the purpose of this revision of the Land Management Law, including the reform of collective commercial construction land entering the market, is to change and improve the existing land supply pattern of construction land. Originally, only state-owned construction land could enter the market for various construction projects. Now, collective construction land is allowed to be directly transferred and leased by the collective for construction. This is a change in the land supply pattern. "When collective commercial construction land enters the market, first of all, the land entering the market must comply with the plan, which must be for industrial or commercial purposes. Secondly, it must be registered in accordance with the law. Thirdly, it must be arranged in the annual land use plan. In addition, even after obtaining the right to use the collective commercial construction land, the land rights holder must use the land according to the original planned use. Therefore, from these aspects, it will not have an impact on our land market." He said.

Industry insiders predict that the new land management law will provide more sufficient land for subsequent reforms in the rental market, and with the large supply of rental housing construction, the upward trend in housing prices will be restrained. At the same time, the direct entry of rural collective construction land into the market will also help reduce the benchmark price of land. In addition, the entry of rural collective construction land into the market will also significantly increase farmers' land property income, give farmers more property rights, and better protect farmers' legitimate rights and interests.

Experts recommend continuing to promote experimental exploration of land system reform

Wei Lihua introduced that the subjects involved in rural land system reform and the interest relationships involved are very complex, and one move affects the whole body, so it must be promoted. prudently and steadily. At the end of 2014, the General Office of the CPC Central Committee and the General Office of the State Council issued the "Opinions on Rural Land Acquisition, the Market Entry of Collective Commercial Construction Land, and the Pilot Work on Homestead Reform" to deploy rural land system reform pilot work across the country. Since the pilot project broke through the relevant provisions of the Land Management Law and the Urban Real Estate Management Law, in February 2015, the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress passed an authorization decision authorizing the State Council to suspend the implementation of five provisions of the Land Management Law and one provision of the Urban Real Estate Management Law in the administrative regions of 33 pilot counties. Since 2015, 33 pilot areas have boldly explored and practiced under the strong leadership of the Party Central Committee. The reform of the rural land system has achieved significant results and laid a solid foundation for the revision of the Land Management Law.

For the implementation of the draft amendment to the Land Management Law after it is passed, Cheng Lifeng, a member of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, put forward three suggestions.

First, organize the study and publicity of law. The rural land system is related to the development of the national economy and the vital interests of farmers. This timeTo amend the law is to transform the requirements of the Party Central Committee on land system reform and the institutional achievements of the pilot areas into law through statutory procedures, and to universally implement and enforce them throughout the country. Therefore, it is necessary to strengthen learning and publicity so that the majority of farmers can truly understand and appreciate the effectiveness of the land system reform and the rights granted to farmers by national laws.

The second is to focus on the connection with relevant laws and reform measures. This time, the Land Management Law and the Urban Real Estate Management Law were simultaneously revised, and were connected with the newly revised Rural Land Contract Law, which strengthened the protection of permanent basic farmland and clarified the relationship between the overall land use plan and the land spatial planning. It is recommended that these laws and reform measures should be simultaneously promoted during implementation to form a legal synergy.

The third is to continue to actively promote experiments and explorations in land system reform. "This legal amendment adopts a positive and prudent attitude, and will elevate the identified issues and practices proven to be feasible by reform practice into laws. For some temporarily unclear and immature practices, pilots will continue. It is recommended that while implementing the law, further expand the scope of the pilot, especially increase the intensity of comprehensive reform measures of the land system, to provide more practical experience and legislative basis for the reform to be based on the law.