Implementation Rules of Rural Homesteads Management in Zengcheng District (Trial)

　　Chapter I General Provisions

　　Article 1 Guided by the Land Administrative Law of the People's Republic of Chinaand the Urban and Rural Planning Act of the People's Republic of Chinaand other relevant laws, the following implementation rules are formulated according to the local situation, the Notice of the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs on Standardizing the Examination and Approval Management of Rural Homesteads (Nong Jing Fa〔2019〕  No.6), and the Notice of Guangdong Provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs and Department of Natural Resources on Standardizing the Examination and Approval Management of Rural Homesteads(Yue Nong Nong Gui 〔2020〕No.3) , with a view to promoting the system reform of homesteads, strengthening the supervision and management, maintaining the management order, regulating the villagers’ residence, protecting the legal rights and interests of the homesteads of rural collective economic organization members.

　　Article 2 These Rules shall apply to the homesteads’ distribution, use, circulation, investigation and administration of illegal land use  within the administrative area of this District (villages included in the three-year action plan for urban renewal or areas where villages have been converted to residential areas shall adopt other relevant regulations).

　　The term “homestead” as mentioned in rules refers to the collective construction land used by villagers for building houses and attached facilities, including lands for houses, attached houses and courtyards.

　　The villagers mentioned in rules refer to members of the rural collective economic organizations of the District.

　　Article 3 In implementation process, the District government shall play a leading role，and the local government of towns and streets shall take major responsibilities and the rural government shall take a direct and specific role. Governments at all levels must highly value, earnestly fulfill their own responsibilities of leadership in plan and coordination, ensuring smooth implementation of various work of rural homestead management under their jurisdiction.

　　Article 4 The management and use of homesteads shall adhere to the strictest cultivated land protection system and follow the principles of planning first, one household and one homestead, intensive conservation, standard control and examination and approval according to law.

　　The territorial space planning and village planning shall be compiled on the basis of local economic and social development and in accordance with the principle of adapting measures to local conditions and being practicable. In addition, the use of homesteads should be arranged in a coordinated way so as to improve the living environment and conditions for rural villagers.

　　Article 5 Land use control shall be implemented and the principle of farmlands being used in farming shall be followed. The government should strictly control the appropriation of farmlands as new homesteads. To be specific, the use of various farmlands, such as permanent basic farmlands, the ecological public welfare forests, drinking water source first-grade protection zones, all kinds of natural protected areas, lands within river management scopes or blue line should be prohibited. In addition, forests should be used as little as possible.   

　　Article 6 Villagers’ lawful rights and interests such as their qualification rights to be allocated and their property rights shall be safeguarded in accordance with the law. It is strictly forbidden for urban residents to buy homesteads of rural areas, to use rural homesteads to build villas and private clubs, and to illegally occupy or trade homesteads in the name of circulation.

　　Chapter II Qualification Certification

　　Article7 Any household that meets any of the following circumstances can be identified as “one household ”:

　　(1) the husband and wife live with their children under the legal age for marriage（22 for man and 20 for woman）;

　　(2) If the applicant has brothers or sisters, one of them and their parents shall be identified as “one household ” , and the other brothers or sisters may apply for household division upon reaching the legal marriageable age or after marriage;

　　(3) if the applicant is the only child in the family, she or he may after marriage continue to be “one household ” with her parents or apply for a separate household;

　　(4) if the applicant without a house after divorce remarries and his or her spouse has no house, they can be identified as “one household ” .

　　Article 8 Villagers meeting the conditions for household division may apply for “one household” identification (household division) according to the following procedures:

　　(1) Application. The villagers apply in writing to the  community collective economic organizations, and submit the Zengcheng District Approval Form of Rural “one household” identification (Household division), the ID cards and the household register of the applicant and household members.

　　(2) Preliminary examination. Community collective economic organizations shall conduct preliminary examination and within 10 working days after passing submit the matter to the meeting of members (representatives) of rural collective economic organizations for a vote. Then the preliminary opinion shall be endorsed and submitted to the village collective economic organizations or villager committee for reexamine.

　　(3) Reexamination and publicity. The village collective economic organization or villager committee shall conduct reexamination, and its result shall be publicized on the bulletin board of the village or community for 7 working days. If there is no objection, the reexamination opinion shall be endorsed and submitted to the administrations of towns and streets for examination and confirmation.

　　(4) Checking and confirmation. The administrations of towns and streets conduct checking and confirmation, and endorse opinions.

　　Article 9 If the acreage of the existed homestead in practical use is less than total area after household division, and if his or her actual use of the building area is not more than the total building area after household division, each household can be identified as “one household”, and they can co-build houses in accord with the village’s overall scene or in harmony with the surrounding environment after regulation.

　　Article 10 Villagers meeting the following conditions shall be entitled to homesteads allocation in their collective economic organizations:

　　(1) being a member of the collective economic organization;

　　(2) having reached the legal age for marriage;

　　(3) having no homesteads;

　　(4) having no multiple houses in the original family;

　　(5) meeting the requirements for household division.

　　The membership of rural collective economic organizations shall be determined in accordance with the Provisions on the Administration of Rural Collective Economic Organizations of Guangdong Province (Yue Fu Ling No.189) and with reference to the Guiding Opinions on the Definition of Membership of Rural Collective Economic Organizations of Guangzhou Zengcheng District People’s Government (Zeng Fu〔2020〕No. 5).

　　If villagers whose registered permanent residence has moved in or out of the collective economic organization, his or her allocation qualification shall be determined by the vote of the general assembly of members of the collective economic organization according to the Provisions on the Administration of Rural Collective Economic Organizations of Guangdong Province (Yue Fu Ling No.189).

　　Article 11 In accordance with the principle of “members identifying, acquiring by households, and one household, one homestead”, the rural collective economic organizations having the ownership of homesteads shall identify the qualifications for rural homesteads allocation and establish a database of the qualifications (hereinafter referred to as “database of the directory”). Only the members in the directory can obtain or receive the right to use the homestead.

　　Article 12 Villagers qualified for homesteads allocation may apply for inclusion in the directory database according to the following procedures:  

　　(1) Application. The villagers should apply to the rural collective economic organizations that have the ownership of homesteads, fill in the Zengcheng District Approval Form for the Allocation Qualification of Rural Homesteads, and submit the ID cards and household register of the applicant and his or her family members.

　　(2) Preliminary examination. Community collective economic organizations shall conduct preliminary examination and within 10 working days after passing submit the matter to the meeting of members (representatives) of rural collective economic organizations for a vote. The preliminary examination opinions after passing the vote shall be endorsed and submitted to the village collective economic organizations or villagers committees for examination and approval. 

　　(3) Examination and publicity. The village collective economic organizations or villagers committees shall conduct examination and approval, and within 10 working days after the examination is passed， form a directory database according to the examination results. The list of members of the directory library shall be published on the bulletin board of the village and the community for 7 working days. If there are no objections, the certificate of no objection shall be issued and the opinions shall be signed and submitted to the administrations of towns and streets for the record.

　　(4) Publication and filing. Villages and communities shall publish the names of the members of their directory library. the administration of towns and streets shall publish the list of members of the directory database on the government portal website and report to the Agriculture and Rural Bureau of Zengcheng District for the record.

　　Article 13 The directory database shall be subject to dynamic management and shall, in principle, be adjusted once a year. If the members in the directory database have obtained the Approval Letter of Rural Homestead or no longer meet the qualification identification conditions, they shall lose their membership. The village and community shall move the member out of the directory database after verification and confirmation, and report to the administration of towns and streets and Agriculture and Rural Bureau of Zengcheng District for the record.

　　Chapter III Land use standards

　　Article 14 The newly increased land for homesteads shall be subject to planned administration. At the end of each year, administrations of towns and streets apply to Zengcheng district bureau of agriculture and rural for new homesteads plans of next year, and Zengcheng district bureau of agriculture and rural areas shall submit those plans to the District’s government for overall arrangements. While examining and approving villagers’ applications for new homesteads, the administrations of towns and streets shall follow the annual land use plan assigned by the District’s government.

　　Article 15 Each household shall own only one homestead. The base area of each newly approved homesteads shall be controlled within 80 square meters, and the building area shall be controlled within 280 square meters. The number of building floors shall be no more than three, and staircases and functional rooms may be added according to functional needs. The height of three-story buildings shall be no more than 11 meters, and the height of buildings with staircases and functional rooms shall be no more than 14 meters.

　　For the reconstruction of the original houses for which the villagers have obtained land certificates, the construction shall be carried out within the original land area and also shall follow the requirements that the total construction area shall be less than 280 square meters and the height shall be less than 14 meters.  

　　Chapter IV Application for Approval

　　Article 16 According to the mode of “applications by villagers, examinations by the villages’ administrations, and review by the administrations of towns and streets”, the examination and approval procedures for homesteads shall be optimized.

　　Article 17 The administrations of towns and streets shall integrate the functions of relevant departments, establish construction management service agencies for homesteads, accept villagers’ applications for the use of homesteads and housing construction. Besides, the examination and approval process shall be simplified and implement one-stop service for examinations and approvals.

　　Article18 One household as a unit may apply for a new homestead under any of the following conditions.

　　(1) Enjoying the qualification for allocation of homesteads;

　　(2) The floor area of the original homestead does not reach 80% of the standard stipulated in this document, and it is necessary to reconstruct, expand or build a new building on the other land;

　　(3) New buildings need to be built at different sites due to planning adjustments, requirements of state or collective construction or relocation of migrants;

　　(4) The original buildings are damaged due to natural disasters or other reasons and the new building needs to be built at a different site;

　　(5) those specially provided by laws, regulations and policies.

　　Article 19 No application under any of the following circumstances:

　　(1) Those not meeting the requirements for household division;

　　(2) The situation of “one household with multiple houses”;

　　(3) Selling, leasing or donating the original house to another person;

　　(4) each single household that has been deemed as the situation of building multi-household house and identified as “one household with one house”;

　　(5) Failing to return the original homesteads to the collective economic organizations in violation of the policy of “demolishing the old and building the new”.

　　Article 20 Villagers can apply for homesteads according to the following procedures:

　　(1) Application. The villagers should submit written applications to the rural collective economic organizations having the ownership of homesteads, and fill out theApplication Form forPlanning Permission of Homesteads and Building Houses in Rural Areas. In addition, Provide ID cards of the applicant and his/her family members, household register, the Letter of Commitment for the Use of Rural homesteads and other materials.

　　In the case of applying for reconstruction and expansion in the original site, the original homestead use certificate and the clear certificate of the fourth boundary ownership shall be submitted; Those applying for a new house in a different location shall submit the use certificate of the original homestead and promise to withdraw from the original homestead free of charge; Except in the case of household separation or other circumstances where buildings, structures and other attached objects on the original homestead are not required to be dismantled, the buildings shall also be dismantled within a prescribed time limit and returned to the village collective economic organization for use.

　　(2) Preliminary Examination. Upon receipt of the applications, the rural collective economic organizations shall conduct a second examination of the allocation and use qualification for homesteads. If the qualification conditions are true, the legality and compliance of the original homesteads shall be examined for the situation of demolishing old houses for new one or building on original homesteads; For newly applied homestead, in accordance with the planning scheme and allocation principles of the homesteads of the organization, the application shall be submitted to the meeting of members of rural collective economic organizations (representatives) for discussion within 10 working days. If it passes the preliminary examination, the rural collective economic organization shall sign the opinions and submit the villagers’ applications, the minutes of the meeting of the members (representatives) of the rural collective economic organizations and other materials to the village collective economic organizations or villagers’ committees for review. If the applicant fails to pass the preliminary examination, the applicant shall be informed in writing within 15 working days after submitting the application.

　　(3) Reexamination. Village collective economic organizations or villagers’ committees mainly examine whether the submitted materials are true and effective, whether the proposed land is in line with village planning, and whether the opinions of adjacent land owners are solicited. If it passes the reexamination, the village collective economic organization or the villagers’ committee shall publicize for 7 working days the application reasons for homesteads, the location and area of the land to be used and other information within the scope of the village. If there is no objection or the objection is not established, the opinions shall be signed by the village collective economic organization or the villagers’ committee, and submitted together with relevant application materials such as meeting minutes, publicity materials and other materials to the administration of towns and streets for examination and approval .

　　(4) Examination and Approval. After accepting the application, the administration of towns and streets shall examine on the spot whether the applicant meets the application conditions, whether the proposed land meets the requirements of reasonable layout and area standards of homestead, whether the proposed land meets the requirements of national spatial planning, forest land protection and utilization planning and use control, etc., and whether the homestead is examined by rural collective economic organization or villagers’ committee and its results have been publicized.

　　If the applicant plans to use original homesteads or the stock of rural collective construction lands and these lands conform to the current land use overall planning, village planning and national spatial planning, the administration of towns and streets shall make decisions within 20 days after acceptance of application: for eligible and complete application, the administration shall issue Rural Homestead Approval Letter and submit to the Bureau of Agriculture and Rural Areas of Zengcheng for the record. If the materials are not complete, the rural collective economic organization and the applicant shall be notified in writing to make up and correct the application within a time limit. The application shall be deemed to have been withdrawn if no rectification is made within the prescribed time limit. For the unqualified application, a decision shall be made not to grant permission.

　　With regard to agricultural and forest lands to be occupied, and unused lands to be used (including idle lands, barren slope lands and wastelands, etc.), the administration of towns and streets shall put forward their opinions on examination and approval and submit  them to the District’s planning and natural resources administrative departments for the examination and approval procedures for construction lands according to legal procedures; In case of occupying forestland, it is necessary to report to the forestry department of the District to go through formalities for transferring forestlands.

　　Article 21 The administrations of towns and streets, rural collective economic organizations and villagers’ committees shall timely publish the results of examination and approval for homesteads applications and accept public supervision.

　　Article 22Villagers shall complete the application for building houses and begin the construction within one year from the date of obtaining the Letter of Approval for homesteads. If the construction do not start within the time limit and the extension formalities are not handled or the extension application is not approved, the Letter of Approval for homesteads shall become invalid.

　　If villagers need to extend the time limit of the Letter of Approval for homesteads, they shall apply 30 days prior to the expiration of the time limit to administrations of towns and streets for an extension. If the extension is approved, the extension shall not exceed 6 months.In applying for the extension, an application for extension and the original Letter of Approval for homesteads shall be submitted, and the reasons for applying for extension shall be explained.

　　the Letter of Approval for homesteads can be applied for again after it becomes invalid.

　　Article 23After obtaining the Letter of Approval for homesteads, Villagers shall apply for construction according to relevant laws. The procedures of building application and approval shall be carried out in accordance with the relevant regulations of the District.

　　Article 24 If the original homestead conforms to the requirements of planning and use control and is rebuilt, renovated or expanded on the original site, a new Letter of Approval for homesteads shall be made according to the procedures prescribed in Article 20 of this document.

　　The villagers who have been approved to build a new house at a different site shall dismantle the buildings, structures and other attached objects on the original house site within the commitment period (no more than 6 months) after the completion of the new house. The original homestead shall be taken back by the rural collective economic organization with the ownership of the homestead in accordance with the law and used in a unified manner.

　　Article 25 Villagers may apply for the confirmation and registration of the right to use the homesteads and the above-ground house ownership according to laws after the completion of the construction of the house, and the District’s real estate registration authority shall examine and issue the certificate of real estate ownership.

　　Chapter V Withdrawal and Recovery of Homesteads

　　Article 26The administrations of towns and streets shall, in the light of the actual local conditions, take strong measures to encourage departments of villages to withdraw idle homesteads which can meet the needs of villagers meeting the conditions for allocation of homesteads. The administrations also shall encourage and guide qualified villages and communities to withdraw homesteads with compensation, revitalize idle homesteads, develop rural tourism, expand collective economy and increase villagers’ income by attracting investment.

　　Article 27 When the owner of a homestead no longer use the existing homestead, he or she may apply to the rural collective economic organization having the ownership of homesteads for withdrawal, and the rural collective economic organization shall recover the right to the use of the homestead and cancel the certificate of land use and the certificate of house ownership (the real estate right certificate) after obtaining the approval of the original examination and approval organ. If conditions permit, withdrawal and recovery with compensation may be carried out.

　　Article 28 Under any of the following circumstances, the rural collective economic organizations may recover the right to use homesteads with the approval of the original examination and approval authorities:

　　(1) being necessary for the construction of public facilities and public welfare undertakings;

　　(2) failing to use the homestead according to the approved purposes;

　　(3) the homestead is idle or the house has collapsed or been demolished for more than two years and has not been restored to use;

　　(4)The use of homestead is stopped due to cancellation, relocation or other reasons;

　　(5) The owner of the right to use the homestead dies and no one inherits the house on the homestead;

　　(6)The original homesteads for owners whose new constructions have been approved at different sites;

　　(7) Other circumstances that homesteads should be recovered according to laws.

　　In case (1) the right to use the homestead is recovered, appropriate compensation shall be given.

　　Article 29 Rural collective economic organizations shall establish a standing account for the recovery of homesteads, manage the reserved homesteads well and report it to the administration of towns and streets for record in time.

　　Article 30 When the right to use homesteads is recovered, cancellation registration shall be handled in accordance with relevant provisions.

　　Chapter VI Supervision and Administration and Legal Liability

　　Article 31 the District’s government shall establish a system of joint conference for rural homesteads management, and set up a   comprehensive coordination mechanism participated by the following departments: the bureau of agriculture and rural areas, planning and natural resources, housing and urban and rural construction, city comprehensive law enforcement management, forestry and gardening, water, ecological environment, development and reform, public security, fire control, water supply, electricity supply, gas supply, telecommunication and so on, strengthening information resource sharing and connectivity.

　　Article 32 Agriculture and rural affairs bureau of Zengcheng District shall be responsible for following tasks: establishing and improving the management system of homesteads’ allocation, use and circulation and of investigating and dealing with illegal use of homesteads, improving the standards of land use for homesteads, guiding the rational layout of homesteads and the utilization of idle homesteads and idle farm houses, organizing and carrying out statistical investigation on rural housing demand, reporting the plan of farmers’ new housing demand to the district’s government annually, and inform the Zengcheng District Branch of the Municipal Bureau of Planning and Natural Resources, guiding the qualification identification of homesteads’ allocation, formulation of allotment plan, examination and approval of homesteads, investigation and punishment of illegal land use for homesteads, and homesteads’ approval records.

　　The Zengcheng District Branch of the Municipal Bureau of Planning and Natural Resources shall be responsible for following tasks: land use planning and planning permission, arranging the homestead land use scale and layout in national spatial planning to meet the reasonable demand of homesteads, examining and approving the formalities of the conversion of agricultural land in accordance with the law, handling the real estate registration of homesteads and the houses on the homestead according to law, guiding the governors of towns and streets the inspection and investigation of illegal land use.

　　Relevant administrative departments such as the bureau of housing and urban and rural construction, city comprehensive law enforcement management, forestry and gardening, water, ecological environment, development and reform, public security shall, in accordance with the relevant laws and regulations and the corresponding responsibilities, conduct the relevant supervisions and administration duties. Departments of water supply, electricity supply, gas supply, telecommunications shall in accordance with the responsibilities do a good job in organizing and implementation.

　　Article 33The administration of towns and streets, as the party of supervision and laws enforcement of homesteads, shall be responsible for following tasks: the examination and approval, management and service work of the rural homesteads within their respective jurisdictions, establishing one-stop service windows for rural homesteads and building, publicizing relevant laws and regulations and providing policy advice to villagers, strengthening the management of villagers’ homesteads application process and issuing the Rural Homestead Approval Letter, putting forward annual plans for increasing homesteads, undertaking the duty of investigating and punishing illegal land use and house construction, uniformly exercising the law enforcement power of investigating and punishing villagers’ illegal land use and house construction, and timely discovering and stopping illegal acts through dynamic inspections.

　　Article 34 Under the guidance of the administrations of towns and streets, rural collective economic organizations and villagers’ committees shall be responsible for following tasks:  conscientiously implement the rural homesteads’ management system,  giving priorities to the distribution of homesteads and the examination and verification of applications in the publicity of village affairs, carrying out homesteads’ qualification identification and establishing homesteads’ allocation qualification list database, reviewing villagers’ homesteads’ applications, formulating homesteads’ allocation plans, and doing a good job in homesteads’ recovery management, mediating rural homestead ownership disputes within the jurisdiction and resolving conflicts in a timely and effective manner, guiding villagers to use land to build houses in accordance with the law, discovering and stopping illegal land construction in time, and reporting to the administration of towns and streets.

　　Article 35 Administrative sanctions shall be given according to law to administrative staff who neglect their duties, abuse their power or engage in malpractices for personal gains. When the circumstances are so serious as to constitute a crime, criminal responsibilities shall be investigated according to laws.

　　Article 36 For the circumstances of illegal occupation of homesteads for housing without permission or approval, homesteads shall be withdrawn and new houses on them shall be demolished within time limit according to the Land Administration Law of the People's Republic of China and “the Guangdong Provincial People's Government Announcement of Administrative Law Enforcement on Rural Villagers’Illegal Occupation of Homesteads for Housing (Yue FuHan [2020] No. 84) .

　　Chapter VII Supplementary Provisions

　　Article 37 These implementing rules shall come into force as of the date of promulgation and remain valid for five years.

　　Annex:

　　Attachment 1.Zengcheng District Approval Form of “One Household” Identification (Household Division)  .docx

       Attachment 2.Zengcheng District Approval Form for Rural Homesteads Allocation  Qualification.docx

       Attachment 3.Zengcheng District Rural Homesteads Allocation Qualification List Database.docx

       Attachment 4.Application Form for Rural Homesteads and Building (Planning Permission).docx

       Attachment 5.Letter of Commitment for the Use of Rural Homesteads.docx

       Attachment 6.Publicity before Submission of Zengcheng District Rural Homesteads Application (Pattern).docx

       Attachment 7.Approval Form for Rural Homesteads and Building (Planning Permission).docx

       Attachment 8.Rural Homesteads Approval Letter.docx

       Attachment 9.Flow chart of “One Household” Identification (household division) in Zengcheng District.docx

       Attachment 10.Flow Chart of Database Building of Zengcheng District Rural Homesteads Allocation Qualification List Database.docx

       Attachment 11.Approval Flow Chart of Rural Homesteads and House Building (planning permission) in Zengcheng District.docx

      中文版：

      附件12.《增城区农村宅基地管理实施细则（试行）》(增府办规〔2021〕1号）.pdf