Provisions of Shanghai Municipality on the Demolition of Illegal Buildings

(Adopted at the 10th Session of the Standing Committee of the 11th Shanghai Municipal People’s Congress on June 1, 1999; revised at the 12th Session of the Standing Committee of the 13th Shanghai Municipal People’s Congress on June 25, 2009; amended for the first time in accordance with the Decision on the Amendment to Some Local Rules of This Municipality made at the 31th Session of the Standing Committee of the 13th Shanghai Municipal People’s Congress on December 22, 2011; amended for the second time in accordance with the Decision of the Standing Committee of Shanghai Municipal People’s Congress on the Decision on Amending Certain Local Regulations made at the 41st Session of the Standing Committee of the 14th Shanghai Municipal People’s Congress on November 23, 2017)

Article 1

With a view to strengthening the rectification of illegal buildings and improving this Municipality’s environment quality, these Provisions are formulated in accordance with the Urban and Rural Planning Law of the People’s Republic of China and such other relevant laws, rules and regulations, and in the light of the actual circumstances of this Municipality.

Article 2

These Provisions apply to the demolition of illegal buildings within the administrative area of this Municipality, excluding the township and village planning areas, for which the construction project planning permits are not obtained according to law.

Article 3

The municipal and district people’s governments shall exercise the unified leadership over and take charge of the work of demolishing illegal buildings within their jurisdictions, establishing and perfecting a working mechanism for demolishing illegal buildings, improving and implementing the responsibility system for demolishing illegal buildings, and making the performance check on the department implementing the demolition of illegal buildings.

The municipal urban and rural construction administrative department and such departments as are designated by the district people’s governments shall specifically take charge of the comprehensive coordination of the work of demolishing illegal buildings within their jurisdictions.

The municipal and district administrative departments of planning, and the administrative law-enforcement department of city administration (hereinafter uniformly referred to as “the department of demolition implementation”) shall, in accordance with the laws, rules and regulations on planning administration and property management, and the provisions set by the Municipal People’s Government, be respectively responsible for the demolition of illegal buildings, and their specific respective functions and duties shall be separately provided by the Municipal People’s Government.

Sub-district offices and town people’s governments shall cooperate with the department of demolition implementation in doing well the demolition of illegal buildings.

Other relevant administrative departments such as the departments of public security, and industry and commerce administration shall, according to their respective functions and duties, assist in doing well the relevant work of demolishing illegal buildings.

Article 4

This Municipality shall establish and perfect a tour inspection system for discovering illegal buildings.

The department of demolition implementation and all district agencies assuming the duty of urban administration and tour inspection shall, according to their respective functions and duties as provided, take measures to strengthen routine tour inspection, and in a timely manner, discover, investigate and handle illegal buildings according to law. Sub-district offices and town people’s governments shall organize forces to conduct tour inspection, and in a timely manner, discover and stop the act of putting up illegal buildings.

When discovering the act of putting up illegal buildings within their property management areas, property service enterprises shall dissuade and stop the doer from continuing such act; if unsuccessful, they shall report to the department of demolition implementation of the district at their localities.

Article 5

The municipal urban and rural construction administrative department shall set up a unified telephone number for reporting this Municipality’s illegal buildings and announce it to the public.

When discovering an illegal building, any unit or individual person may report by calling the unified telephone number for reporting, and may also report to the department of demolition implementation. The departments accepting such report shall keep secrets for the informer.

Upon receiving the report, the municipal urban and rural construction administrative department shall immediately convey it to the department of demolition implementation of the local district.

The department of demolition implementation shall feed the situation on investigating and handling the illegal building back to the informer within a month.

Article 6

The district department of demolition implementation shall record the situation of the illegal buildings and the investigation and handling thereof within its jurisdiction, which, upon being collected by the department designated by the district people’s government, shall be brought into the information system established by the municipal urban and rural construction administrative department and taken as the basis for the illegal building rectification work.

Article 7

Upon discovering illegal buildings, or receiving relevant reports, or those by property management enterprises, the department of demolition implementation shall conduct investigation and obtain evidence on the spot within twenty-four hours, and for those being put up, shall conduct investigation and obtain evidence on the spot within two hours. For those illegal buildings not falling within the scope of its own duties, the case shall immediately be transferred to relevant departments for handling.

Article 8

For an illegal building needs to be demolished upon conducted investigation and obtained evidence, , the department of demolition implementation shall make a written decision of ordering demolition within a time limit.

Article 9

The department of demolition implementation shall make the decision of ordering demolition within a time limit available to the party concerned and punish it according to law. Where it is difficult to determine or serve the party concerned, it can be notified in the form of announcement. The period of notification shall not be less than ten days after the date of announcement.

Article 10

The party concerned shall, within the time limit provided in the decision of ordering demolition, demolish by itself the illegal building. Where it is really difficult for the party concerned to carry out the demolition by itself, the department of demolition implementation may do so on its behalf.

Where the party concerned refuses to carry out the demolition of the illegal building within the provided time limit, the municipal or district people’s government shall notify the party concerned to perform obligations. The notice shall in writing and clearly state the time limit to demolish the illegal building as well as the rights of statement and defense enjoyed according to the laws, etc.

Upon the receipt of the notice, the party concerned shall be entitled to make a statement and defense itself. The department of demolition implementation shall fully heed the opinions of the party concerned and shall record and check the facts, reasons and evidence set forth by the party concerned. Where the facts and reasons set forth by the party concerned are tenable, the department of demolition implementation shall accept them.

Where the part concerned has not apply for administrative reconsideration or bring an administrative action, or fails to demolish the illegal building within the provided time limit, the department of demolition implementation shall report to the municipal or district people’s government, which shall make a decision of mandatory demolition and instruct the department of demolition implementation to carry out the mandatory demolition, and may cumulatively impose a fine according to law.

Article 11

For an illegal building being put up, the department of demolition implementation shall order the party concerned to suspend the construction, and upon conducting investigation and obtaining evidence according to relevant laws, rules and regulations, order the party concerned in written form to stop the construction and carry out the demotion by itself, and may detain the construction tools and materials or take such other measures; where the party concerned refuses to stop the construction or carry out the demolition, the department of demolition implementation shall carry out the mandatory demolition immediately and may cumulatively impose a fine according to law.

Article 12

In case of the mandatory demolition of an illegal building, the department of demolition implementation shall notify the party concerned to take away the possessions in the illegal building, and where the party concerned fails to do so, the department of demolition implementation shall hold them for safekeeping and notify the party concerned to claim them within a time limit. Where the party concerned fails to claim them within the prescribed time limit, the department of demolition implementation may, upon retaining evidence, handle them properly according to the actual circumstances.

Upon the mandatory demolition of an illegal building, the department of demolition implementation shall, jointly with the sub-district office or the town people’s government, do well the relevant work on the party concerned.

Article 13

Upon the demolition of an illegal building, the party concerned shall clean up the building wastes within the time limit provided in the cleaning-up notice; in case of no cleaning-up being done within the time limit, the department of demolition implementation may do the cleaning-up.

Article 14

In their work of investigating and handling an illegal building, the department of demolition implementation and its personnel shall present the law enforcement certificate to the party concerned, exercise their powers according to law and enforce law in a civilized way, and shall not infringe upon the legitimate rights and interests of the party concerned; where damage is caused to the legal property of the party concerned, compensation shall be made according to law.

Article 15

The urban and rural construction administrative department shall strengthen the supervision and administration of the construction units of construction projects.

When the department of demolition implementation investigates and handles an illegal building, the unit undertaking the construction of the illegal building shall immediately stop the construction and cooperate in the investigation and handling.

Article 16

Houses categorized as illegal buildings shall not be rented.

Real estate title registration shall not be handled for illegal buildings.

Where illegal buildings are used to conduct operation activities, the business licenses and such other relevant certificates shall not be handled.

Article 17

The municipal and district people’s governments shall ensure the working expenditure for the demolition of illegal buildings, and such working expenditure needed shall be brought into the annual budgets of all relevant departments.

Article 18

The party concerned who disagrees with the specific administrative act made by the department of demolition implementation may, according to the provisions of the “Law of the People’s Republic of China on Administrative Reconsideration” or the “Administrative Litigation Law of the People’s Republic of China”, apply for administrative reconsideration or bring an administrative action.

Article 19

The municipal and district people’s governments shall establish an assessment system for the work of illegal building investigation and handling, honoring the units and individual persons with outstanding performance in the work of illegal building demolition and punishing the units and individual persons failing to fulfill their functions and duties according to law.

Article 20

In the process of discovering, investigating and handling illegal buildings on the part of the department of demolition implementation, relevant administrative departments and their personnel, in any of the following cases, administrative sanctions shall, according to law, be given to the chief persons in direct charge and other persons directly responsible; if the wrongful act constitutes a crime, the wrongdoer shall be prosecuted for criminal liability as provided by law.

1. serious cases of failure to fulfill the duty of tour inspection as provided, or failure to report upon discovering illegal buildings or to stop the construction thereof;

2. failure to make a decision of demolishing illegal buildings when such a decision shall be made according to law;

3. passing the buck for the functions and duties belonging to their own departments;

4. failure to demolish the illegal buildings being put up that shall be immediately demolished;

5. handling relevant certificates of real estate title registration, business licenses and such other certificates in violation of law; and

6. other cases of abusing their authority, neglecting their duties or playing favoritism and committing irregularities.

Article 22

Any person who hinders the personnel of the department of demolition implementation from performing their duties shall be penalized by the public security organ according to the “Penalty Law of Public Security Administration of the People’s Republic of China”; if the wrongful act constitutes a crime, the wrongdoer shall be prosecuted for criminal liability as provided by law.

Article 23

Where state functionaries put up illegal buildings, they shall carry out the demolition thereof on their own initiative; for those who refuse to do so or hinder the work of illegal building investigation and handling, the department of demolition implementation shall notify in written form their units or supervision departments of relevant situation, and suggest giving them administrative sanctions according to law.

Article 24

For the illegal building demolition in town/township or village planning areas, the town/township people’s governments shall implement these Provisions as a reference.

Article 25

These Provisions shall be effective as of August 1, 2009.