China approves regulations to better protect homeowners
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Disputed cases shall be determined by the people's courts, the draft says.
After further modification, the draft will be submitted to the State Council for promulgation and implementation.
The draft regulation was first reviewed by a State Council executive meeting in December 2007. The government later sought public opinion on the draft twice in 2010 after revisions had been made.
A statement released after the meeting said the draft regulation received over 100,000 opinions and suggestions from the public last year, and around 40 workshops had been held to discuss the draft among central government departments, local governments, resident representatives, and experts.
"The making of this regulation concerns the immediate interests of the public, the nation's industrialization and urbanization, and the overall modernization drive," the statement said.
It said the regulation aims to address the contradictions between the interests of the public and the need for industrialization and urbanization.
There have been many instances since China reformed the property market where homeowners and property developers have come into conflict over demolition plans and compensation payouts.
In a forced-demolition case last October, thugs entered a house of a 54-year-old man in the Guzhai Village of Shanxi's capital Taiyuan, pulling him out and beating him to death. In another case last year, residents set themselves on fire to protest against plans to demolish their house.
