A real real estate rule
The draft regulations on real estate demolition and relocation in urban areas, issued on Friday to solicit public opinion, have finally assured us that the existing anachronistic rules will be replaced.
The existing regulations, which took effect in 2001, have contributed to demolitions, violence and deaths by blurring the line dividing property requisition by local governments for public interest and purchase of land and buildings by realty developers for commercial use.
In fact, the existing regulations bestow undefined, and thus unrestrained, latitude on governments and developers to demolish urban structures and relocate residents. That explains why standoffs between demolishers and "nail households" - tenants who fight for higher compensation and refuse to vacate houses despite the demolition of structures around them - have been increasing by the day.
