Top court rules on home demolition rights

Courts can turn down government requests to demolish housing, if the compensation for residents is deemed unfair, the Supreme People's Court ruled on Monday.

The latest judicial interpretation by the country's top court, effective from Tuesday, supplements the existing regulation on urban home demolition, which was revised last year.

The interpretation specifies seven circumstances under which courts should reject government requests for forced relocation, including where the proposed compensation "violates the principle of fairness", where land acquisition has "severely violated the procedures provided by law", and where the basic living essentials of property owners are not ensured.