Civil Code: Tenancy of Land for Construction

(These clauses are selected from The Civil Code of the People’s Republic of China translated and authored by Steve Li and Robert Zhang, international arbitration lawyers registered in Shanghai, China, and published by Kindle Unlimited. No reproduction is allowed unless authorized by the authors.)
 
Chapter XII Tenancy of Land for Construction
Article 344 A tenant of land for construction may possess, use, and profit from the State-owned land under its tenancy according to law, and use such land for the construction and erection of buildings, structures, and their ancillary facilities.
Article 345 Tenancy of land for construction may be created separately on the surface of, above, or under the land.
Article 346 The creation of any tenancy of land for construction shall comply with the requirements for saving resources and protecting the ecological environment and the applicable provisions of laws and administrative regulations on land use and shall not damage any existing usufruct.
Article 347 Tenancy of land for construction may be created through assignment or allocation.
Tenancy of land for construction shall be assigned by bidding, auction, or any other means of open competition if the land lot is intended to be used for industrial, commercial, tourist, recreational, commercial residential, or any other operational purposes or has two or more prospective assignees.
The creation of tenancies of lands for construction by allocation shall be strictly restricted.
Article 348 No tenancy of land for construction shall be created by bidding, auction, or agreement unless the parties enter into a written assignment contract.
In general, an assignment contract for the tenancy of land for construction shall contain the following
(1) the names and domiciles of the parties;
(2) the boundary and area of the land lot;
(3) the spaces to be covered by the buildings, structures, and their ancillary facilities;
(4) the purpose and planning terms of the land lot;
(5) the tenancy term of the land lot for construction;
(6) the amount and terms of payment of the assignment fee; and
(7) dispute resolution.
Article 349 No tenancy of land for construction shall be created unless registered before the competent registration authority upon an application. A tenancy of land for construction shall be created upon its registration. The registration authority shall issue an ownership certificate to the tenant of the land for construction.
Article 350 The tenant of any land for construction shall reasonably use the land under its tenancy and shall not divert it to any other purpose unless the diversion is approved by the competent administrative authority according to law.
Article 351 The tenant of any land for construction shall pay the assignment fee and other costs according to law and the assignment contract.
Article 352 The ownership of the buildings, structures, and their ancillary facilities constructed or erected by the tenant of any land for construction shall be vested in such tenant unless it is proven to the contrary.
Article 353 The tenant of any land for construction may transfer, exchange, invest, donate, or mortgage its tenancy unless otherwise specified by law.
Article 354 No transfer, exchange, investment, donation, or mortgage of the tenancy of any land for construction shall be valid unless the parties enter into a written contract thereon. The term of such disposal shall be agreed upon by the parties but shall not exceed the remaining tenancy term of the land for construction.
Article 355 In case of transfer, exchange, investment, or donation of the tenancy of any land for construction, an application for alteration shall be submitted to the competent registration authority.
Article 356 In case of transfer, exchange, investment, or donation of the tenancy of any land for construction, the buildings, structures, and ancillary facilities attached to the land shall be disposed of concurrently.
Article 357 In case of transfer, exchange, investment, or donation of any building, structure, or its ancillary facility, the tenancy of the land for construction covering such building, structure, or ancillary facility shall be disposed of concurrently.
Article 358 Where it is necessary to divert any land for construction to public purposes in advance before the expiration of its tenancy term, compensations shall be paid for the buildings and other real properties on the land in accordance with Article 243 of this Code, and the corresponding assignment fee shall be refunded.
Article 359 The tenancy of any residential land shall be automatically renewed upon the expiration of the tenancy term. The renewal fee shall be paid, reduced, or exempted in accordance with laws and administrative regulations.
The renewal of the tenancy of any land for non-residential constructional purpose upon the expiration of the tenancy term shall be governed by law. The ownership of the buildings and other real properties on such land shall be vested as agreed or in accordance with laws and administrative regulations in the absence of an express agreement.
Article 360 Upon the extinguishment of the tenancy of any land for construction, the assignor shall deregister the tenancy in a timely manner. The ownership certificate shall be surrendered to the registration authority upon the deregistration of the tenancy.
Article 361 The use of collectively-owned land for construction shall be governed by laws and administrative regulations on land administration.