The Shanghai government has revised regulations to empower residents to select property assessment agencies in house removal projects.

Over 20 residents recently gathered at the Jianxing Resident Committee, Yangpu District, to carefully screen 22 assessment companies on offer. They were representing hundreds of residents who lived in the local community. Their houses were to be pulled down for the construction of a major trunk road line circling across the city.

The government hoped the power fro residents to choose property assessment agencies will address complains and disputes commonly seen between residents and property developers. Fair evaluation is the key basis for appropriate compensation for residents whose house are to be removed for urban development purpose.

According to the revised regulations on housing property assessment, it will become a general practice that residents vote to decide which assessment agency they prefer out of the minimum of five candidates. Or alternatively a proper assessment agency may be determined through negotiation between residents or property developers, or through drawing cuts.

Assessment agencies should first put forward their bids with property developers which should, honestly, give a full list of assessment agencies of intention for residents' choice, according to the regulations.

If controversy occurred on assessment results, both residents and developers are able to file a written application of re-assessment with the original assessment company or a new one. If disputes remained, an appraisal request can be made with the expert panel organized by the Association of Property Assessment Professionals of Shanghai.

Property developers used to dominate the assessment process in a less transparent manner. They hired assessment agencies with which they had special links, and undervalued to various extent houses under a government-approved construction project. Some developers, in collaboration with corrupt government officials, deliberately underestimated the real value of houses to unfairly cut their removal cost.

It was not rare to find residents get unreasonably low compensation, causing disputes with developers and, in some extreme cases, clashes and violence.

The choice of assessment agency is part of the efforts by the Shanghai government to reduce complaints. The number of complaint cases has been rising recently as the leading Chinese commercial city is accelerating its urbanization.

In a separate report, the Shanghai government has required 15 governmental departments, including the Shanghai House and Land Bureau, to make their closed information available for public check and consultation. It is part of the city's drive to make the government work more transparent, according to the Regulations on Opening Government Information of Shanghai, due in effect on May 1.

The House and Land Bureau intended to make public information about its policies that were made since 1995 and remained in force, and information about public bidding on land selling, announcements on house removals and minimum per-unit compensation fees, according to bureau officials.

On March 1 the Ministry of Construction issued new regulations on work procedures of administration of urban house removal. The hearing system was added to safeguard residents' interests when disputes arose, and forced removals were put under scrutiny and strictly limited, according to the regulations.

Source: Xinhua