Compulsory Land Research Articles

Land Loss with Compensation: What Are the Determinants of Income Among Households in Central Vietnam?

The purpose of this study is to investigate the determinants of household income following the loss of land owing to urban expansion in central Vietnam. Using data mainly from household surveys in the peri-urban areas of Hue city, the regression model indicates that demographic factors and livelihood strategy choices have important impacts on household income; financial compensation and support packages do not appear to be strong determinants of household income after the loss of land. This implies a failure of the current compensation programmes in the process of compulsory land acquisition, because the government believes that compensation packages make important contributions to livelihood reconstruction. This study suggests that investing in education and skill training for household members affected by land loss as well as assistance in converting compensation money into an adequate livelihood should be taken into consideration.

From public interest to public obligation: compulsory land expropriation for capital reconstruction in Nationalist China

AbstractIn 1927, the Nationalist government launched an ambitious project to transform Nanjing into a modern capital. During this reconstruction process, private lands were seized in the name of public interest for the construction of public works. In the face of opposition from affected landowners, Nationalist leaders shifted the emphasis from ‘public interest’ (gonggong liyi) to ‘public obligation’ (shimin zeren), stressing the duty of urban residents to support capital reconstruction and stigmatizing opponents as anti-development. This article examines compulsory land expropriation in Nationalist China and shows how the government turned discourses of public interest and public obligation into modern land laws.

Reversing Uncontrolled and Unprofitable Urban Expansion in Africa through Special Economic Zones: An Evaluation of Ethiopian and Zambian Cases

Despite the growing attention on uncontrolled and unprofitable urban sprawling in many African countries, few pragmatic solutions have been raised or effectively implemented. While uncontrolled and unprofitable urban expansions happened primarily due to poor land use management and dysfunctional land market, the cost of land management enforcement and reform is high. This paper suggests that the recently re-emerging special economic zones (SEZs) in Africa could be a practical way of using government intervention to reduce uncontrolled urban expansion and optimize urban land use. By evaluating the spatial impacts of two SEZs on their host cities in Ethiopia and Zambia, this paper demonstrates that SEZs could notably change urban expansion in terms of its speed, direction, and spatial structure. By using SEZs as an experimental area for land policy reform, the government can also effectively unlock a profitable urban development model with the functional primary and secondary land market. However, the diverging results in Ethiopia and Zambia also show that the optimizing effect can be significant only when the government is participatory and can fulfil its public function, including delivering proper planning in advance, lunching land policy reform, and even executing compulsory land acquisition for public interests.

Landholders’ Awareness of Compulsory Acquisition of Land and Compensation Process in Bauchi, Nigeria

This study aims to assess landholder’s awareness of compulsory acquisition of land on their satisfaction with the compensation process in Bauchi, Nigeria, to identify areas of weakness in the process and propose areas of improvement. The study adopted the use of a quantitative approach and data were collected through a questionnaire survey from 327 landholders affected by the compulsory acquisition and compensation exercise by the Bauchi State Government. The data collected were subjected to descriptive with mean ranking, frequency distribution. The study revealed that the respondents are aware of the process before the compulsory acquisition and during the process of compulsory acquisition they were also aware of. This means that the respondents agreed that they were aware of the process/procedures involved in compulsory land acquisition, laws, and procedures guiding compulsory land acquisition and compensation process. It recommended that Landholders should be made more aware of the process involved in compulsory acquisition and compensation not only at inception but up to the end of the exercise.

Compulsory land acquisition by government and litigations in Ghana: an empirical study of three educational institutions in Wa Municipality

This study examined government’s compulsory acquisitions of land for public educational infrastructure development in Ghana, using three case studies in Wa Municipality of Upper West Region. The strategy of inquiry was qualitative, involving key informant interviews with heads of the acquiring authorities and beneficiary institutions as well as semi-structured interviews with pre-acquiring owners and settlers of the lands. The findings revealed that the processes of compulsory acquisition of the subject lands had been delayed, and it is unclear when they would be completed. The processes were not properly followed as determined in the State Lands Regulations of 1962 (L.I. 230) and its subsequent amendments, which provide the processes or procedures for state acquisition of lands under the State Lands Act of 1962 (Act 125), leading to agitations and litigations between landlords and government institutions. The study attributes the problems of compulsory land acquisition to failure of acquiring institutions to follow procedures laid by regulations on compulsory acquisition. It recommends that landowners should be represented in the acquisition process from the onset to ensure fairness and prompt payment of adequate compensation as provided for by the law to reduce tension and litigations between government institutions and landlords.

Land Conversion for Tourism Development under Vietnam’s Ambiguous Property Rights over Land

The paper aims to explore the process of land conversion for tourism development in Vietnam, under the present ambiguous and insecure property rights system. Four case studies in different geographical areas were selected to analyse land conversion and land compensation for tourism projects before and after the implementation of the new land law in 2013. The findings of this study show that, in the present legal system of land and property rights, the rights of local people are not sufficiently guaranteed due to the decisive role of the State not only in defining compensation prices for land in the case of compulsory land acquisition but also in determining whether tourism projects are in the public’s interest or not (thus deciding the appropriate land conversion approach as well as affecting price negotiations). The research also found that, although a voluntary land conversion approach (when the project is not in the public’s interest), based on the 2013 Land Law, offers land users a better negotiation position and a higher compensation payment, possibly reducing land-related conflicts between the State and land users, ambiguity over property rights in fact increased due to the government’s substantial discretion to choose between ‘public purpose’ and ‘economic purpose.’ The paper concludes with questioning whether the present legal basis for compulsory land acquisition is future proof since urbanisation pressure is likely to increase, which may lead to even more land conflicts in the near future.

Nuances of Compulsory Land Acquisition and Compensation in Botswana: The Case of the Pitsane-Tlhareseleele Road Project

For years compensation has been awarded for compulsory land acquisition in Botswana and land acquisition for infrastructure projects is typically accompanied by dissatisfaction by displaced families. This is particularly the case on communal/customary land where affected parties tend to have an unclear understanding of the legal procedures that govern and inform acquisition and compensation. Often these issues of dissatisfaction relate to the misinterpretation of the legal frameworks. However, limited research has been conducted to examine the perceptions of the displaced persons and the expropriating authority as to the adequacy of the compensation payment. Therefore, it is necessary to understand how they are interpreted by each party to identify how they can be improved to better align with both parties. This paper seeks to examine the views of both the affected persons (occupying customary land) as well as the expropriating authorities (expropriating the land) in a bid to inform policy and practice, and to contribute to existing debates on compensation for expropriation. A case of the Pitsane-Tlhareseleele road project where portions of land were expropriated from customary land holders was used. Data were collected through key informant interviews and document analysis. The results of this study revealed differences between the perceptions of affected people and those of the expropriating authority. Government officials believed that the compensation offered was satisfactory, as everything was prepared in keeping with the provisions of the law. However, the affected persons were of the view that the compensation they received was not satisfactory, even though the compensation was paid in accordance with the existing statutory framework. The study concluded that this difference in perception emanates from the use of different yardsticks to measure adequacy. These differences in perception could be minimised if the existing statutes are amended to make it mandatory for the affected people to be actively involved in the property valuation process.

PENGARUH PENGETAHUAN PERPAJAKAN, KESADARAN WAJIB PAJAK, DAN PEMBERIAN HADIAH TERHADAP KEPATUHAN WAJIB PAJAK ORANG PRIBADI DALAM MEMBAYAR PAJAK BUMI DAN BANGUNAN DI KECAMATAN PASARKLIWON KOTA SURAKARTA

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of knowledge of taxation, awareness of taxpayers and gift giving to individual taxpayer compliance in paying land and building taxes. This type of research is a survey of compulsory land and building tax in Pasarkliwon District, Surakarta City. The sample of this study was 100 land and building taxpayers with purposive sampling and cluster techniques. Data collection techniques using questionnaires and literature. The data analysis technique used is multiple linear regression, t test, F test, and R2. The results of this study indicate that knowledge of taxation, awareness of taxpayers and gift giving significantly influence individual taxpayer compliance in paying land and building tax in Pasarkliwon District, Surakarta City.

Coal Seam Gas projects: Proposed policy model for compensation and benefits sharing

Australia had reserves of over 258,888 petajoules or 6.65 trillion cubic metres of unconventional Coal Seam Gas (CSG) at the end of 2014. The exploration for this rich source of energy requires proponent firms to negotiate access and compensation with landholders under the relevant state policies and regulations. In this study, a summative payment and benefits model is proposed and built using inputs to a dual pass governmental review into compensation for landholders hosting CSG energy projects in New South Wales, Australia. This theoretical model exposed that landholder compensation and production payments policies and regulations are inadequate and require expedited improvements and revisions. Specifically, the potential long term impacts of CSG extraction; landholder injurious affections in relation to personal health, loss of amenity, and diminution of current and future land use; and further consideration of neighbour compensation and compulsory land acquisition options are policy prescriptions that require deeper governmental consideration and analysis. In addition, the replacement of monetary compensation with long term production benefits may offer landholders increased sources of ongoing compensatory income, and thus requires more policy and regulatory exactitude.

Land tenure-related conflicts in peri-urban areas: A review

The rapid increase of urban population during the 21 st century has led to the expansion of metropolises and increased demand for land in peri-urban areas, which are often the object of compulsory land acquisition to cover urban development processes. Such a process leads to widespread land tenure changes in a specific system of rights, relationships, and institutions that contradict the nature of land as an essential and limited commodity. These changes continuously create the potential for land tenure conflicts in peri-urban areas, which are often complex and lead to violent, insecure, and unstable disputes. While many efforts have been made to explain the conflicts related to land tenure, and researchers have examined it from various aspects, there is still a deep gap in the integrated understanding of land tenure-related conflicts in peri-urban areas. Thus, the purpose of this study is to provide a comprehensive and systematic review of selected sources in order to explain the conflicts related to land tenure in peri-urban areas. In this regard, a meta-synthesis approach was used to review the types of land tenure-related conflicts in the conducted studies to integrate their results. So, 126 sources of land tenure conflicts were identified. The frequency of these sources shows that land tenure-related conflicts in peri-urban areas can be classified into three main categories. The first category considers conflicts in relation to the different interests of land (conflicts of interests-55.3%). The second category attributes them to conflicts among individuals, institutions with one another, or between individuals and institutions (conflicts of power - 23.8%), and 20.9% emphasize on the "conflict in legal and normative frameworks". With these in mind, it is obvious that the explanation of land tenure conflicts in peri-urban areas from different levels and dimensions is crucial for achieving sustainable land tenure.

The Right to Property and Compulsory Land Acquisition in Ghana: A Human Rights Perspective

Using a human rights-based approach and Ghana as a case study, this article examines the scope and content of the right to property in relation to compulsory land acquisition under international law. It argues that while the exact frontiers of the right to property remain quite uncharted at the global level the vacuum has been filled by the regional human rights systems and soft law. In the context of Ghana, the Constitutional protection of the right to property and quite elaborate rules to be followed during compulsory acquisition have not translated into revision of the compulsory acquisition laws, which remain largely incoherent and inconsistent with the requirements of the Constitution and international human rights law.

The Decision of the State or Local Authority on the Land Buyout for State or Local Public Needs

The decision of a state or local authority on the land buyout is considered as a juridical fact which is an element of a juridical structure determining the dynamics of legal relations in the field of land buyout for public needs. The purpose of the article is to identify the characteristic features of such a juridical fact as the decision of a state of local authority on the land buyout for state and local public needs. The author proposes a classification of the decisions on the land buyout basing on the approach used by O. A. Krasavchikov. It allows defining such a decision as an administrative act of operational management which has direct influence on emergence of the legal relations connected with land buyout. The article discusses the impact of the decision on the land buyout (administrative act) on the dynamics of the legal relations mentioned. As a result the author defines the validity conditions for such a decision. It must be taken by the competent body, it should contain information which allows establishing the precise land that is subject to buyout, the data on its owner, the information determining the specific need of the RF, its subject or municipal entity in the compulsory land buyout, and also its time frame.

Origins of Separated Ownership and Possible Solutions for Unifying Thereof

The article focuses on the issues of separated ownership of properties and compulsory land lease in the cities of the Republic of Latvia. Separation of ownership was a result of land reform, whereby land and buildings on it have different owners. The first part of the article examines the historical circumstances, in which separated ownership of properties and compulsory land lease originated and reveals why the legal relationships between landowners and building owners are regulated as lease agreements. Further on, the article analyses three possible ways (models) of unification of separation ownership of properties. While focusing on analysis of these models, the main unresolved issues concerning collection of land lease payments are outlined. Among these are the legal status of the community of apartment owners and representation of apartment owners in court proceedings.

Compensation for land and building compulsorily acquired in Nigeria

Purpose Valuation for compensation on land and buildings compulsorily acquired for public purposes is statutory. The Land Use Act (LUA) of 1978 now cited as Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, CAP l5 LFN 2007, stipulates the use of Depreciated Replacement Cost (DRC) Method in the valuation for compensation purposes for building and installation. The purpose of this paper is to criticize the application of the DRC technique in the valuation by acquiring authority as it does not arrive at fair market value and adequate compensation in Nigeria. Design/methodology/approach The method adopted for the study was a case study of real world valuation for compensation. Data used in the study were gathered mainly from government ministries and agencies responsible for land acquisition and compensation purposes. They included the Ministry of Lands and Housing, Land Use and Allocation Committee, and Ministry of Works and Transport. Market data on rental value, sales prices and other relevant data were collected from firms of professional that deal in real property. Findings The result of the study reveals that valuation by acquiring authority using DRC methods as prescribed by the LUA does not reflect market value and it is inadequate to put the claimants in the position they were before the acquisition. As such, most victims expressed dissatisfaction with the amount paid to them, which sometimes result to crisis, conflict and prolonged litigation, resulting in delay in executing or abandonment of the intended project. Research limitations/implications The study is limited to only one case study on acquisition and compensation for land and buildings with particular reference to Akwa Ibom State. This limitation does not invalidate the result as the law is applicable to the whole country. Practical implications The implication is that the LUA needs to be review to fair market value as basis of valuation and payment for site value as well as the constitution to add “adequate” to Section 44 (1a). This will reduce the incidence of many communities and land owners protest against the decision of government or its agents to acquire their land for public purposes. Originality/value The methodology meets the requirement of the law regarding compulsory land acquisition and compensation in Nigeria: The LUA of 1978. Using three scenarios: the valuation by acquiring authority, claimant’s valuers and independent valuers to illustrate the critique of the methodology, the result shows the inadequacy of compensation.

Towards Global Uniformity and Sustainable Compensation Valuation for Compulsory Land Acquisition

Compulsory land purchase is a tool for the control of land uses as well as land acquisition for developmental projects by the public authorities (governments). The right of government to compulsorily acquire land for its physical project is domicile in relevant laws of different countries and the laws usually provide for compensation often in money terms to the land/property owners whose land were confiscated. This study focuses on the examination of the compensation process of some countries across the continent in a search for a global standard for uniformity. The paper adopted a content analysis of the provisions of compulsory land purchase laws of selected countries and literature review of some papers on compensation for compulsory land acquisition from different countries. It was found that there is no definition of adequate compensation in any of the public land acquisition law. Though, nomenclatures like Just, Fair, Equity and Equivalence appears in most statutes, the lack of globally acceptable definition of adequate compensation has resulted in the adoption of different basis for market value by valuers/appraisers for compensation. Some laws, like Nigeria Land Use Act of 1978, stipulate the methodology and identify what improvement qualifies for compensation. The study further revealed that Nigeria authorities always rely on government valuers’ estimate of compensation amount. The study recommend for a global standardised definition of adequate compensation and methodology for assessment of compensation similar to international financial reporting standard (IFRS) and international valuation standard (RICS Red Book) for other valuations. Such standard will be expected to be incorporated in the statutes on land purchase and compensation to create a global uniformity and sustainable valuation of compensation for land acquisition.

Compulsory land acquisition for urban expansion: livelihood reconstruction after land loss in Hue’s peri-urban areas, Central Vietnam

Land acquisition for urbanisation in Vietnam has become a hot topic, attracting attention not only from land administrators, but also from the media and politicians. This paper draws on the case of Hue to investigate how farmers reconstruct their livelihoods after land loss. The findings indicate that the majority of people are able to reconstruct their livelihoods with better living conditions. Besides the employment opportunities derived from an expanding local economy, such as in Hue, remaining in the same physical environment and the retention of social networks are important factors for successful livelihood reconstruction. However, there are emerging issues that challenge equitable development and sustainable livelihoods, such as increased vulnerability for the elderly and infirm after land loss, in addition to the difficulties casual workers may face in the long term. The capacity of households to adapt to new situations, training, consultations and social security systems for the affected farmers ...

Trends and determinants of compulsory land recovery on households’ income in industrialized and urbanized areas: A case study of My Phuoc town - Ben Cat district - Binh Duong province

Trends and determinants of compulsory land recovery on households’ income in industrialized and urbanized areas: A case study of My Phuoc town - Ben Cat district - Binh Duong province

Compulsory land acquisition and compensation in Nigeria: Coastal communal perception

Compulsory land acquisition and compensation in Nigeria: Coastal communal perception

Implications of compulsory land acquisition and compensation in Ghana: a case study of land acquisition for the Suame-Buoho road reconstruction in Kumasi

Most lands in Ghana are held by individuals, families, clans and stools/skins under the customary tenure. To have access to land to develop infrastructure, the government usually resorts to a legal process of compulsory acquisition. This power extinguishes all proprietary titles, interests and other rights vested in the owners of the land. Laws regulating compulsory acquisition make provision for prompt, fair and adequate compensation payments to recompense the owners of demolished property. This paper examined compensation issues related to the Suame-Buoho road reconstruction where the government used the power of compulsory acquisition to acquire lands along the road for the purpose of expanding the road. The paper sought to identify the challenges and prospects associated with the process of compulsory acquisition, assessed the fairness, adequacy and promptness of compensation and the resultant effects on the affected people. A sample of 64 affected persons and two state institutions that were involved in the acquisition were identified for data collection using questionnaire survey. The findings showed that the affected persons did not really understand the issues of compulsory acquisition, compensation payments and the requirement for them to submit claims for compensation payments. The acquisition was not properly carried out as required by law as no executive instrument was published and compensation was mainly paid in piecemeal. The paper recommends among others things that individuals affected by the acquisition should be educated on the relevance of submission of claims for compensation as well as on the need to engage valuers to represent them in the compensation assessments. Keywords : Land, Compulsory Acquisition, Compensation, Suame-Buoho road

Dichotomising compulsory land acquisition and land contamination valuations

Purpose– This study aims at identifying the consequences of adopting statutory rather than market basis in assessing damages due to contamination to land. Most valuations undertaken to assess compensation for damages due to contamination on land are done with valuation methods prescribed by law for the compulsory acquisition of land.Design/methodology/approach– A total of 80 registered valuation firms with experience in both compulsory acquisition and damage assessment participated in a questionnaire survey to ascertain the methods adopted in valuing when determining the compensation payable as damages due to land contamination and the need for a framework for such valuations, in addition to some archival documents relating to the relevant laws and some purposively selected valuation reports, which were reviewed.Findings– The results of the analysis indicate that the use of compulsory acquisition valuation methods results in inadequate damages, which engenders conflicts among the stakeholders. The absence of any framework for damage assessment is responsible for the current practice in the Niger Delta, and it is recommended that international best practices utilising market basis of valuation be adopted.Research limitations/implications– Most valuation methods available are useful for valuing commercial properties regularly traded in the market and not applicable to the Niger Delta, which is mostly rural with very few market transactions. It is expected that this study will enable oil and gas industry operators, professional valuers advising the land owners or operators in the industry and the government to differentiate compensation paid for compulsory acquisition and compensation required to placate those suffering losses due to contamination.Practical implications– The findings will assist professional valuers to be more professional in valuing contaminated land devastated by oil spills.Social implications– Adopting the findings will engender a greater acceptability of the results of valuations undertaken in the wake of an oil spillage disaster and ensure a peaceful environment for the oil operators and the entire populace.Originality/value– The findings of this study are expected to assist policymakers in emerging economies and professional valuers acting in these environments to avoid precipitating crises by adopting inappropriate valuation techniques when assessing damages due to contamination. This study is original and has not been published elsewhere.