Lawmakers B.Enkhbayar, E.Bat-Amgalan, Kh.Bulgantuya, B.Saranchimeg and J.Chinburen handed over a draft amendment to the Law on Land to Speaker of Parliament G.Zandanshatar on October 4.

The bill initiators believe that the failure of the law to define the right to own, possess and use land in the context of the Civil Code has seriously violated the rights of citizens to a healthy and safe environment. The draft amendment was developed to harmonize the Civil Code with the Land Law, and improve regulations that seriously violate citizens’ property rights related to public housing.

The bill with three articles aims to limit the right of government agencies to own land for public housing and registration of unfinished buildings as immovable property in addition to creating new regulations related to public housing and land rights.

Article 1 of the bill reflects a definition of common property rights for public use, and provides for the issuance of land rights to apartment owners. This will restrict the right of land users to build apartments and create a basis for reviving the right to start construction under the Land Law, according to the legislators.

Article 2 states that a joint ownership of public housing’s land and its surrounding land is different from the common property rights of apartment owners. It also reduces chances of overlap of land for public housing and surrounding land.

Article 3 enshrines the right of common property for public use and changes the arrangement for the use of surrounding land by apartment owners’ associations.

Moreover, the regulation on termination of ownership rights based on land tenure and use rights was abolished, while new regulation on protection of citizens’ property rights was reflected in the bill.

The draft amendment also stipulates that if a government organization or office requests land possession for purposes other than official use, the request shall be resolved by Cabinet. This will provide unified control over land tenure by government agencies and limit the opportunities and conditions for engaging in for-profit activities.

Lawmakers view that the adoption of the bill will prevent unlawful termination of land contracts and serious violations against the right of citizens to own apartments. It is also expected to prevent the demolition of playgrounds and destruction of green space, and resolve land disputes between apartment owners’ associations, residents and businesses.

Emphasizing that state-owned land has been arbitrarily changed by an organization’s director or head, parliamentarian B.Enkhbayar said, “The corruption that accompanies this issue has been around for the last 20 to 30 years. Now it is time to regulate it by law. Apartments are being built on children’s playgrounds.”

“There is a need to stop issuing real estate certificates on unfinished buildings and carcasses. In Ulaanbaatar, more than 500 construction companies have mortgaged unfinished apartments. There are more than 20,000 people who have ordered such fraudulent apartments,” he stressed.

Legislator B.Saranchimeg noted, “Bayanzurkh District has the largest population in Ulaanbaatar. Therefore, there is an urgent need to address housing, construction and infrastructure in the district. Almost 2 billion MNT is required to acquire land for a new school for 960 children. In the next 10 years, more than 40,000 children will be enrolled in new schools. It is our responsibility to create adequate-learning environment. However, government officials arbitrarily use land and decide on land allocations through corruption. People’s interests are being violated. Public land should not be acquired by a head of a single company. Therefore, it needs to be regulated by law.”