Three residents challenged the forced demolition of three bicycle sheds by a district urban management enforcement bureau, having built and renovated the sheds with the housing office’s knowledge and paid renovation fees.

Issues

Whether the sheds were lawful structures; and whether the bureau complied with the procedural requirements of the Administrative Compulsion Law — notice, demand and an opportunity to be heard — before demolition.

Outcome

Ma Dehui and Luo Mengxuan acted in the proceedings, to which the sub-district office was joined as a third party. The court held that the claimants had not established the unlawfulness of the administrative act on the evidence available.

Note

In administrative litigation the burden of proof on procedure lies with the authority, but the claimant must first establish the existence of the act and its own standing.