Inheritance of Rural Homestead Use Rights Under China’s “Separation of Three Rights” Framework: Judicial Observations, Legal Dilemmas, and Institutional Pathway

The inheritance of rural homestead use rights represents a critical challenge in China’s ongoing land tenure reform, particularly under the “Separation of Three Rights” framework. Under this framework, a central legal difficulty arises when privately owned rural houses are inherited while the underlying homestead remains subject to collective ownership, membership-based qualification, and land-allocation rules. Drawing on 35,966 published judicial documents from 2013 to 2024, together with representative judicial decisions, relevant legal norms, and local reform practices, this study examines recurring legal dilemmas surrounding the inheritance of rural homestead use rights. The analysis highlights three interrelated legal issues: the continuity of the existing household-based homestead relationship following the death of a household member; the application of the “one-household-one-homestead” rule to inheritance-related land use; and the relationship among inherited house ownership, collective membership, and continued use of the underlying homestead. To resolve these structural impasses, this study proposes a framework for the formation, continuation, and termination of land-use relationships arising from rural house inheritance. Within this framework, statutory lease provides a supplementary legal basis for continued use, paid use adjusts interests during continued occupation, and voluntary compensated withdrawal facilitates orderly termination and resource reallocation. The proposed framework seeks to coordinate inherited property interests, membership-based residential security, and the effective use of collectively owned rural land.