Vietnam Land Law 2013: what changes on 1 July 2014

Vietnam land law 2013 (Law No. 45/2013/QH13) takes effect on 1 July 2014, and it replaces the Land Law of 2003. The National Assembly passed it in Hanoi on 29 November 2013. Home buyers and landholders should know four things: land stays state property, farm land terms are fixed at 50 years, the state can recover land only in listed cases, and prices now come from published frames and tables.

Land still belongs to the people

Article 4 says land belongs to the entire people, with the State acting as the owner's representative. Nobody buys the land itself. The State hands over land use rights to users, and those rights can be allocated, leased or recognized under the law.

For a home buyer, this means you hold a right to use a plot, and a certificate is the paper that proves it. In the law, the formal name of this paper is a certificate of land use rights and ownership of houses and other land-attached assets. Articles 100 to 102 explain who can get one. Older papers still count. Examples include temporary certificates and entries in the land register book before 15 October 1993.

Sources: Land Law No. 45/2013/QH13, Articles 4, 5, 100 to 102 (National Assembly, passed 29 November 2013; text listed at thuvienphapluat.vn).

Farm land: 50 years and set limits

Article 126 sets the term for farm land given to households and individuals who farm directly. It is 50 years. When the term ends, a household that still wants to farm can keep using the land under the same term. A lease of farm land to a household may not run longer than 50 years either.

Article 129 sets how much farm land one household can be given. For annual crops, fish ponds and salt production, the limit is 3 hectares per land type in the southeast and Mekong Delta provinces. It is 2 hectares per type in other provinces. For perennial crops, the limit is 10 hectares in delta areas and 30 hectares in midland or mountain areas. Forest land is limited to 30 hectares per category.

Sources: Land Law No. 45/2013/QH13, Articles 126 and 129 (National Assembly, passed 29 November 2013; text listed at thuvienphapluat.vn).

When the State can take land back

Article 62 lists the cases where the State may recover land for national or public interest. They include projects of national importance approved by the National Assembly and projects approved by the Prime Minister, such as industrial parks, economic zones and new urban centers. Projects approved by provincial People's Councils are also listed. These include local roads, schools, markets, social housing and resettlement areas.

Land can also be recovered for violations of land law and when land use ends under the law. These are in Articles 64 and 65. The law also requires notice. Article 67 deals with notifying users and complying with a recovery decision.

Sources: Land Law No. 45/2013/QH13, Articles 62, 64, 65 and 67 (National Assembly, passed 29 November 2013; text listed at thuvienphapluat.vn).

Compensation when land is recovered

Article 74 is the key rule. A user who meets the conditions in Article 75 is compensated. The first choice is new land with the same use purpose. If no land is available, the user is paid in money. The money is worked out from the specific land price set by the provincial People's Committee at the time of the recovery decision.

That makes the price decision matter. The law asks that compensation be handled in a democratic, impartial, equal, public, timely and lawful way. Affected households should keep their land papers and ask for the price basis in writing.

Sources: Land Law No. 45/2013/QH13, Articles 74 and 75 (National Assembly, passed 29 November 2013; text listed at thuvienphapluat.vn).

How land prices are set

Article 113 says the Government issues land price frames once every five years, for each type of land and region. If market prices rise 20 percent or more above the top of a frame, or fall 20 percent or more below the bottom, the Government adjusts the frame.

Article 114 then asks each provincial People's Committee to build a land price table from the frame. The People's Council of the same level reviews it. The table is published on 1 January of the first year of the period. Tables are used for items such as land use tax, fees and fines.

Specific land prices are different. The provincial People's Committee decides them. The land office may hire consulting organizations to help, and a council for land price appraisal reviews the price first. Specific prices are used in cases such as land use levy above the allocation quota. The law also sets rules for consulting firms in Articles 115 and 116.

Sources: Land Law No. 45/2013/QH13, Articles 112 to 116 (National Assembly, passed 29 November 2013; text listed at thuvienphapluat.vn).

What to do before 1 July

Article 211 states the law takes effect on 1 July 2014. On that date, Land Law No. 13/2003/QH11 stops being effective. Article 210 contains transitional rules for projects and compensation started before that day.

The Government issued Decree 43/2014/ND-CP, which guides the law, on 15 May 2014. Buyers and landholders can read it next to the law.

Practical steps are simple. Check what kind of paper you hold. Find the term and purpose of your land. Ask your ward or district land office how the transition rules apply to you. Treat this note as a general overview of the 2013 land law only. For your own plot, a licensed Vietnamese lawyer can read your papers and advise you.

Sources: Land Law No. 45/2013/QH13, Articles 210 and 211; Government of Vietnam, Decree 43/2014/ND-CP, 15 May 2014 (thuvienphapluat.vn).

Sources

Land Law No. 45/2013/QH13, National Assembly, passed 29 November 2013 (thuvienphapluat.vn). Decree 43/2014/ND-CP, Government of Vietnam, 15 May 2014 (thuvienphapluat.vn).