The 2nd Draft Land Law (amended) is gathering people’s opinions, which has institutionalized three general aims, six specific goals, six groups of solutions, and eight major policy groups in Resolution No. 18-NQ /TW.

On that basis, the Draft Law contains ten novel contents covering a wide range of land policy issues. These are land use planning, land allocation regulations, land lease, land use purpose change, land recovery, land price determination, land finance policy, land use right market, and policy on management and use of agricultural land, multi-purpose land management and use, administrative reform, digital transformation, and inspection.

Zoning three areas of land use space.

Draft Law renewal and enhancement of the quality of master planning and land use plan. National plans, land use master plans, and master plans for industries and sectors that use land must all be consistent, unified, synchronous, closely linked, and promote development. Land use planning and planning are developed at the national, provincial, and district levels to meet the requirements of the Strategy for Rapid and Sustainable Socio-economic Development; to ensure national defense and security, environmental protection, and climate change adaptation.

The contents of the land use planning and plan have defined the zoning and arrangement of land use space in three areas, including strictly managed areas, restricted areas, and areas where land use purposes are changed; prescribe the combination of land use norms with land use space and determine the location, boundary, area of land to be recovered, change the land use purpose to each land parcel in the district-level land use planning.

Land allocation, land lease through auction, bidding

The Draft Law completes regulations on land allocation, land leases, and land use purpose change. Land allocation and leasing will be primarily carried out throughout the auction of land use rights and bidding on projects using the land. Strictly stipulate land allocation cases and leases without auctioning off land use rights or bidding on projects using the land. Implement the form of the land lease with paid annually and specify the cases of the land lease within a lump sum based on the nature and purpose of land use, ensuring a stable source of income. To specify conditions for land allocation, land lease, and usage limits for religious organizations that are appropriate per the existing land fund of the locality; religious organizations that use the land for other purposes must pay land rent to the State under the law.

Strict on land acquisition

The Draft Law stipulates more specifically the authority, purpose, and scope of land recovery, as well as specific conditions and criteria for land recovery for socio-economic development in the national and public interest. Having completed regulations on compensation, assistance, resettlement, and land recovery for defense and security purposes, socio-economic development in the national and public interest. Compensation, support, and resettlement must be one step ahead by ensuring public awareness, transparency, and harmonization of the interests of the State, the people whose land is recovered, and the investors so that people with recovered land have a place to live and an equivalent or better quality of life. To specify the effective use of the adjacent land fund to promote land resources for socioeconomic development, as well as the mechanisms for contributing land use rights, adjusting the land, and beautifying urban and residential areas for rural residents.

Innovation in land prices, land finance, land use rights market

The Draft Law completes the mechanism for determining land prices based on market principles, the Central Government, and People’s Council inspection and supervision mechanisms in developing land price lists. Supplement and complete regulations to ensure publicity and transparency, such as publicizing land prices and trading on real estate transaction platforms for projects in residential, urban, and commercial houses.

One of the new points is to complete the financial mechanisms and policies on land to ensure harmony between the interests of the State, land users, and investors; to have a reasonable and effective regulation mechanism for revenue from land use levy, land rent between the central and local governments; and to regulate the difference in land rent, ensuring publicity and transparency. Higher tax rates are imposed on users of lots of land, multiple houses, land speculation, slow land use, and abandoned land. Institutions and preferential policies based on the exemption and reduction of land use fees and land rents appropriate to the fields and areas eligible for investment incentives and policy beneficiaries.

A further new point is to complete legal regulations related to the real estate market, including land use rights to market, and to promote the commercialization of land use rights. Draft Law policies to develop a real estate market information system associated with land information; policies to encourage the development of the land uses right market, particularly the agricultural land leasing market. Completing the State’s regulations on regulation to ensure the real estate market’s healthy, safe, and sustainable development. Compulsory registration of land use rights and registration of land changes, as well as specific and synchronous sanctions to prevent non-registration of transactions at State agencies.

Improving the efficiency of land use

To improve the efficiency of land resources, Draft Law focuses on agricultural land management regulations and multi-purpose use land types.

As a result, the Draft Law completes mechanisms and policies on agricultural land management and use in the direction of expanding the subjects and limits for receiving the transfer of agricultural land use rights, as well as providing regulations for agricultural land users to be transferred for the purpose productions of cultivation, breeding, and improve the efficiency of agricultural land use based on planning. Strengthen land quality management and combat land degradation and deterioration, bank leasing of agricultural land regulations. There are regulations to effectively manage and use agricultural and forestry land and settle residential and production land for ethnic minorities.

The Draft Law furthermore specifies the management and use of multi-purpose land, residential land in combined with commerce and services; agricultural land in combined with commercial and services; land for national defense and security in combined with economy; land for tourism projects with spiritual elements, land for construction of aerial works, underground works, and land formed from sea reclamation activities.

Additionally, the new points are related to promoting administrative reform and digital transformation in the land of management and use, ensuring centralized management, operation, connection, and information sharing from central to local levels. Concurrently, continue to promote decentralization and decentralization, as well as power supervision and control. The Draft Law also renews and strengthens inspection, examination, supervision, and handling of violations; and resolves land-related disputes, complaints, and denunciations.

 (Following the source from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment)