LAND LAW

Pursuant to the Constitution of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam;

The National Assembly promulgates the Land Law.

Chapter 1.

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope of regulation

This Law prescribes the regime of land ownership, powers and responsibilities of the State in representing the entire-people owner of land and uniformly managing land, the regime of land management and use, the rights and obligations of land users involving land in the territory of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

Article 2. Subjects of application

1. State agencies that exercise the powers and perform the responsibilities of the representative of the entire-people owner of land, and perform the tasks of unified state management over land.

2. The land users.

3. Other subjects involving land management and/or use.

Article 3. Interpretation of terms

In this Law, the following terms are construed as follows:

1. Land parcel means a land area delimited by boundaries determined on the field or described in dossiers.

2. Master plan on land use means the distribution and zoning of land by use space in serve of the objectives of socio-economic development, national defense, security, environmental protection and climate change adaptation based on the land potential and land use demands of all sectors and fields, for each socio-economic region and administrative unit in a defined period of time.

3. Land use plan means the division of a master plan on land use according to periods of time for implementation during the period of the master plan on land use.

4. Cadastral map is a map that shows the land parcels and related geographic elements, and is made according to administrative units of communes, wards or townships, and certified by a competent state agency.

5. Land use status quo map is a map that demonstrates the distribution of various types of land at a specified time, and is made according to each administrative unit.

6. Land use-planning map is a map made at the beginning of a planning period, which demonstrates the distribution of various types of land at the end of that planning period.

7. The State allocates land use rights (below referred to as the State allocates land) means that the State issues decisions on land allocation to hand land use rights to subjects having land use demand.

8. The State leases land use rights (below referred to as the State leases land) means that the State decides to hand land use rights to subjects having land use demand under contracts on land use right lease.

9. The State recognizes land use right means that the State hands land use right to a person that is using stably the land not allocated or leased by the State, through the grant of a certificate of land use right, ownership of houses and other land-attached assets for the first time, for a certain land parcel.

10. Transfer of land use rights means the transfer of land use rights from one person to another by ways of exchange, transfer, inheritance or donation of land use rights, or capital contribution with land use rights.

11. The State recovers land means the State decides to recover land use rights from a person that is allocated land use rights by the State, or from a land user that violates the land law.

12. Land compensation means the State returns the value of land use rights for the recovered land area to land users.

13. Remaining land investment costs include costs for ground fill-up and leveling and other directly related costs that can be proved to have been invested in land and have not been retrieved by the time the State recovers the land.

14. Support when State recovers land means the State provides assistance to persons having land recovered, in order to stabilize their livelihood, production and development.

15. Registration of land, houses and other land-attached assets means the declaration and acknowledgement of the legal status of land use rights, ownership of houses and other land-attached assets, and the land management right over a certain land parcel, in the cadastral records.

16. Certificate of land use rights and ownership of houses and other land-attached assets is a legal certificate in which the State certifies the lawful land use rights and ownership of houses and land-attached assets of the person who has land use rights and ownership of houses and land-attached assets.

17. Land statistics means that the State, based on the cadastral records, sums up and evaluates the land use status at the time of making statistics, and the land-related changes between two statistical times.

18. Land inventory means that the State, based on the cadastral records and on the field, investigates, sums up and evaluates the land use status at the time of conducting inventory, and the land-related changes between two inventory times.

19. Land price means the value of land use rights calculated per unit of land area.

20. Value of land use rights means the monetary value of land use rights over a specified land area in a specified land use term.

21. Land use levy means an amount of money that a land user shall pay to the State when being allocated land with the collection of land use levy by the State, permitted to change the land use purpose, or having land use rights recognized by the State.

22. Land information system means the system consisting of information technology technical infrastructure, software, data and processes and procedures which are developed to collect, store, update, process, analyze, synthesize and track land information.

23. Land database means a collection of land data that are arranged and organized to serve the access to, use, management and update by electronic devices.

24. Land dispute means a dispute over the rights and obligations of land users among two or more parties in a land relationship.

25. Land destruction means acts of topographically deforming land, reducing land quality, polluting the land, causing the loss or reduction of the land usability according to a determined purpose.

26. Public non-business unit means an organization established by a competent state agency or by a political organization or a socio-political organization, having the function of carrying out public services in accordance with law.

27. Economic organizations include enterprises, cooperatives or other economic organizations as prescribed by the civil law, excluding foreign-invested enterprises.

28. Land for construction of underground facilities means a land area used for construction of underground facilities that are not parts of works constructed on the ground.

29. Land-using household means those who share a marital, family or foster relationship as prescribed by the marriage and family law, are living together and have joint land use rights at the time of being allocated land or leased land, or having land use rights recognized by the State; or receiving transfer of land use rights.

30. Household or individual directly engaged in agricultural production means a household or an individual that has been allocated, leased agricultural land, or having agricultural land use rights recognized by the State; or has received transfer of agricultural land use rights, and generates stable income from agricultural production on that land.

Article 4. Land ownership

Land belongs to the entire people with the State acting as the owner’s representative and uniformly managing land. The State shall hand over land use rights to land users in accordance with this Law.

Article 5. Land users

Land users may be allocated land or leased land, have land use rights recognized by the State, or receive transfer of land use rights in accordance with this Law, including:

1. Domestic organizations, including state agencies, people’s armed forces units, political organizations, socio-political organizations, economic organizations, socio-politico-professional organizations, social organizations, socio-professional organizations, public non-business organizations, and other organizations as prescribed by the civil law (below referred collectively to as organizations);

2. Domestic households and individuals (below referred collectively to as households and individuals).

3. Communities, including Vietnamese communities residing in the same village, street quarter or similar residential area sharing the same customs and practices or the same family line.

4. Religious establishments, including pagodas, churches, oratories, shrines, monasteries, abbeys, religious schools, head offices of religious organizations, and other religious establishments.

5. Foreign organizations with diplomatic functions, including diplomatic representative missions, consulates, other foreign representative agencies with diplomatic functions recognized by the Vietnamese Government, representative missions of organizations of the United Nations, inter-governmental agencies or organizations, and representative missions of inter-governmental organizations.

6. Overseas Vietnamese as prescribed by the nationality law.

7. Foreign-invested enterprises, including 100% foreign-invested enterprises, joint-venture enterprises, Vietnamese enterprises in which foreign investors purchase shares, merge or acquire in accordance with investment law.