Two families in-law dispute over a piece of land

Building a house on someone else's land

Nghe An Newspaper received a petition from Ms. Ngo Thi Dung (temporarily residing in Hung Thinh commune, Hung Nguyen district) reflecting,On March 29, 2019, Ms. Dung went down to visit her plot of land in Hamlet 22, Nghi Phong Commune, Nghi Loc District and saw a woman, later known to be Ms. Vo Thi Hang (Nghi Thai Commune, Nghi Loc District) and a group of workers pouring construction materials and building a fence on her plot of land. Ms. Dung went out to stop them but was cursed by this group of people.

According to Ms. Dung, the above land plot has an area of ​​782m2, plot number 71, map sheet number 23, was transferred by her son, Mr. Hoang The Quang, in November 2016 and the Nghi Loc District People's Committee has issued a Certificate of Land Use Rights in the name of Ms. Ngo Thi Dung.

The ground-floor house on the plot of land named after Ms. Dung before being demolished. Photo: PB

In 2017, Ms. Dung mortgaged this land title at the Vietnam Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Industry and Trade - Vinh City Branch to borrow more than 1 billion VND. And up to now, this land title is still mortgaged at the bank.

“I mortgaged my red book to borrow money for my son to work abroad. This is my property, but Mr. Cu authorized Ms. Hang to demolish and illegally build a house on the land that the state certified for me, which is a violation of the law,” said Ms. Dung.

Too helpless, she reported to Nghi Phong commune authorities for intervention. On March 31, 2019, Nghi Phong commune sent a working group, led by the Vice Chairman of the Commune People's Committee, to draw up a record and request that this group of people stop the construction. However, the request to suspend the construction by Nghi Phong commune authorities was not effective.

On May 20, reporters were present at the plot of land and saw that the house had been completely built, the roof was covered with corrugated iron, and the door had been installed. Discussing why the people had reported it but the commune did not stop the construction, Nghi Phong commune authorities said that the commune had made a record but they still did it. And then, the police got involved, so the commune handed it over to the police.

The new house was "authorized" by Mr. Cu to Ms. Hang to build on the land currently under the name of Ms. Ngo Thi Dung. Photo: PB

In fact, since the beginning of 2019, Ms. Ngo Thi Dung and her two grandchildren have had to rent a house in Hung Thinh commune, Hung Nguyen district to stay. More than 10 years ago, the three of them lived in their son's house in Hung Loc commune, Vinh city. But since the house was foreclosed by the bank, Ms. Dung and her two grandchildren have no place to live.

“When my son’s house was foreclosed on by the bank, I planned to renovate the old house on the land plot in Nghi Phong commune for the three of us to temporarily live in. But unexpectedly, Mr. Vo Van Cu sent people to demolish the old house and build a new house on the land plot for which I was granted a land use rights certificate,” said Ms. Dung.

According to the investigation, Ms. Hang was "authorized" by Mr. Vo Van Cu (from Phong Thinh commune, Thanh Chuong district) to build on the area of ​​land that he claimed to have transferred from Mr. Hoang The Quang according to the transfer contract in 2012. Mr. Cu is in-law of Ms. Dung (Mr. Cu's son married Ms. Dung's daughter - PV).

Regarding the illegal construction on mortgaged property at the bank, on April 3, 2019, Vietnam Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Industry and Trade - Vinh City Branch also sent an official dispatch to the authorities and Nghi Loc District Police, Nghi Phong Commune.

Vietnam Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Industry and Trade - Vinh City Branch believes that this is an act of defiance of the law, seriously violating the rights and interests of the bank as well as the property owner and requests measures to enforce and stop the illegal construction, request the restoration of the original status and compensation for damages caused by the illegal demolition of property on the land.

Signs of law violation

According to the records provided by Nghi Phong commune, on May 18, 2010, Mr. Hoang The Quang and his wife Nguyen Thi Hoa, together with Mr. Vo Van Cu and his wife Nguyen Thi Thanh, signed a contract to transfer land use rights. This transfer contract has not been notarized.

Specifically, in 2008, these two families bought a piece of land together with an area of ​​700m2.²from Mr. Dan (residing in Thai Tho hamlet, Nghi Thai commune, Nghi Loc district) and then transferred to Mr. Hoang The Quang and his wife.

The two sides agreed to divide 375.36m2 for Mr. Cu's family.²(The width of the road to Cua Hoi is 13.8m; the length is 27.2m). The total amount that Mr. Cu's family has to pay to Mr. Quang's family is 938.4 million VND.

Although Ms. Dung's family reported the incident, Nghi Phong commune authorities did not take effective measures to prevent the illegal demolition and construction of houses on other people's land. Photo: PB

More than 2 years later, on June 28, 2012, the two parties continued to sign a contract to deposit 700 million VND for the transfer of land use rights with the agreement that Mr. Quang's family agreed to separate the plot and transfer it to Mr. Cu's family, an area of ​​375.36m2.²in the total area of ​​the land is 700m².

According to the contract, Mr. Quang was obliged to complete the procedures for dividing the plot and signing a contract to transfer the land use rights to Mr. Cu. This deposit contract was notarized. However, for unknown reasons, many years passed and Mr. Quang did not complete the procedures for dividing the plot and transferring the land use rights to Mr. Cu as committed in the contract.

In August 2016, Mr. Quang submitted a petition to the People's Committee of Nghi Loc district and the People's Committee of Nghi Phong commune about the loss of the land use right certificate for the above land plot and requested to be re-issued the land use right certificate.

Afterwards, Nghi Loc District People's Committee reissued the Land Use Right Certificate for the above land plot to Mr. Hoang The Quang with the re-determined limit of 782m2.². Just a short time later, Mr. Hoang The Quang transferred the land title to his biological mother, Mrs. Ngo Thi Dung.

Land title in the name of Ms. Ngo Thi Dung, taken before mortgaging for a loan at the bank. Photo: PB

According to Ms. Dung, because Mr. Quang could not separate the land, he asked to return the deposit of 700 million VND, but Mr. Vo Van Cu did not agree. However, Mr. Quang later paid Mr. Cu 200 million VND and currently owes 500 million VND.

“The contract between my son and Mr. Cu has not been executed. My son is currently working abroad, not absconding, and if there is a dispute, Mr. Cu has the right to sue my son in court,” said Ms. Dung.

Thus, it can be affirmed that Mr. Vo Van Cu’s act of demolishing the old house and illegally building a new house on someone else’s land (through Ms. Vo Thi Hang) is a violation of the law. Because this land plot is under the name of Ms. Ngo Thi Dung and the property is being mortgaged to the bank; the State has not yet recognized the ownership of part of the above land plot for Mr. Vo Van Cu.

Whether Mr. Hoang The Quang did not fulfill his commitment in the contract and had fraudulent means in not dividing the plot and transferring the land use rights to appropriate Mr. Cu's property or not, is being clarified by Nghi Loc District Police. At the same time, Nghi Loc District Police need to clarify the act of demolishing and illegally building houses on other people's land in order to handle the responsibilities of those involved.

"SAfter receiving Ms. Dung's application, the unit sent officers to verify and clarify.This is a complicated case with signs of criminality. We are currently continuing to investigate and clarify related contents.

Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Trong Tue - Head of Nghi Loc District Police