New policies on issuing land ownership certificates; land auctions, and land reclamation.

The condotel project has been granted a certificate of ownership.

Illustrative image.

Effective from May 20, 2023, Decree No. 10/2023/ND-CP supplemented Clause 5, Article 32 of Decree No. 43/2014/ND-CP dated May 15, 2014, which regulates the certification of ownership rights for construction works used for tourist accommodation purposes in accordance with the law on tourism on commercial and service land, as follows:

For construction projects used for tourist accommodation purposes as stipulated by tourism laws on commercial and service land, if they meet the conditions prescribed by land law, construction law, and real estate business law, they may be granted ownership of the construction project attached to the land for commercial and service purposes; the land use term shall be as prescribed in Clause 3, Article 126 and Clause 1, Article 128 of the Land Law. The owner of the construction project is responsible before the law for meeting all the conditions prescribed by construction law and real estate business law.

The certification of ownership of construction works is carried out according to regulations. The information about the land plot shown on the Certificate must accurately reflect the purpose and duration of land use as prescribed by law.

Conditions for participating in the land use rights auction.

Decree No. 10/2023/ND-CP supplements Article 17b of Decree No. 43/2014/ND-CP dated May 15, 2014, regulating the auction of land use rights when the State allocates land with land use fees or leases land.

According to regulations, organizations participating in land use rights auctions must meet the following conditions:

1. Belongs to the entity to which the State allocates or leases land as stipulated in Articles 55 and 56 of the Land Law. In the case of auctioning a plot of land or a project comprising one or more plots of land where two or more companies have cross-ownership according to the law on enterprises, only one company is allowed to participate in the auction for the land use rights;

2. Meeting the conditions stipulated in Clause 3, Article 58 of the Land Law, and Clauses 2 and 3, Article 14 of this Decree;

3. A deposit equal to 20% of the total value of the land plot or area, calculated based on the starting price for the land use rights auction, must be paid in advance.

4. Not subject to any prohibitions from participating in auctions as stipulated by law;

5. Meeting the conditions stipulated by housing law and real estate business law for the auction of land use rights to implement housing projects or other real estate business projects.

Households and individuals participating in the land use rights auction must meet the following conditions:

1. Belonging to the category of entities to whom the State allocates or leases land as stipulated in Articles 55 and 56 of the Land Law and meeting the conditions specified in points c and d of Clause 1 of this Article;

2. In the case of households and individuals participating in the auction of land use rights to implement investment projects, they must ensure compliance with the conditions stipulated in point a of this clause and points b and d of clause 1 of this Article.

The conditions for land offered for auction of land use rights include:

1. Complies with the provisions of Clause 1, Article 119 of the Land Law;

2. The starting price for the auction of land use rights has been determined by the competent state authority;

3. The auction of land use rights shall be conducted for each individual plot of land;

4. A detailed 1/500 scale plan has been approved by the competent authority for the land used for the housing construction investment project.

The decree stipulates that from the time the auction results are announced, the deposit and any interest will be converted into a security deposit to guarantee the fulfillment of the land user's financial obligations.

If the winning bidder fails to pay or does not pay the full amount of the winning bid for the land use rights as stipulated in point d, clause 5, Article 68 of this Decree, the winning bidder will not receive back the deposit. In cases where the winning bidder has paid more than the deposit, the State will reimburse the excess amount as stipulated.

Regulations on land reclamation in cases where investment projects cease operations.

At the same time, Decree No. 10/2023/ND-CP also supplements Article 15b of Decree No. 43/2014/ND-CP dated May 15, 2014, which stipulates the land recovery in cases where investment projects cease operations in accordance with the law on investment.

Accordingly, the land recovery in cases where an investment project ceases operation as stipulated by the law on investment, except for cases where the State recovers land as prescribed in Clause 1 of Article 64 and Clause 1 of Article 65 of the Land Law, shall be carried out according to the following regulations:

1. In cases where the State allocates land with payment of land use fees, or leases land with a one-time payment of rent for the entire lease period, the land recovery process is as follows:

a) The investor is allowed to continue using the land for 24 months from the date the investment project is terminated in accordance with the law on investment;

b) Within 24 months from the date the investment project is terminated as prescribed, the investor may transfer the land use rights and sell the legally owned assets attached to the land to another investor in accordance with the law.

If, after the 24-month extension period for land use progress expires, the investor fails to transfer land use rights or sell their legally owned assets attached to the land to another investor, the State shall reclaim the land without compensation for the land or assets attached to the land, except in cases of force majeure as stipulated in Clause 1, Article 15 of this Decree.

2. In cases where the State leases land and collects annual rent, the land recovery process shall be handled according to the following regulations:

a) The investor is allowed to continue using the land for 24 months from the date the investment project is terminated in accordance with the law on investment;

b) Within 24 months from the date the investment project is terminated as stipulated, the investor may sell the legally owned assets attached to the land to another investor in accordance with the law. The State shall reclaim the land from the seller of the assets attached to the leased land and allow the buyer of the assets to use the leased land.

If, after the 24-month extension period for land use progress expires, the investor fails to sell their legally owned assets attached to the land to another investor, the State shall reclaim the land without compensation for the land or assets attached to the land, except in cases of force majeure as stipulated in Clause 1, Article 15 of this Decree.