Land that has been illegally expanded may still be granted a land ownership certificate.

The government has just issued Decree 01/2017/ND-CP amending and supplementing a number of decrees detailing the implementation of the Land Law.

One of the notable aspects of this decree is that the State will still consider granting land use rights certificates to individuals and organizations for the additional land area resulting from violations, after the violations have been processed according to regulations.

In cases where the land user has not violated land laws, the process of reviewing and issuing a land use right certificate will proceed.

This Decree amends and supplements several articles of Decree No. 43/2014/ND-CP dated May 15, 2014, detailing the implementation of several articles of the Land Law; Decree No. 44/2014/ND-CP dated May 15, 2014, regulating land prices; and Decree No. 47/2014/ND-CP dated May 15, 2014, regulating compensation, support, and resettlement when the State recovers land.

Specifically, compared to Decree No. 43/2014/ND-CP, Decree 01/2017/ND-CP adds regulations on granting certificates of land use rights, ownership of houses and other assets attached to land for the additional land area beyond the land use right documents for households and individuals currently using the land.

Accordingly, if a re-measurement reveals that the actual land area is larger than the area recorded on the issued land use right certificate or other documents as stipulated in Article 100 of the Land Law and Article 18 of this Decree, and the actual land boundary has changed compared to the land boundary at the time the certificate or other documents were issued, then consideration will be given to issuing a land use right certificate, ownership certificate for houses and other assets attached to the land for the increased land area.

For cases where the land area increases due to transfer, inheritance, or donation of land use rights that already have a certificate, the procedures for transferring, inheriting, or donating the increased land area shall be carried out in accordance with Article 79 and Clause 2 of Article 82, and the procedures for exchanging the certificate for the original land parcel (the land parcel without the increased land area) shall be carried out in accordance with Article 76 of this Decree if the original land parcel already has a certificate of land use rights, without requiring the land user to carry out the land consolidation procedure.

Specifically, the decree states that in cases where the increased land area lacks land use rights documents as stipulated in Article 100 of the Land Law and Article 18 of this decree, the following procedures shall apply:

- In cases where the land user does not violate land laws, the consideration, processing, and issuance of certificates of land use rights, ownership of houses and other assets attached to the land for the increased land area shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions of Article 20 of this Decree.

- In cases where the land area increases due to land users violating land laws before July 1, 2014, the handling and issuance of certificates of land use rights, ownership of houses and other assets attached to the land for the increased land area shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions of Article 22 of this Decree.

- In cases where the land area increases due to the land being allocated to the user without proper authority before July 1, 2014, the consideration, handling, and issuance of certificates of land use rights, ownership of houses and other assets attached to the land for the increased land area shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions of Article 23 of this Decree.

According to Clause 6, Article 23, in cases where a person requests a certificate of land use rights, ownership of houses and other assets attached to the land for a plot of land allocated without proper authority before July 1, 2004, and the land is not subject to disputes, conforms to the planning, but at the time of issuance of the certificate there is a house or not there is a house, the application for a certificate may be considered and the applicant must fulfill the financial obligations as prescribed.

According to Bao Anh/vneconomy