Land encroachment is fined up to one billion dong.

According to Decree 91/2019 on administrative sanctions for violations in the land sector recently issued by the Government, acts of encroachment and occupation of land will be fined up to 1 billion VND.

In particular, the fine is 2-70 million VND for unused land in rural areas, depending on the area. Encroachment on agricultural land that is not rice-growing land, special-use forest land, special-use forest land, protective forest land, production forest land in rural areas is subject to a fine of 5-150 million VND, depending on the level of encroachment.

In case of encroachment or occupation of unused land, agricultural land, or non-agricultural land, the fine can be up to 500 million VND. In case of urban agricultural or non-agricultural land, the fine is twice the fine for the corresponding type of land, but not exceeding 500 million VND for individuals and not exceeding 1 billion VND for organizations. This level is significantly higher than the current regulation when the fine only fluctuates from 1 to 10 million VND and does not specifically classify the level of encroachment.

According to the Decree, real estate project investors who do not submit documents to carry out procedures for granting Certificates or do not provide or do not provide complete documents to home buyers, lessees... to submit documents for granting Certificates will also be punished depending on the level of violation. In particular, the most serious is that investors who delay providing documents for more than 12 months with 100 apartments or more will be fined one billion VND.

In addition, in a project where the investor violates at different times for different apartments, construction works, and land plots, the fine will be calculated according to each penalty level prescribed above, but the maximum is only one billion VND.

The Decree takes effect from January 5, 2020.