Nghe An: Progress in issuing outstanding land ownership certificates remains slow.

Over 9,400 pending cases.

In accordance with Plan No. 965/KH-UBND of the Provincial People's Committee, by this time, most localities, especially communes and wards with land use records that have not been declared or granted initial land use right certificates due to obstacles (backlog of records), have established Steering Committees and working groups with their own operating regulations.

Based on that, communes and wards will organize propaganda and inform people about each outstanding case according to the 2024 Land Law so that people can declare, register, and propose the issuance of the first land use right certificate according to regulations.

Tam Hop is one of the communes with the largest number of pending land use right certificate applications. Currently, the commune has 981 pending cases, including 147 cases with land allocation documents and decisions, 593 cases without documents, and 170 cases involving land use violations, increased land area, or land received as gifts from parents. After the commune's awareness campaign, 177 applications have been registered and submitted to the Public Administrative Service Center; the commune has issued and returned 88 land use right certificates; 73 applications remain unprocessed; and 16 applications related to administrative penalties and incorrect declared land origin have been returned.

Meanwhile, according to statistics, Quynh Phu commune still has 378 outstanding cases that have not completed the registration and issuance of land use right certificates. Of these, 6 cases have documents according to Article 137 of the 2024 Land Law; 102 cases do not have documents according to Article 138; 99 cases involve land use violations of the Land Law before July 1, 2014; and 171 cases involve land allocation without proper authority. After review, the commune has issued land use right certificates to 47 cases.

Besides the aforementioned communes, our investigation revealed that in communes where agricultural and forestry farms are located, such as Con Cuong, Tan An, Tan Phu, Quy Hop, and Nghia Hung, each commune has dozens to hundreds of pending land use right certificate applications. The reason is that, in the past, these farms allocated land to households and farm workers for housing and production. Now, these households want land use right certificates, but the land actually belongs to the farms. To issue these certificates, the farms must conduct land surveys and hand over the land to the local authorities before they can issue certificates to the people.

At an online dialogue with communes and wards on difficulties in applying the 2024 Land Law, organized by the Provincial People's Committee on the morning of May 22nd, Mr. Pham Van Toan - Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Environment - stated: After nearly 6 months of directing the review, preliminary figures show that the entire province still has 9,409 pending land use right certificate applications, including 406 cases identified as being issued illegally and currently being processed according to Plan 965/KH-UBND. Currently, some communes have issued land use right certificates to hundreds of households that meet the requirements.

There are many reasons why land use right certificates cannot be processed and issued for these cases. In some cases, land was previously issued with land use right certificates (red certificates) in bulk, even though the land limit for residential use was stated as 200 m².²out of a total area of ​​thousands of square meters²However, the exact location of the land is not specified, making it difficult to reissue the land title.

Furthermore, many plots of land have a larger actual area when re-measured compared to what is recorded in the land use right certificate, so the process of exchanging them for the new certificate format requires lengthy verification. This is the reason why many households have complained and expressed frustration recently.

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Plan 965/KH-UBND aims to review, compile statistics, and classify cases of land use that have not yet been granted land use right certificates throughout the province, to be completed before June 30, 2026. In addition, it aims to complete initial land registration and issue land use right certificates for outstanding cases that meet the eligibility criteria, to be completed before December 31, 2026.

Problems arising from practical situations

Speaking with reporters, Mr. Thai Duy Hung, Head of the Land Management Department of the Department of Agriculture and Environment, said: After nearly two years of implementing the 2024 Land Law, it has been observed that many cases still face difficulties in issuing initial land use right certificates as well as exchanging existing certificates because the Law and Decree do not yet provide specific regulations and guidance.

Furthermore, during the 2020-2024 period, to promote the New Rural Development (NRD) movement and ensure that village cultural centers, markets, schools, and health stations meet the NRD area standards, some communes encouraged residents living near these centers or markets to exchange land for expansion; in return, the commune would allocate land to the households giving up their land elsewhere. However, due to the rudimentary legal procedures for land exchange, many cases have not been approved by the district-level People's Committee. Now, those wishing to complete the procedures to issue land use right certificates to residents on the new plots are facing obstacles because the 2024 Land Law does not clearly stipulate these procedures. These cases are considered to be land allocation without proper authority, and to obtain land use right certificates, residents must pay land use fees, which many households do not agree to.

Mr. Tran Viet Phac, Head of the Economic Department of the People's Committee of Quynh Phu Commune, frankly stated: While cases of land encroachment that increase the area when renewing land use right certificates require fines and additional financial obligations, cases of exchanging land for the commune to build village cultural centers, expand markets, health stations, etc., for the commune's rural development project, require a more harmonious approach. If it is determined to be a case of land allocation exceeding authority, it will be difficult for the local government and disadvantageous for the households.

In addition, there are cases being considered for granting land use rights certificates to households residing on land belonging to agricultural and forestry farms. Previously, these farms had leased or allowed farm workers to build houses and use the land stably since the 1960s and 70s. Now, according to the new plan, some areas of land belonging to agricultural and forestry farms in Con Cuong, Tam Hop, Tan An, Tan Phu communes, etc., are planned as residential areas. Therefore, the need to register and update the land area for the issuance of land use rights certificates is legitimate.

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Mr. Vi Dinh Quang, Chairman of the Tan Phu Commune People's Committee, suggested: The cases where people exchanged land with the commune for the construction of markets, cultural centers, etc., during the New Rural Development campaign were appropriate to the local reality. The shortcoming was that the communes had not paid attention to the procedures for land exchange according to regulations. Therefore, he hopes the Provincial People's Committee will have a plan to resolve this appropriately and in accordance with regulations.

Speaking to reporters, a representative from the Department of Agriculture and Environment stated: The request to expedite the processing and issuance of land use right certificates for outstanding cases is justified. However, due to the upcoming amendment of the 2024 Land Law and the accompanying detailed decrees, the Department has initially instructed the People's Committees of communes and wards to incorporate the information and respond to the people. Currently, the Department is submitting the matter to the Provincial People's Committee for consideration during the revision of regulations on issuing land use right certificates for these outstanding cases.