Regulations on resolving cases of illegal land use before July 1, 2014

Reply:

Article 139 of the 2024 Land Law stipulates the settlement of cases where households and individuals using land violate land laws before July 1, 2014, as follows:

1. In case of land use due to encroachment or occupation of the safety corridor of public works after the State has announced and marked the protection corridor, or encroachment or occupation of the roadway, roadside, or sidewalk after the State has announced the construction boundary, or encroachment or occupation of land used for the purpose of building agency headquarters, public works, or other public works, the State shall reclaim the land to return it to the project without granting a Certificate of land use rights and ownership of assets attached to the land for the encroached or occupied land area.

In case the land use planning and construction planning have been adjusted and approved by competent authorities, but the encroached land area is no longer within the safety corridor of public works; is not within the road construction boundary; and is not intended for use as headquarters of agencies, public works and other public works, the person currently using the land shall be considered for the issuance of a Certificate of land use rights and ownership of assets attached to the land and must fulfill financial obligations in accordance with the provisions of law.

2. In case of land use due to encroachment or occupation of land of agricultural and forestry origin that has been allocated land by the State without collecting land use fees to subjects over different periods, it shall be handled as follows:

a) In case of using encroached or occupied land areas under forestry planning for special-use forests and protective forests, the Provincial People's Committee shall direct the recovery of encroached or occupied land to hand over to the Forest Management Board for management and use of the land. The person using encroached or occupied land shall be considered by the Forest Management Board for forest protection and development in accordance with the provisions of the law on forestry. In case there is no Forest Management Board, the person using encroached or occupied land shall be allocated land by the State for the purpose of protecting and developing protective forests and shall be considered for granting a Certificate of land use rights and ownership of assets attached to the land;

b) In case of using encroached or occupied land area under land use planning for the purpose of constructing public infrastructure works, the Provincial People's Committee shall direct the recovery of encroached or occupied land to hand over the land to the investor when implementing the construction of such works.

People who are using land in violation are allowed to temporarily use the land until the State reclaims the land, but must maintain the current land use status and must declare and register the land according to regulations;

c) In case of land encroachment, land occupation and now being used for agricultural production or housing purposes before July 1, 2014, not subject to forestry planning for special-use forests, protective forests, not subject to land use planning for the purpose of building public infrastructure works, the person currently using the land shall be considered for granting a Certificate of land use rights, ownership of assets attached to the land and must fulfill financial obligations according to the provisions of law.

3. In case a household or individual is using land due to encroachment or occupation that does not fall under the cases specified in Clause 1 and Clause 2 of this Article and in case the land is used for purposes other than those for which the State has allocated land, leased land, or recognized land use rights, the following shall be handled:

a) In case a person is using the land stably, in accordance with the district-level land use planning or general planning or zoning planning or construction planning or rural planning, he/she shall be considered for the issuance of a Certificate of land use rights and ownership of assets attached to the land and must fulfill financial obligations according to the provisions of law;

b) In cases not covered by the provisions of Point a of this Clause, the person currently using the land may temporarily use it until the State reclaims the land, but must maintain the current land use status and must declare and register the land according to regulations.

4. Households and individuals using agricultural land that is self-reclaimed and has no disputes shall be granted by the State a Certificate of land use rights and ownership of assets attached to the land according to the agricultural land allocation limit prescribed by the Provincial People's Committee; if the limit prescribed by the Provincial People's Committee is exceeded, the excess area must be converted to State land lease.

5. In case a household or individual using land violates the land law as prescribed in Clause 1 and Clause 2 of this Article from July 1, 2014 onwards, the State shall not issue a Certificate of land use rights and ownership of assets attached to land and shall handle the case in accordance with the provisions of law.

6. The Government shall detail this Article.