Vinh City: Residents of the old apartment complex in Hung Binh ward are weary of waiting for their land ownership certificates.

Tired of waiting for the land ownership certificate.

According to the presentation byhouseholds in the old apartment complexThe former housing complex of Construction Enterprise 2, belonging to Vinaconex Construction Joint Stock Company 16 (referred to as the old Lien Co block housing complex), located in Lien Co block, Hung Binh ward, was originally a state-owned construction unit. In 1975, this unit built a housing complex for its workers. Between 1994 and 1996, when the old housing blocks deteriorated, Construction Enterprise 2 rebuilt the complex, consisting of 4 blocks with 22 apartments, to sell to workers. Each apartment cost 16,000,000 VND. Workers who could afford it paid in cash, while those in difficult circumstances had their payments deducted from their monthly salaries, provided they paid at least 50% of the amount.

By 2003, the People's Committee of Nghe An province issued Decision No. 1127/QD-UB-DC, dated November 10, 2003, to reclaim 7,527.3 square meters of land.²The specialized land in Hung Binh ward currently managed and used by Construction Company 2 will be transferred to the Vinh City People's Committee for management and the development of a land use plan in accordance with the law.

Ms. Hoang Thi Can's house is one of the households whose application was rejected because the administrative procedures for illegal expansion had not been completed. Photo: Tien Dong

Ms. Hoang Thi Can, a resident of this old apartment complex, stated: After Decision No. 1127/QD-UB-DC was issued, the Vinh City People's Committee assigned the Hung Binh Ward People's Committee as the investor to re-plan the land of Construction Enterprise No. 2 into 36 plots, including 22 apartment units and 14 vacant plots, in order to process land ownership certificates for residents. However, for some unknown reason, the Hung Binh Ward People's Committee later separated the land into smaller plots.land title issuance proceduresThis applies to 14 households located on that vacant plot of land, even though some of these households do not live in the factory's housing complex.

Many residents in this apartment complex are also wondering why the households in the 14 vacant plots of land were not required to participate in the auction process as stipulated by regulations, yet were allocated land and issued land ownership certificates? Meanwhile, 22 households in the complex have paid in full. They even had to pay compensation to Ms. Nguyen Thi Hai's family (whose apartment is located on the planned road) totaling 216,000,000 VND, but to date, they have still not received land ownership certificates like the other 14 households.

Some residents are upset that the land allocated to 14 households has already been issued land ownership certificates. Photo: Tien Dong

According to residents of the former Lien Co apartment complex, when the apartment buildings were constructed, Construction Enterprise No. 2 built kitchens and auxiliary facilities at the back for each household. When applying for land ownership certificates, the residents were told that due to expansion, they had to pay for the additional area before the certificate could be issued.

Mr. Tran Ngoc Thuy, one of the 22 households in this apartment complex, said: "When the land use right certificate applications were submitted to the Branch Office of the Land Use Rights Registration Office, they were returned because the area had increased due to expansion, but the competent authority had not yet processed the violations according to the law. Therefore, the applications were returned to the ward for completion. We even accepted paying the fine to resolve the issue of obtaining the land use right certificate, but it still hasn't been done," Mr. Thuy said angrily.

The file for imposing penalties for encroachment must be completed.

According to our investigation, after the Provincial People's Committee decided to reclaim the land from Construction Enterprise No. 2, on August 10, 2004, the Provincial People's Committee approved the land plot planning based on the existing layout of the Lien Co residential complex, comprising 35 plots. On June 13, 2014, when approving the adjustment of the detailed construction plan at a scale of 1/500, one more plot was added (bringing the total to 36 plots). Since then, 14 households (not included in the list of 22 households in the old Lien Co residential complex) have been granted land ownership certificates.

Planning map of 36 land plots belonging to Construction Enterprise No. 2. Photo: Tien Dong

Mr. Ho Viet Thanh, Vice Chairman of the Hung Binh Ward People's Committee, stated that the ward has already answered the questions regarding the issuance of land ownership certificates to the 22 households in the Lien Co residential area. Regarding why these households have not yet received their certificates, Mr. Thanh explained that the land use by these households has increased compared to the time they purchased their houses from Construction Enterprise No. 2. This increased area is identified as due to expansion and encroachment. This needs to be investigated, determined, and documented for specific handling before the issuance of land ownership certificates can be completed.

Mr. Thanh also emphasized that if it is determined that there was encroachment on unused land managed by Construction Enterprise No. 2 since 1994 and construction within the residential area of ​​the land plot has occurred, then it violates Clause 5, Article 14 of Government Decree No. 91/2019/ND-CP dated November 19, 2019. Accordingly, in cases of encroachment on unused land, agricultural land, or non-agricultural land in urban areas, the penalty is twice the penalty for the corresponding land type as stipulated in Clauses 1, 2, 3, and 4 of this Article, with a maximum fine of no more than VND 500,000,000 for individuals and no more than VND 1 billion for organizations.

The area around Ms. Nguyen Thi Hai's family apartment has now been cleared by residents who paid to make way for a planned access road. Photo: Tien Dong

Currently, following the directives of the Vinh City People's Committee, on May 18, 2023, the Hung Binh Ward People's Committee issued Notice No. 21/TB-UBND to households and individuals in the old Lien Co residential area, requesting them to cooperate with the block leader to inspect the current situation and draw up administrative violation reports.

Regarding the case of 14 households that the former residents of the Lien Co apartment complex complained about, claiming they were granted land ownership certificates despite not living in the complex, Mr. Ho Viet Thanh stated that these households were also included in the group that purchased the old apartment units from Construction Enterprise No. 2 at subsidized prices and had complete documentation. However, these households were granted land by the State with land use fees, and were required to build infrastructure according to the plan. Meanwhile, 22 households were granted land use certificates by the State based on the current land use status and must conform to the plan. In the case of Ms. Nguyen Thi Hai's family, because part of their house was located on a planned road, they had to be relocated and resettled. Once resettlement land was allocated next to their old house, and there were no further issues, they were granted land ownership certificates.

Working with representatives of the Vinh City People's Committee, we learned that the city is currently assigning the Hung Binh Ward People's Committee to conduct inspections and draw up administrative violation reports in accordance with Government Decree No. 91/ND-CP, as well as Decision No. 28/2021/QD-UBND dated September 17, 2021, and Official Letter No. 2145/UBND-VP dated April 23, 2021, of the Vinh City People's Committee regarding the resolution of some outstanding issues and obstacles in handling administrative procedures. After the Hung Binh Ward People's Committee completes the violation report, it will be forwarded to the City People's Committee for the issuance of a penalty decision. Once the households complete the procedures for paying the fine (if any), they will submit the confirmation slip along with the land use right certificate application to the Branch Office of the Land Use Right Registration Office to process the certificate issuance as prescribed.