Can agricultural land subject to planning be converted into residential land?
According to Clause 1, Article 116 of the 2024 Land Law, converting agricultural land to non-agricultural land is one of the cases of changing land use purpose that requires permission from a competent State agency.
According to Clause 5, Article 116 of the 2024 Land Law, the basis for competent State agencies to permit the conversion of agricultural land use purposes in residential areas, agricultural land in the same residential land plot to residential land or non-agricultural land that is not residential land to residential land is stipulated as follows:
The basis for allowing the conversion of agricultural land use purposes in residential areas, agricultural land in the same plot of land with residential land to residential land or the conversion of non-agricultural land use purposes that are not residential land to residential land for households and individuals is the district-level land use planning or the general planning or the zoning planning according to the provisions of the law on urban planning approved by the competent authority.
Thus, according to the above regulations, the change of land use purpose of individuals and households must be based on the district-level, general or zonal land use planning.
Therefore, although the agricultural land is subject to planning, households and individuals need to check whether this land area has a land use plan approved by the State or not.
What is the procedure for changing land use purposes?
Pursuant to Article 227 of the 2024 Land Law, in case the conditions for changing land use purpose are met, individuals and households shall carry out procedures for changing land use purpose according to the following steps:
Step 1. Prepare documents
- Application for permission to change land use purpose.
- Certificate...
Step 2. Submit the application to the People's Committee (PC) at the district level where the land is located (based on Clause 2, Article 123 of the 2024 Land Law).
Step 3: Receive and process documents
- Authorities check the conditions for changing land use purposes.
- Land users pay land use fees (if any).
Step 4. Return results
The current Land Law does not have specific regulations on what agricultural land subject to planning is. However, Clause 36, Article 3 of the 2024 Land Law stipulates on land use planning as follows:
Land use planning is the allocation of land use targets and land zoning for the purposes of socio-economic development, national defense, security, environmental protection and climate change adaptation based on land potential and land use needs of sectors and fields for each administrative unit for a specified period.
From the above provisions, it can be understood that agricultural land subject to planning is the area of agricultural land under planning, planned to be used for projects, public works, roads or for national defense and security purposes. Accordingly, agricultural land subject to planning may have its land use rights restricted or revoked.
