Latest conditions for converting garden land to residential land in 2026
* Suitable for land use planning and plans
According to Article 116 of the 2024 Land Law, permission to change land use purposes is considered based on land use planning, plans and investment decisions, specifically:
First, for works and projects expected to be implemented in the year (including: projects allocating residential land and production land for ethnic minorities; land use right auction projects; land acquisition and resettlement projects; production land compensation upon land acquisition), the change of land use purpose is based on one of the following documents: Annual land use plan approved and investment decision; or Decision approving investment policy and at the same time approving investors; or Decision approving investors; or Document approving investor selection results under the public-private partnership (PPP) method.
Second, for projects not yet included in the annual land use plan, the basis for considering changing land use purposes is:
Decision on investment in accordance with the law on public investment; or decision approving the investment policy and at the same time approving the investor; or document approving the results of investor selection according to the public-private partnership method.
Third, for cases of agricultural land in residential areas or agricultural land in the same land plot with residential land converted to residential land, or non-agricultural land not being residential land converted to residential land, the consideration is based on:
Land use planning; or General Planning; or Subdivision Planning that has been approved by a competent state agency.
* Permitted by a competent state agency
According to Article 121 of the 2024 Land Law, the following cases of changing land use purposes must be permitted by a competent state agency, including:
Transfer rice land, special-use forest land, protection forest land, and production forest land to other types of land in the agricultural land group.
Converting agricultural land to non-agricultural land.
Transfer other types of land to concentrated livestock land when implementing large-scale concentrated livestock projects.
Transferring non-agricultural land allocated by the State without land use fees to non-agricultural land allocated by the State with land use fees or land lease.
Transfer non-agricultural land that is not residential land to residential land.
Transfer land for construction of public works and public land for business purposes to non-agricultural production and business land.
Transfer non-agricultural production and business land that is not commercial or service land to commercial or service land.
Order and procedures for converting garden land to residential land
According to the provisions of Article 227 of the 2024 Land Law, the order and procedures for changing land use purposes are implemented as follows:
Step 1. Submit a dossier requesting land use purpose conversion according to regulations.
Step 2. Competent authorities check the conditions for changing land use purposes. If the dossier is not guaranteed, the land user supplements the dossier and submits it to the land management agency.
Step 3. After submitting a complete dossier, the land management agency prepares a dossier to submit to the competent People's Committee for issuance of a decision allowing land use purpose conversion.
Step 4. Pay land use fees according to regulations, except for cases of exemption.
Step 5. Transfer the dossier to the Office/branch of the Land Registration Office to carry out registration and issuance of books, and at the same time update and adjust the land database, cadastral records and return books to land users.
In case of both transferring land use rights and changing land use purposes, land use right transfer registration procedures will be carried out simultaneously with land use purpose transfer procedures according to regulations.
