A resident of Quang Ninh province said that in 2002, he was liquidated his property, which was a house on land for workers. However, the map serving the liquidation had errors, missing the 12.8 m2 area where the property was located on the land.
In 2003, this resident demolished the old house to rebuild it and has been using it stably ever since. Throughout the process of use, the above-mentioned land did not generate disputes.
By 2005, competent authorities carried out measurements and issued Land Use Right Certificates. However, people did not receive notifications about area adjustments. Certificates were still issued according to the current status on the previous liquidated map, which lacked 12.8 m2.
Recently, when re-measuring, functional agencies determined that the actual land area was larger than the area recorded on the certificate by 12.8 m2. The local government agreed to consider adding this area but noted that this is encroached land and requested land users to comply with the penalty.
People in Quang Ninh requested to clarify whether the determination of the increased area as encroached and occupied land is appropriate, and at the same time asked about the basis and specific penalty levels.
Must be based on dossiers and land use process
Answering the reflection, the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment said that the case is directly related to dossiers and documents stored in the locality. Due to not having sufficient documents, the Ministry does not have a basis to answer specifically for this case but only provides guidance on the principles of applying the law.
According to Clause 9, Article 3 of the Land Law, land occupation is the use of land managed by the State without permission from a competent state agency; or the use of land of another legal land user without that person's consent.
Clause 31, Article 3 of the Land Law stipulates that land encroachment is the act of land users voluntarily moving landmarks or boundary lines of land plots to expand the area of use without permission from competent state agencies or legal users of the encroached land.
In addition, Clause 1, Article 13 of Decree No. 123/2024/ND-CP dated October 4, 2024 of the Government stipulates the act of encroaching on land or occupying land managed by state agencies and organizations, which is shown in cadastral records or land allocation documents for management.
According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment, determining whether land users have encroached or occupied land or not must be based on legal regulations, cadastral records, related documents and the entire process of managing and using the increased land area.
In case the competent authority determines that there is an act of encroachment and land occupation, the administrative sanction is carried out according to Article 13 of Decree No. 123/2024/ND-CP. The specific penalty level can only be determined after clarifying the nature, scope of the act and the actual dossier of the land plot.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Environment requests people to contact the People's Committee (PC) at the commune level where the land is located, provide complete asset liquidation dossiers, maps through periods, certificates and documents on the land use process for inspection, consideration, and settlement according to regulations.
