In the context of continuous land price increases, the demand for converting agricultural land to residential land is becoming increasingly common. However, many people still misunderstand that just having land can be used for changing land use purposes. In fact, this is a legal procedure with strict conditions, if done incorrectly, it can be penalized, even losing land use rights.
According to the provisions of land law, changing the land use purpose is not an obvious right, but must be permitted by a competent state agency and fully meet the conditions according to regulations.
Cases where it is allowed to convert agricultural land to residential land
According to Article 121 of the 2024 Land Law, the conversion of land use purposes from agricultural land to residential land can only be carried out when there is a decision of permission from a competent state agency and in accordance with the approved land use plan and plan.
Specifically, land users do not have the right to arbitrarily change the purpose, but are only allowed to do so when the following conditions are fully met:
- Land plots in accordance with district-level land use planning and plans approved by competent authorities in accordance with the law;
- The land being used is not disputed, does not violate land law, and is not subject to administrative violations on land;
- Land plots not subject to land recovery decisions or land recovery notices from competent state agencies;
- The change of land use purpose is in accordance with the approved construction planning, urban planning or rural planning.
In case the land plot is not in the annual land use plan, it is not allowed to change purpose, even if the land user has used it stably for a long time.
Procedures and costs for converting agricultural land to residential land
According to the 2024 Land Law, people who need to change land use purposes must submit a dossier at the district-level Land Registration Office where the land is located. The dossier includes a request for change of land use purpose, a certificate of land use rights and related documents as required.
After receiving, specialized agencies will review dossiers, compare planning and submit them to competent authorities for decision. The settlement time is no more than 15 working days, for remote and isolated areas no more than 25 days, not including the time people fulfill financial obligations.
Regarding financial obligations, based on Article 117 of the 2024 Land Law and Article 9 of Decree 45/2014/ND-CP, land users must pay:
- Land use fees, determined according to the formula:
Land use fee = (Housing land price – Agricultural land price) × Convertible area
(based on the land price list or specific land prices issued by the Provincial People's Committee)
- Registration fee according to Article 11 of Decree 45/2014/ND-CP, the collection level is equal to 0.5% of the value of land use rights after changing the purpose;
- Other administrative fees such as fees for measuring, adjusting dossiers, and renewing Certificates, according to local regulations.
In fact, in many urban and suburban areas, the total cost of changing land use purposes can be up to hundreds of millions of VND, even higher if the area is large or the land price is high.
According to current legal regulations, land users are not allowed to arbitrarily build houses on agricultural land without permission to change the purpose. Violations may include:
Administrative sanctions;
Force the restoration of the original state;
Not being granted a Certificate of Land Use Rights;
In severe cases, land may be recovered.
Legal risks that people need to pay special attention to
According to current regulations, land users are not allowed to arbitrarily build houses on agricultural land when they are not allowed to change the purpose. Specifically, if they arbitrarily build illegally, violators may face the following forms of handling:
- Being administratively sanctioned according to Decree 91/2019/ND-CP
- Forced to restore the original state of the soil
- Not granted a Certificate of Land Use Rights
- In serious cases, land may be recovered according to regulations
In fact, many people are at risk due to believing in advertisements "land about to become residential land", "land waiting to change purpose" without checking planning. This is a common cause leading to disputes and financial losses.
Specifically, people need to note:
- Do not buy land based only on advertisements "coming soon to residential land", "land waiting to change purpose
- Must directly inspect planning at local land management agencies
- Do not deposit or transfer money when the possibility of changing land use purpose is not clearly identified
- Thoroughly understand the land price list and financial obligations to avoid incurring unexpected costs
In the context of the new land price list approaching market prices, the cost of converting agricultural land to residential land is forecast to continue to increase. Therefore, people need to carefully consider legal and financial factors to avoid risks and unnecessary damage.
