Recently, authorized by the Prime Minister, Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Do Duc Duy presented a draft resolution of the National Assembly on piloting land expansion for commercial housing projects.
Accordingly, the Government proposes that investors negotiate to receive the right to use agricultural land, non-agricultural land that is not residential land, and other land in the same plot to do commercial housing projects, on a pilot basis for 5 years.
The selected pilot project must be implemented in an urban area, not part of a project that must be recovered. The pilot project must have a maximum of 30% of additional residential land area during the planning period (compared to the current land use status) according to the land allocation and zoning plan of the provincial planning until 2030.
Commenting on the above issue, Mr. Nguyen Quoc Hiep - Chairman of the Board of Directors of Global Real Estate Investment Joint Stock Company (GP.Invest) - said that currently, the implementation of investment projects and commercial housing business is facing many difficulties.
Because currently, the 2024 Land Law only allows investors who have the right to use "residential land" or "residential land and other land" to change the land use purpose to carry out commercial housing construction investment projects; there is no provision allowing the case of only having the right to use other land.
Mr. Hiep's company also encountered many difficulties when implementing commercial housing projects because the land plots for the project did not have "residential land" but were mainly "other land", so the project was not approved. This has caused difficulties for many commercial housing projects.
Mr. Hiep said that the pilot expansion of land for commercial housing construction will overcome the limitations in current regulations. This is an important institutional reform step because it will help free up wasted land resources and make use of land resources. Thereby, creating a new supply source for the real estate market, reducing the gap between supply and demand, meeting the needs of people and businesses.
Mr. Nguyen Van Dinh - Vice President of Vietnam Real Estate Association commented that the pilot program allowing enterprises to buy non-residential land for housing projects is the right mechanism, not only to remove legal difficulties for commercial housing projects that are "stuck" because they do not have residential land, but also to increase access to land, encourage investors to develop projects, and contribute to supporting the increase in housing supply for the real estate market.
However, the process of conversion and acceptance of conversion still needs the support of the State management agency. Because negotiating with people whose land is in the residential land planning for commercial housing can still be difficult because people do not want to convert or want to transfer at too high a price.
Therefore, in the long term, regulating the State to play the role of the largest land fund provider, to implement socio-economic development projects through auctions or land use bidding will be an important solution to ensure a balanced market in the long term, and improve housing access for people.
