Citizens send questions to the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment with the content:
Based on Article 116 of the 2024 Land Law, the permission to change the land use purpose of agricultural land in residential areas, agricultural land in the same land plot with residential land to residential land or change the land use purpose of non-agricultural land that is not residential land to residential land for households and individuals is considered on the basis of district-level land use planning or general planning, zoning planning approved by competent authorities.
In case the land plot is land for perennial crops that has been granted a Certificate of Land Use Rights, on land with houses built from 2018 and currently in accordance with the district-level land use plan as residential land, is it considered for permission to change the land use purpose from agricultural land to residential land? If the purpose is changed, will land users have to dismantle the houses built on the land previously?
The Ministry of Agriculture and Environment has the following opinions:
- Point b, Clause 1, Article 121 of the 2024 Land Law stipulates:
“1. Cases of changing land use purposes that must be permitted by competent state agencies include:
...b) Converting agricultural land to non-agricultural land;”.
- Clause 2, Article 10 of Decree No. 123/2024/ND-CP dated October 4, 2024 of the Government stipulates the level of penalties for the act of converting agricultural land that is not rice land, not forestry land to residential land within the administrative boundaries of communes, the form and level of penalties are as follows:
“a) A fine of between 10,000,000 VND and 20,000,000 VND shall be imposed on land areas under 0.01 hectares;
b) A fine of between 20,000,000 VND and 30,000,000 VND shall be imposed on land areas from 0.01 hectares to less than 0.03 hectares;...”
Clause 4, Article 10 of Decree No. 123/2024/ND-CP also stipulates remedial measures, specifically as follows:
“a) Forcing the restoration of the original state of the land before the violation, except for cases specified in Clause 3, Article 139 of the Land Law;
b) Forcing the return of illegal profits obtained from the violation.
Thus, based on the above regulations, for cases of violations of land use for improper purposes from July 1, 2014 to present, the current Land Law has not stipulated allowing the existence of works or houses on land or maintaining the status quo due to improper land use.
In case land users arbitrarily convert agricultural land (which is perennial crop land) to residential land without the permission of a competent State agency, they will be administratively sanctioned in the form of a fine and remedial measures will be applied, which is to force the restoration of the original state of the land before the violation, and to force the return of illegal profits obtained from the violation (except for cases specified in Clause 3, Article 139 of the 2024 Land Law).
