Citizens send questions to the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment with the content:
My family has a piece of land located in the land area where the Provincial People's Committee has a document calling for investment projects that expired in 2020. In December 2025, I submitted a dossier to apply for land use purpose conversion but was not resolved on the grounds that the land was called for investment by the Provincial People's Committee to implement a mixed-use housing development project.
Please ask, is it true that my family's dossier was returned and not allowed to change the land use purpose for the above reason? Is my family allowed to change the land use purpose according to the plan, if so, which agency should I go to for resolution?
The Ministry of Agriculture and Environment has the following opinions:
Based on Clause 5, Article 116 of the Land Law stipulates:
5. The basis for allowing the conversion of agricultural land use purposes in residential areas, agricultural land in the same land plot with residential land to residential land or conversion of non-agricultural land types that are not residential land to residential land for households and individuals is district-level land use planning or general planning or zoning planning according to the provisions of law on urban and rural planning approved by competent authorities.
Based on Clause 2, Article 22 of Decree No. 151/2025/ND-CP dated June 12, 2025 of the Government stipulating the decentralization of authority of local authorities at 02 levels, decentralization of power in the field of land, which stipulates:
2. Commune-level administrative units after arrangement are allowed to continue to use district-level land use plans, district-level annual land use plans or plans prepared according to the provisions of law on urban and rural planning that have been approved by competent state agencies according to the provisions of law before July 1, 2025 in the area or land use targets in the land allocation and zoning plan of provincial planning allocated to commune-level administrative units after arrangement to serve as a basis for performing state management tasks on land until the completion of review and planning, land use plans according to new administrative units.
Based on Clause 2, Article 2 of Resolution No. 66. 3/2025/NQ-CP dated September 15, 2025 of the Government on removing and handling obstacles to implement projects in the period of the National Land Use Plan for the period 2021 - 2030, vision to 2050 that has not been approved for adjustment, it is stipulated:
2. Agencies and competent persons shall base on the district-level land use plan, the annual district-level land use plan approved before July 1, 2025, or land use targets in the land allocation and zoning plan of the provincial plan allocated to commune-level administrative units after arrangement, or plans established in accordance with the law on urban and rural planning to carry out land recovery, land allocation, land lease, and permission to change land use purposes in accordance with the law on land.
Clauses 4 and 7 of Article 76 of the Land Law stipulate: "4. In case the land use plan has been publicly announced but there is no annual land use plan at the district level, land users are allowed to continue to use and exercise the rights of land users according to the provisions of this Law.
... 7. The land area determined in the district-level annual land use plan that has been approved by competent authorities to be recovered for project implementation or has to change land use purposes but after 02 consecutive years determined in the district-level annual land use plan, there is no decision to recover land or is not allowed to change land use purposes, then the competent authority approving the district-level annual land use plan must consider, assess, adjust, cancel and must publicly announce the adjustment, cancellation of land recovery or cancellation of land use purpose change for the land area determined in the district-level annual land use plan.
To affirm and clearly answer whether your land plot is converted for purposes or not, it is necessary to check the location of the land plot compared to the land use plan, the annual land use plan of Buon Ma Thuot city (old) or the urban and rural planning of the locality that has been approved; this is the responsibility of the local land management agency, therefore, the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment has no basis to specifically affirm whether or not the land use purpose is converted.
It is requested that the Citizen send a petition to the Ward People's Committee for resolution according to the provisions of law.
