The Ministry of Agriculture and Environment received a petition from voters in Dong Thap province sent by the National Assembly's Petition and Supervision Committee on transferring voters' petitions after the 9th Session of the 15th National Assembly.
Voters recommend the following content: For a long time, farmers have been used to building houses on agricultural land without changing the purpose of land use. Propose to have instructions for people to convert the purpose of using agricultural land with houses to residential land without having to pay administrative fines according to Decree 123/2024/ND-CP dated October 4, 2024 of the Government on administrative sanctions in the field of land, and consider collecting the difference when converting land use purposes to be reasonable and appropriate.
Regarding this proposal, the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment has the following opinion: According to the provisions of the 2024 Land Law, the principle of land use is "correct land use purpose" (Article 5). People who violate land laws will be subject to disciplinary action, handling administrative violations or criminal prosecution depending on the nature and severity of the violation. If they cause damage, they must compensate according to the provisions of law (Article 239).
Therefore, the case of building a house on agricultural land without asking for permission to change the purpose of land use is a violation of the provisions of Point b, Clause 1, Article 121 of the 2024 Land Law and will be considered for handling administrative violations according to regulations for one of the acts specified in Articles 8, 9, 10 of Decree No. 123/2024/ND-CP dated October 4, 2024 of the Government regulating administrative sanctions for acts of using land for the wrong purpose.
To change land use purposes without being fined, land users must carry out procedures for changing land use purposes according to the provisions of Articles 121, 122, 156 of the 2024 Land Law, Section I, Part III, Appendix I of Decree No. 151/2025/ND-CP dated June 12, 2025 of the Government regulating the division of authority of local authorities at 2 levels, decentralization and delegation of authority in the land sector.
The collection of land use fees when changing land use purposes is implemented according to the provisions of Decree No. 103/2024/ND-CP dated July 30, 2024 of the Government regulating land use fees and land rents. The Ministry of Agriculture and Environment will coordinate and discuss with the Ministry of Finance (the unit in charge of developing the policy of collecting financial obligations on land) in the process of completing the provisions of Decree No. 103/2024/ND-CP.
