A resident in Ho Chi Minh City reflected that his family has a land plot that is already in the planning but has not yet had a land acquisition decision. This person wonders whether that case is still allowed to change the land use purpose or not.
Regarding this content, the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment has given a specific answer on the basis for considering changing land use purposes for cases of land under planning.
According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment, Clause 5, Article 76 of the 2024 Land Law stipulates that in cases where land use planning has been announced but there is no annual district-level land use plan, land users are still allowed to continue to use and exercise the rights of land users according to legal regulations.
In cases where there is an annual district-level land use plan, land users in areas where land use purposes must be changed or land is recovered according to the plan are still allowed to continue to exercise the rights of land users, but are not allowed to build new houses, works, or plant perennial trees. If there is a need to renovate or repair existing houses or works, permission must be obtained from a competent State agency.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Environment also said that the permission to change land use purposes must be based on the annual land use plan at the district level that has been approved and the land use needs expressed in the application for land use purpose change according to Article 121 of the 2024 Land Law.
Thus, land already in the plan does not necessarily mean that land use purposes cannot be changed. Whether it is resolved or not depends on the state of annual land use planning and plans and the decision of competent authorities in the locality.
According to records, many people are still confused between "land use planning" and "annual land use plan", leading to concerns that land use rights are completely restricted when land is in the planning area.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Environment recommends that people should check planning information and land use plans in their localities before carrying out related procedures to avoid arising problems in the process of resolving dossiers.
