Procedures for converting agricultural land to residential land
Cases of changing land use purposes must be permitted by competent state agencies to be carried out in the following order and procedures:
- Land users submit dossiers requesting land use purpose conversion according to regulations.
- Land management agencies inspect the conditions for changing land use purposes. If the dossier does not meet the regulations, guide land users to supplement the dossier and submit it to the land management agency.
- A land management agency is responsible for the following:
+ For cases of applying land prices in the land price list to calculate land use fees and land rent, the land management agency shall prepare a dossier to submit to the competent People's Committee for issuance of a decision allowing land use purpose conversion, land allocation, and land lease;
+ For cases of determining specific land prices to calculate land use fees and land rent, land management agencies shall prepare dossiers to submit to the competent People's Committee for issuance of decisions allowing land use purpose conversion, land allocation, and land lease; organize the determination of land prices and submit them to competent agencies for approval of land prices for calculating land use fees and land rent.
- Land users pay land use fees and land rent according to the provisions of law; in case land use fees and land rent are reduced, the agency collecting land use fees and land rent shall reduce land use fees and land rent for land users.
- Land management agencies sign land lease contracts for cases where the State leases land; transfer dossiers to land registration organizations or branches of land registration organizations to carry out the registration and issuance of Certificates of land use rights, ownership of assets attached to land, update and adjust land databases, cadastral records and award Certificates of land use rights, ownership of assets attached to land to land users.
- In case of receiving land use right transfer and changing land use purpose, land use right transfer registration procedures can be carried out simultaneously with land use purpose transfer procedures according to regulations.
Authority to allow the conversion of agricultural land to residential land
According to point b, clause 1, Article 121 of the 2024 Land Law, the case of changing the land use purpose of agricultural land to non-agricultural land must be permitted by a competent state agency.
In which, non-agricultural land includes residential land, including residential land in rural areas, residential land in urban areas (also known as residential land).
According to the provisions of point m, clause 1, Article 5 of Decree 151/2025/ND-CP (rectified in Decision 2418/QD-BNNMT in 2025), it is stipulated:
Article 5. The authority of the District People's Committee, the Chairman of the District People's Committee transferred to the Chairman of the Commune People's Committee, including:
Decisions on land allocation, land lease, and permission to change land use purposes for individuals specified in point a, clause 2, Article 123 of the Land Law; decisions on land allocation to residential communities specified in point b, clause 2, Article 123 of the Land Law; decisions on agricultural land allocation to individuals specified in point b, clause 2, Article 178 of the Land Law;
Thus, according to the above regulations, the authority to allow the conversion of agricultural land use purposes to residential land for individuals is under the authority of the commune-level People's Committee.
