In the process of buying and selling land nationwide, many people encounter cases where land plots already have Land Use Right Certificates but do not clearly state the residential land area, only generally showing symbols such as "residential land", "residential land + garden", "T", "TV"... This is a fairly common situation with Certificates issued a long time ago and always poses legal risks if buyers do not research carefully.
Based on point a, clause 2, Article 20 of Decree 49/2026/ND-CP (effective from January 31, 2026) stipulates as follows:
Article 20. Regulations on land registration and issuance of Certificates
2. The land use right certificate issued before July 1, 2004 does not fall into the cases specified in Clause 6, Article 141 of the Land Law and has not specifically determined the residential land area but is shown as residential land with other land, for example "residential land", "concentrated land", "housing land", "residential land + garden", "T", "TV", "TQ", "TTT", then it is resolved as follows:
a) Provincial People's Committees shall base on the provisions of the law on land through periods, the process of land management and use and the actual conditions in the locality to stipulate the determination of residential land area, and stipulate other cases where the residential land area has not been specifically determined on the issued certificate to apply the provisions of this clause;
b) For land use right certificates specified in this clause that have been certified to have changed on the certificate or in cases where the recipient transfers the entire land plot that has been granted a new certificate from July 1, 2004 onwards but the residential land area has not been specifically determined on the certificate, the determination of residential land area shall be carried out according to the provisions of point a of this clause;
c) In case the land use right transferee has been granted a new Certificate and the residential land area is specifically determined on the Certificate, the residential land area is not determined according to the provisions of this clause;
d) When land users carry out procedures for registering land changes, the competent authority issuing the Certificate of land use rights and ownership of assets attached to land is responsible for simultaneously determining the residential land area specified in this clause. In case land users have a need to carry out separate procedures to determine the residential land area, they shall carry out the procedures and procedures prescribed by the Provincial People's Committee.
Thus, the Provincial People's Committee has the authority to stipulate the determination of residential land area for Certificates of land use rights (issued before July 1, 2004 and not in the cases specified in Clause 6, Article 141 of the 2024 Land Law) that have not specifically determined the residential land area, based on the provisions of land law through periods, land management and use processes and actual conditions in the locality.
At the same time, the Provincial People's Committee stipulates other cases where the residential land area has not been specifically determined on the issued Certificate to serve as a basis for uniformly applying the determination of residential land area according to regulations.
