From January 1, 2026, the 2024 Land Law and Resolution No. 254/2025/QH15 officially took effect, marking an important adjustment in land management and use. One of the contents that received great attention from people and the business community is the clarification of cases where the State is allocated land and leased land without auctioning land use rights - an issue that has caused many different understandings in the process of applying the law in the past.
According to the provisions of the 2024 Land Law, the consistent principle in land management is that land belongs to the entire people, the State unifies management, land allocation and lease must be carried out through auctions to ensure publicity, transparency and prevent loss of public assets. This is considered a core and consistent principle in the land law system.
However, to remove obstacles arising from practice, especially for specific projects, Resolution No. 254/2025/QH15 has concretized cases where the mechanism of land allocation and land lease without auction is applied from January 1, 2026. Legalizing these cases clearly is considered an important step, contributing to unifying the understanding and application between localities, avoiding the situation of different applications as before.
Cases of land allocated without auction from 2026
One of the notable groups of subjects is land serving national defense, security and special tasks of the State. According to new regulations, the State is allocated land without auction to build national defense and security works; compulsory drug rehabilitation facilities; compulsory education facilities; detention facilities managed by armed forces. The specific addition of this group of cases aims to overcome the situation that many special projects cannot be implemented in the past due to regulations on auctioning land use rights.
Along with that, the law also allows land allocation without auction for projects using public investment capital and works serving public interests, such as transport infrastructure, health, education, culture, and society. These are projects that are not for business purposes, so not organizing auctions is considered to be consistent with the nature of land use, and at the same time contributes to shortening the implementation time and limiting unnecessary costs for the state budget.
Notably, Resolution 254 clearly stipulates cases under the Prime Minister's authority to apply the mechanism of land allocation without auction in some special cases, including important national projects, projects of great significance to socio-economic development, national defense - security or projects deployed in remote, isolated, border, and island areas. However, the application of this mechanism is not arbitrary but must be closely based on approved land use plans and plans, and be subject to strict supervision by competent authorities.
No auction but does not mean financial "favor"
An important point emphasized in the new regulations is that land allocation without auction does not mean being exempted from financial obligations. Accordingly, organizations and individuals allocated land must still fully implement land use fees and land rent according to the provisions of law.
This regulation aims to prevent the situation of taking advantage of special mechanisms for profiteering, while ensuring the principle of effective use and saving land resources. Compared to before, the new regulations have clearly shown the trend of tightening the conditions for application, narrowing the scope of non-auction land allocation and enhancing the responsibility of land allocation decision-making agencies.
All land allocation decisions must be public, transparent, with clear legal grounds and associated with specific accountability. This is considered one of the key points to limit negativity, loss and lawsuits in the land sector.
From a practical perspective, new regulations are expected to remove many obstacles for public utility and social security projects, and at the same time create a clearer legal corridor for investment and land use activities. However, ultimate efficiency still depends greatly on the implementation organization stage, especially the control of power, information transparency and strengthening inspection and examination at the local level.
