As Lao Dong reported, the implementation of the arrangement of villages and residential groups as originally planned by the Ministry of Home Affairs will be implemented from May 2026.
The arrangement of villages and residential groups in communes and wards will be carefully prepared to ensure scientific and reasonable arrangement, facilitating population management, socio-economic development and improving the operational efficiency of grassroots government.
In the immediate period, the Ministry of Home Affairs on December 9 issued a document requesting the People's Committees of provinces and cities to keep villages and residential groups at commune-level administrative units.
This requirement is to ensure stability of the grassroots political system and serve the preparation for the election of 16th National Assembly deputies and People's Council deputies at all levels for the 2026-2031 term and based on the opinions of some localities.
According to Directive No. 28 dated September 18, 2025, the election of deputies to the 16th National Assembly and deputies to the People's Councils at all levels for the 2026-2031 term will be held on Sunday, March 15, 2026.
To implement the plan to reorganize villages and residential groups across the country, the Ministry of Home Affairs said it will prepare a Decree to reorganize villages, hamlets and residential groups according to the plan in May 2026, along with implementing the arrangement of public service units and state-owned enterprises.
Regarding the policy of reorganizing and arranging villages and residential groups, according to Lao Dong's research on December 21, the Law on Local Government recently issued by the 15th National Assembly in 2025 clearly stipulates the tasks and powers in arranging administrative units of local governments at all levels.
Notably, for local authorities, Article 21 of the Law on Local Government clearly stipulates that the People's Council of the commune will review and give opinions on the establishment, dissolution, merger, division of administrative units, adjustment of boundaries and renaming of administrative units at its level;
Decide to establish, reorganize, dissolve, name, and rename villages according to the provisions of law; specifically decide on the number of non-professional workers receiving allowances from the state budget in the area according to the regulations of local authorities at the provincial level.
Similarly, for local ward authorities, Article 24 clearly stipulates that the People's Council of the ward will decide to establish, reorganize, dissolve, rename, and rename residential groups; specifically decide on the number of non-professional workers receiving allowances from the state budget in the area according to the regulations of local authorities at the provincial level.
Particularly for local authorities in special zones, they perform the corresponding tasks and powers of local authorities in communes.
In case the special zone is recognized as an urban type according to the provisions of law, the local government in the special zone shall perform the corresponding tasks and powers of the local government in the ward.
In special cases, special areas with a permanent population of less than 1,000 people do not have local government agencies, the People's Committee of the special zone is a state administrative agency, decided by the People's Committee of the province to establish and perform the role of local government in this special zone.
