The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment has just submitted a report to the National Assembly on the implementation of the 2024 Land Law, two months after the law came into effect (August 1, 2024).

According to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, the new policies of the law have been effective, however, there are some obstacles such as land auction procedures and adjustments to land price tables.

Inflating prices to create an artificial price level.

The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment stated that, following the implementation of the 2024 Land Law, some localities have seen significant discrepancies between the starting price and the winning bid price in land use right auctions. This has created negative public opinion and negatively impacted the healthy development of the real estate market.

Upon inspection, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment found that several factors contributing to this situation stemmed from the lack of systematic, transparent, and open planning and public disclosure of housing development plans, creating opportunities for individuals to exploit the situation for land speculation.

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Recently, many districts in Hanoi have intensified land auctions to increase budget revenue. Photo: Bao Kien

Some bidders do not actually need land or housing, but primarily aim for speculation and price manipulation by artificially inflating prices and immediately reselling the land they won to profit, or creating an artificial price level in surrounding areas.

"In particular, after the auction, some winning bidders did not pay land use fees on time according to the auction regulations, showing signs of forfeiting deposits, causing negative public opinion in some localities," the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment stated.

Specifically, according to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, inspections of land auctions in Thanh Oai and Hoai Duc districts (Hanoi) have revealed that in Thanh Oai, 56 out of 68 auctioned land plots have not yet had their payments made by the winning bidders, while in Hoai Duc, 8 out of 19 auctioned land plots have not yet had their payments made by the winning bidders.

In addition, some localities use land prices from the current land price list, which have not been adjusted in a timely manner and are much lower than the actual land price level, as the starting price. This leads to a large discrepancy between the winning bid and the starting price, attracting many people to participate in the auction to make a profit.

"The problems that have emerged recently mainly stem from poor implementation in some localities. Therefore, it is necessary to strengthen leadership and guidance in the implementation process to minimize shortcomings and obstacles in the implementation of the 2024 Land Law," the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment stated.

Problems in adjusting land price tables

According to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, the second obstacle relates to adjusting the current land price list as stipulated in Clause 1, Article 257 of the 2024 Land Law. This is a transitional provision, aimed at helping localities gradually implement the roadmap for building a new land price list in accordance with the law, to be applied from January 1, 2026.

When adjusting the current land price list, if localities do not carefully consider and fully assess the impact, there may be a situation where the land prices in the adjusted land price list differ significantly from the land prices in the current land price list.

Some localities did not adjust land price tables according to the regulations of the 2013 Land Law during the period of 2021-2024. Now that they are adjusting, the large discrepancies have caused public and business reactions because the amount of money required to fulfill financial obligations related to land has increased significantly compared to when the land price table was applied before the adjustment.

The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment cited the example of adjusting land price tables in Ho Chi Minh City, which, when first proposed for public consultation, faced resistance from citizens and businesses due to significant and sudden changes in land prices in some areas compared to the prices in the current land price table.

Subsequently, the Prime Minister instructed the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, along with other ministries and Ho Chi Minh City, to hold a meeting to agree on a solution. Following this, Ho Chi Minh City developed a plan to adjust the price list with a roadmap that aligns with the local reality.

According to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, the difficulties and obstacles reported by some localities in implementing regulations related to land price tables stem from the infrequent review, adjustment, and supplementation of land price tables as stipulated in the 2013 Land Law.

"These shortcomings are not due to policy or regulatory obstacles in the 2024 Land Law and its implementing guidelines," the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment affirmed.

"Borrowing deposits" in land auctions is recurring, negatively impacting prices and the housing market.

Mr. Vu Hong Thanh raised concerns about the recurring issue of "abandoning deposits" after winning land use rights auctions, which negatively impacts price levels and the housing market.
Hanoi land auctions: Bidding continues until midnight in some places, while others pause for review.

Hanoi land auctions: Bidding continues until midnight in some places, while others pause for review.

Land auctions in Ha Dong, along with numerous auctions in districts surrounding Hanoi, lasted for many hours, ending at midnight. Meanwhile, some localities postponed land auctions due to requests from management agencies.
A district on the outskirts of Hanoi closed its land auction after 8 PM; what were the winning bids?

A district on the outskirts of Hanoi closed its land auction after 8 PM; what were the winning bids?

After nearly 20 hours and 12 rounds of bidding, 54 plots of land in Yen Son commune, Quoc Oai district (Hanoi) were successfully auctioned off, with the highest price reaching nearly 55 million VND/m2, 4.4 times the starting price.