Promoting urbanization and addressing the land and housing needs of the people.

On November 3rd, at the National Assembly building, under the chairmanship of Deputy Speaker Nguyen Duc Hai, the Standing Committee of the National Assembly discussed the draft Resolution on piloting the implementation of commercial housing projects through agreements on land use rights or existing land use rights.

Establishing a legal framework to manage the land use rights market.

Presenting the report at the session, Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Do Duc Duy stated that this Resolution was developed to concretize the Party's guidelines on "Continuing to implement the mechanism of self-agreement between people and businesses in the transfer of land use rights to implement urban and commercial housing projects," creating a legal framework to manage the land use rights market and the market for land use rights. real estate Stable, healthy, open, and transparent development.

Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Do Duc Duy presents the draft Resolution. (Photo: DUY LINH)

The resolution will facilitate land users and investors to proactively implement commercial housing projects and urban development projects, minimize administrative intervention, limit the creation of unnecessary administrative procedures, reduce compliance costs, and prevent the State from reclaiming land which can easily lead to complaints from citizens. This will contribute to promoting the country's urbanization process and addressing the housing needs of the people.

According to Minister Do Duc Duy, the Resolution stipulates that a nationwide pilot program will be implemented for the following cases: real estate businesses receiving land use rights; real estate businesses currently holding land use rights; real estate businesses currently holding land use rights and receiving land use rights; and real estate businesses established by organizations currently using the land to implement commercial housing projects on the land of facilities that must be relocated due to environmental pollution, or facilities that must be relocated according to construction plans or urban planning.

Clarify solutions to mitigate the negative impacts of the pilot program.

After review, the Standing Committee of the National Assembly's Economic Committee agreed with the necessity of drafting the Resolution as presented in the Government's submission, and requested the Government to conduct a detailed and comprehensive assessment of the practical situation of commercial housing development, the effectiveness of using land allocated for commercial housing development in provinces and centrally-administered cities; assess the current state of land hoarding and speculation; and propose solutions to mitigate the negative impacts of the pilot program.

Regarding the conditions for implementing commercial housing projects through agreements on land use rights or existing land use rights, the Standing Committee of the Economic Committee believes that, Land Law The regulations stipulate the conditions for exercising land use rights, including very strict regulations on the conditions for receiving and transferring land use rights for different types of land.

Chairman of the National Assembly's Economic Committee, Vu Hong Thanh, presents the verification report. (Photo: DUY LINH)

The regulations as drafted in the Resolution would create a legal framework parallel to the provisions in the Land Law regarding land for commercial housing investment during the pilot period; potentially causing conflicts and overlaps with regulations related to forestry, national defense, security, beliefs, and religion.

The Standing Committee of the Economic Committee proposed reviewing, researching, and specifically identifying each type of land for commercial housing projects; clarifying the application of the pilot mechanism for the conditions for receiving land transfers as stipulated in the Land Law; researching pilot conditions based on the time of receiving land use rights (or currently having land use rights) before and after the Resolution takes effect; and simultaneously, proposing to study the addition of principles to ensure the stability of 3.5 million hectares of rice land and maintain a stable forest cover rate of 42%.

In addition, some opinions suggest the need for stricter regulations on the adjustment of district-level land use planning related to the pilot project area. Another opinion proposes that regulations should be implemented in a way that assigns the Government and People's Committees at all levels strict control over the adjustment of land use planning for residential land; and that they be held responsible if profiteering occurs in land acquisition and planning adjustments.

The scope of the pilot project needs careful study and consideration.

During the meeting, some opinions suggested that the Government needs to supplement and provide more information, conduct a more thorough assessment of the current situation and implementation of commercial housing projects, analyze the main shortcomings and obstacles faced by localities, in order to develop appropriate pilot plans that address the remaining issues and avoid land speculation or the "request-and-grant" mechanism for projects.

The scene at the meeting. (Photo: DUY LINH)

Regarding the scope of the pilot program, the drafting agency needs to report and clarify the appropriateness of the pilot program's scope in urban areas and areas slated for urban development nationwide. The government's document states that not all localities nationwide face obstacles; in fact, some localities do not have obstacles and have not proposed implementing a pilot program.

This is a major policy that will have a significant impact on the economy; therefore, if piloted nationwide, addressing the policy's effects will be very complex. Consequently, the government needs to clarify the basis for selecting a nationwide pilot program for commercial housing projects implemented through agreements on land use rights or existing land use rights.

Concluding the discussion, Vice Chairman of the National Assembly Nguyen Duc Hai stated that the Standing Committee of the National Assembly unanimously agreed to submit to the National Assembly for consideration and decision the pilot implementation of commercial housing projects through agreements on land use rights or existing land use rights to institutionalize the Party's policy, contribute to unlocking land resources, developing socio-economic aspects, and meeting the housing needs of the people. The Government is responsible for the appropriateness of the proposed contents in the Submission and the draft Resolution, ensuring consistency with the conclusions of competent authorities.

The Vice Chairman of the National Assembly requested the Government to incorporate the opinions of the Standing Committee of the National Assembly and the verification agency to finalize the content of the Submission, noting the need to supplement missing documents and materials as required, clarifying the basis, grounds, urgency, effectiveness, feasibility, and conformity with the conclusions of competent authorities regarding the selection of pilot projects nationwide, and the conditions and criteria for selecting pilot projects.

The pilot implementation must ensure compliance with regulations on rice cultivation area, forest cover rate, and land use indicators decided by competent authorities. The Government must fully anticipate risks and include appropriate regulations in the Resolution to implement solutions within its authority to prevent negative practices, speculation, and exploitation of policies, avoiding situations where land is left fallow or where construction is rampant and wasteful.

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