MAE proposes Land Law amendments to support growth targets

In an official dispatch submitted to the government on May 7, the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment (MAE) argued for supplementing the draft law amending several articles of the Land Law into this year's legislative agenda.

According to the ministry, nearly two years after the 2024 Land Law took effect, the National Assembly and government have issued more than 26 documents to amend, supplement, and guide implementation to resolve complexities.

The proposed amendment is driven by the two-level local government model and the need to promote decentralisation and delegation of power. Much of the content currently adjusted by decrees needs to be legalised to ensure stability, unity, and long-term consistency.

"Amending the Land Law is an urgent requirement to institutionalise the Party's major policies, especially resolutions on economic development, innovation of growth models, and perfecting the legal system," the MAE noted. "At the same time, this is also an important solution to meet the goal of double-digit economic growth in the 2026-2030 period."

The amended draft law is expected to focus on two main areas. The first addresses national development requirements in the new era and the goal of double-digit economic growth. The second covers decentralisation, delegation of power, and administrative reform in land management under the two-level local government model.

Under the first group, the ministry proposes amending several articles of the Land Law to remove implementation obstacles by legalising regulations related to land prices, land price tables, land price adjustment coefficients; land use fees and land rents; land recovery, compensation, support, and resettlement; registration and certification; planning and land use plans; land allocation, leasing, change of use purpose, lease form selection, plot separation and consolidation; land use regimes; and the land information system.

The MAE also proposes amending regulations on commune-level land use planning and plans; rights and obligations of rice land users; rights and obligations of land users who violated land law before July 1, 2014; compensation in special cases; and the land use regime for certain land types.

On the second area of focus – decentralisation and administrative reform in land management under the two-level local government model – the ministry proposes amending regulations on state management authority over land to align with the new model.

The drafting agency will replace or remove references to 'district', 'district level', 'town', as well as 'people's council', 'people's committee', and 'chairman of people's committee' with the general phrase 'agency or person with authority'. A new article on state management authority over land will be added.

The ministry also proposes amending administrative procedures related to the provincial level and reviewing the legal system to ensure consistency with relevant laws and resolutions.

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