Expedited land seizures could soon become a reality in Việt Nam, removing legal protections that require residents to be compensated before their property is taken.
The Latest: The Ministry of Agriculture and Environment has proposed a change in a draft amendment to the Land Law, released on July 21.
- The proposal would allow authorities to take possession of land before establishing compensation, assistance, and resettlement plans for affected residents in order to “bring land into use sooner” and “accelerate” certain “special projects.”
- The bill is scheduled to be submitted to the National Assembly for consideration in October 2026.
The Details: According to the ministry’s submission, one of the principal objectives of the amendment is to “promptly address urgent priority issues arising in practice and completely remove institutional ‘bottlenecks’ to unlock land resources for socioeconomic development.” (Page 9)
- In addition, the ministry stated its intent to:
“Allow land to be recovered before compensation, assistance, and resettlement plans are approved and before resettlement arrangements are completed for certain special projects to accelerate project implementation and bring land into use sooner.” (Page 17)
Under the existing 2024 Land Law, Article 87 establishes an “order and procedure” for land recovery.
- Before taking land, authorities are required to publicly post proposed compensation, assistance, and resettlement plans and solicit the opinions of residents.
- They must also complete compensation and resettlement procedures.
The draft amendment removes these requirements in their entirety.
- The bill is intended to eliminate “rigid provisions” and remove other statutory requirements that currently govern the “order and procedure” for land recovery.
The Background: The current Land Law was adopted by the 15th National Assembly on Jan. 18, 2024.
- It has been in effect for less than two years, having commenced on Aug. 1, 2024.
- Notably, amending the law was not included in the initial 2026 legislative agenda of the National Assembly.
- The proposal was added only on June 26, 2026—less than a month before the draft was released.
Why It Matters: If passed in October, the amended Land Law would have one of the shortest legislative timelines in Việt Nam’s lawmaking history, with less than four months between its drafting and enactment.
Hoàng Nam wrote this article in Vietnamese and published it in Luật Khoa Magazine on July 27, 2026. The Vietnamese Magazine has the copyrights to the English translation.
