The proposed revision lists only the activities involved in “implementing land recovery,” placing compensation, support, and resettlement last.
The Latest: On July 21, 2026, the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment released a draft amended Land Law, proposing the removal of the rigid procedural sequence required for land recovery.
- The proposed revision is scheduled for National Assembly consideration in October 2026.
The Details: The proposal completely removes Article 87 of the current 2024 Land Law, which governs “the sequence and procedures for compensation, support, resettlement, and land recovery.”
Under the current law, Article 87 establishes a mandatory sequence for land recovery.
- Authorities must publicly post proposed compensation and resettlement plans, and consult affected residents before issuing a land recovery notice.
Clause 5 stipulates that authorities may issue a land recovery decision within 10 days only after compensation and resettlement arrangements have been completed and affected residents have agreed. This requires meeting seven specific conditions:
- The compensation, support, and resettlement plan have been approved.
- Affected residents have been offered on-site resettlement and agreed to receive compensation for temporary accommodation expenses.
- Affected residents have been allocated land in the area for resettlement.
- Affected residents have been provided with resettlement housing.
- Affected residents have been allocated residential land together with resettlement housing.
- Affected residents have agreed to and received compensation.
- Affected residents have voluntarily handed the land over to the state and have been provided with temporary accommodation or compensation for temporary accommodation expenses.
The draft proposal replaces all these provisions with Article 38 on “implementing land recovery.” The new article lists six activities but does not require authorities to follow a binding sequence or procedure. In the order presented in the draft, the activities are:
- Develop a land recovery plan.
- Meet with people whose land is located in the recovery area.
- Issue a land recovery notice.
- Investigate, survey, measure, and inventory […] the origins of the recovered land and the assets attached to it.
- Prepare […] a compensation, support, and resettlement plan and issue the land recovery decision.
- Carry out the land recovery, compensation, support, and resettlement measures, including compulsory […] land recovery where applicable.
According to the submission report of the bill (page 17), the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment proposes “not setting rigid rules” in the amended Land Law for the sequence and procedures governing land recovery. Instead, the government would be authorized to issue detailed regulations.
The Background: The current Land Law was enacted by the 15th National Assembly on Jan. 18, 2024, and has been in effect for less than two years, since Aug. 1, 2024.
Revising the law was not part of the National Assembly’s 2026 legislative agenda.
- The proposal was added only on June 26, 2026, less than a month before the draft was released.
Why It Matters: If passed this October, the amended Land Law would be among the fastest-moving bills in Việt Nam’s legislative history, with less than four months between drafting and enactment.
- According to the draft submission report (page 9), one of the amendment’s key goals is to “promptly address priority and urgent issues arising in practice and completely remove institutional ‘bottlenecks’ to unlock land resources for socioeconomic development.”
Hoàng Nam wrote this news article in Vietnamese and published it in Luật Khoa Magazine on August 11, 2026. The Vietnamese Magazine translated it into English.
