The Latest: On the morning of Oct. 22, the government presented the draft amended Land Law to the National Assembly.
- A central proposal dictates that Việt Nam intends to pay for seized land at government prices instead of market prices.
- Under the draft, compensation would be calculated by multiplying the price in the provincial land price table by a specific compensation rate for each type of land.
Main Changes: The draft text “no longer includes provisions on specific land prices and land valuation consulting organizations.”
- Instead, provincial governments would decide the compensation price for each project. Specifically, the provincial People’s Council will set the land price table, while the provincial People’s Committee sets the compensation rates, as outlined in Article 72 of the draft.
- Furthermore, the draft stipulates that “the detailed contents on order and procedures are assigned to the government for regulation.”
According to the government newspaper Báo Chính phủ, the draft also “adds one case of land seizure for national defense and security purposes and two cases of land seizure for socioeconomic development in the national and public interest.”
- State media did not specify what the three new cases entail during this round of presentation.
- However, according to the government’s earlier submission presented to the National Assembly Standing Committee on Oct. 1, the defense and security case involved taking land “for lots to impound vehicles involved in violations or accidents and for driving test and license centers,” alongside guesthouses.
- The two socioeconomic development cases involved taking land to fulfill international treaties to which Việt Nam is a party and to construct public housing, rental housing, and social housing.
In certain circumstances, the draft still permits a decision to seize land before the compensation plan is approved, as Luật Khoa has reported.
From the Reviewing Committee: The Committee on Economics and Finance recommended that land seizures must meet the condition that they are “truly necessary” and requested that the government review seizures for business purposes to “avoid opening them too widely.”
- The committee also asked the government to establish land price tables so that prices can “go up as well as down.”
From Lawmakers: Nguyễn Ngọc Sơn, a deputy from the Hải Phòng delegation, voiced support for scrapping specific land prices.
- “This is a change in the right direction, helping businesses forecast the biggest input cost of a project,” he said.
- He proposed granting the provincial People’s Council, rather than the People’s Committee, the authority to establish compensation rates.
Why It Matters: The current Land Law was passed by the 15th National Assembly on Jan. 18, 2024, and has been in force for just over two years, since Aug. 1, 2024.
- Land valuation, forced seizure, and resettlement are historically the steps that generate numerous land complaints and lawsuits, and these were set out in detail in the 2024 Land Law.
Amending the Land Law was also not originally on the National Assembly’s 2026 legislative agenda; the proposal was added on June 26.
- As Luật Khoa reported when the draft was first released, there is a move away from “hard rules” for land seizure procedures.
- Once these regulations move into decrees, the government has the authority to issue and amend the rules independently, without debate or a vote in the National Assembly.
Additionally, residents in multiple locations—including the Red River project, Gia Bình, and the Ba Vì Safari—have protested for months that they were not consulted and that compensation was inadequate.
Thành Phương wrote this news article in Vietnamese and published it in Luật Khoa Magazine on October 23, 2026. The Vietnamese Magazine translated it into English.
