VietNamNet Bridge - Hanoi takes the lead among provinces and cities in Vietnam for the number of red books (land use right certificates) for houses and plots of land in stock - nearly 670,000, including the red books for 170,000 plots of land and 500,000 apartments. The capital city is also assessed to be in serious situation of land-related harassment.

 

 

On March 25, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MoNRE) held a conference to discuss solutions to complete the issuance of the land use right certificates or the red books in 22 provinces and major cities.

According to Mr. Le Van Lich, deputy director of the General Department of Land Management, the number of cases that acquires to be granted with the red book in 2013 in these provinces and cities is 3.7 million, totaling more than 2 million hectares of land, accounting for over 70 percent of the total cases of the country.

In particular, Hanoi takes the lead with 168,000 plots of land and approximately 500,000 apartments that need the red book; Nghe An Province with 335,000 plots of land, Ho Chi Minh City with over 300,000 plots of land and apartments, Gia Lai with 218,000 plots of land, Khanh Hoa and Quang Ngai with over than 140,000 plots of land, and Hai Phong with over 100,000 plots of land.

Lich said that the causes for the slow issuance of the red book at these provinces and cities are troublesome procedures and harassment of officials. He pointed out that in Hanoi and some cities, officials raised difficulty for citizens to seek profit or they colluded with others to offer unofficial services for those who need the red book. In some areas, local officials only wanted to deal with each case individually, not speed up the grant of certificates.

The Deputy Director of the General Department of Land Management added that the origin of the most unsolved cases is very complex, due to disputes and land law violations. In particular, the common violations of urban land include illegally transferring the use purpose from agricultural land into housing land, encroachment of public land and illegal construction.

For housing projects and mini condominiums in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, the major violations are breaking the approved construction license or designs, neglecting legal procedures on land and leaving land fallowed. Many people who purchase houses and land for profit did not want to get the red book to avoid paying taxes and registration fees.

The Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Nguyen Minh Quang asked these provinces and cities to follow the direction of the Prime Minister on issuance of the red books. Accordingly, in 2013 they must grant the red books to at least 85 percent of the existing cases.

According to Resolution 30 of the National Assembly and the Prime Minister's Directive No. 1474, by December 31, 2013, the country must complete the grant of the land use right certificates to at least 85 percent of land and house owners. Minister Quang commented that to accomplish that goal, provinces and cities will have to issue about 6 million certificates in 2013.

Son Tung