People rush to do real estate procedures before merger

In the context of the implementation of the arrangement and merger of provincial, district and communal administrative units, many localities in the province have recorded a situation of people rushing to complete land-related procedures. Hai Duong City is the locality with the largest number of records in the province and has increased dramatically.

Overloaded but not delayed

Before 7am on weekdays this week, the number of people coming to the “one-stop shop” department of Hai Duong City to do land-related procedures is very large every day. The scene of waiting from the parking lot to the lobby is quite common.

Mr. Nguyen Quoc My, Deputy Director in charge of the Hai Duong City Land Registration Office Branch (a unit located at the city's "one-stop" department) said that from January 1 to April 22, the unit received 12,269 land procedure dossiers, one and a half times higher than the same period last year. In the first 20 days of April alone, the number of dossiers received reached more than 3,000 sets, double the average of 1 month last year. Regarding surveying work, from the beginning of the year to April 22, the unit received 2,896 dossiers, also a very high increase compared to last year.

"Most people who go to do land procedures at this time are worried about having to travel far to do the procedures when merging with Hai Phong City," said Mr. My.

The procedures that people want to carry out are mainly transferring land use rights, assets attached to land, procedures for donating land use rights...

Although the number of applications has increased significantly, the rate of returning applications before the deadline of the city is up to 80%, the rest are returned on time. Even in the past, there was only 1 application that was delayed by 1 day, the staff had to explain and apologize in writing to the people. At the peak in March, all 6 surveying teams of the branch measured 442 out of a total of more than 600 applications, while according to normal capacity, the teams can only measure a maximum of 420 applications/month.

That shows that despite the overload of records, the Hai Duong City Land Registration Office Branch does not delay work. The entire branch has 24 specialized staff, clearly assigned people, clearly assigned tasks, without overlap, so the work is very fast. They also work through lunch, work in the evening, on Saturdays and Sundays. There are some days when data entry staff serving the digitization of land data have to work until 1 am to ensure the progress of each file.

Mr. Vu Van Truong, an officer in the document reception department, said: “On April 21, I received 180 sets of documents requesting to resolve land procedures, while on a normal day, there were only 50-60 sets. A large number of people came to do the procedures, causing a lot of pressure on us. Working through lunch and evening, without a day off, has become normal in the past 2-3 months to ensure the progress and time to resolve procedures for the people.”

Waiting for her turn to do the procedures to get a measurement extract at the Branch of the Hai Duong City Land Registration Office, Ms. Pham Thi Huong in Thanh Binh Ward said: "Recently, I have done some procedures related to real estate, every time I go to the Branch of the City Land Registration Office, it is very crowded. But fortunately, the staff here do the procedures very quickly, give enthusiastic and careful instructions, so I don't have to wait long, the documents are processed quickly."

Don't worry

Many people who come to the Hai Duong City Land Registration Office to do land-related procedures have expressed concern that after the merger of communes and wards, the abolition of the district level, and the upcoming merger of provinces, the implementation of procedures will become more complicated. In addition, unclear information about whether or not land and house papers must be redone after the merger also makes people worried.

According to current regulations, the merger of administrative units does not invalidate the land use right certificate. People are not required to change the "red book" unless they need to update information or conduct land-related transactions. Specifically, on April 11, 2025, the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment (formerly the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment) issued Official Dispatch 991/BNNMT - QLĐĐ 2025 guiding the adjustment of cadastral records, land databases and synthesizing natural area data when rearranging administrative units. Accordingly, the most prominent regulation is that for certificates issued over the periods, after the rearrangement of administrative units, people are not required to simultaneously adjust the issued certificates, except in cases of need or when performing simultaneously with administrative procedures on land.

To reduce the situation of people rushing to do real estate procedures when not really necessary, the authorities need to increase information and propaganda, providing clear and accurate information about regulations related to mergers and land procedures so that people can understand clearly and not be confused.

At the same time, increase human resources and improve the process of processing records to meet the increased demand during the merger period. In addition, it is necessary to encourage people to use online public services to reduce the burden on the "one-stop" department as well as the Land Registration Office Branch and increase transparency in processing records.