Many auctioned land lots have not been paid yet, showing signs of deposit cancellation

The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment has just sent a report to the National Assembly deputies at the 8th Session of the 15th National Assembly on the implementation of the 2024 Land Law (two months after this law took effect from August 1, 2024); emphasizing that the new policies of the law have brought about effectiveness, but there are some problems such as land auctions and land price adjustment.

For example, in Hanoi, in the recent land auctions in Thanh Oai and Hoai Duc districts, there was a situation of price manipulation and price hikes. After the auction, some auction winners did not pay the land use fee on time according to the auction regulations, showing signs of abandoning their deposits, causing negative public opinion.

Push prices up to speculate for profit

According to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, after the 2024 Land Law was implemented, some localities auctioned land use rights with a very large difference between the starting price and the winning price. This created negative public opinion, affecting the healthy development of the real estate market.

Through inspection, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment found that some of the reasons leading to the above situation were due to the lack of systematic, public, and transparent planning of housing development areas, creating opportunities for subjects to take advantage of land speculation.

Some auction participants do not really have a need for residential land or housing, but mainly for the purpose of speculation, manipulating prices by pushing up prices and immediately reselling the land that has just won the auction to make a profit, or creating a virtual price level for surrounding areas.

Notably, according to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, after the auction, some auction winners did not pay land use fees on time according to the auction regulations, showing signs of abandoning deposits, causing negative public opinion in some localities.

For example, in Hanoi, through a recent inspection of land auctions in Thanh Oai and Hoai Duc districts, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment recorded that in Thanh Oai, 56/68 auctioned land plots had not yet been paid by the auction winners; in Hoai Duc, 8/19 auctioned land plots had not yet been paid by the auction winners.

According to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, localities lack initiative in creating land funds for auction, leading to people's need for land and housing not being fully met for a long time.

In addition, there are cases where localities use land prices in the current land price list that have not been adjusted in time, much lower than the actual land price level, as the starting price, leading to a large difference in the winning bid and starting price, which also attracts many bidders to make a profit.

“The problems that have emerged in recent times mainly stem from poor implementation in some localities. Therefore, it is necessary to strengthen leadership and direction in implementation to limit shortcomings and obstacles in the implementation of the 2024 Land Law,” the report of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment emphasized.

Big difference in price when adjusting land price list

Regarding the adjustment of the current land price list according to the provisions of Clause 1, Article 257 of the 2024 Land Law, the report of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment emphasized that this is a transitional provision, aiming to help localities implement the roadmap to gradually build a new land price list according to the provisions of the law to apply from January 1, 2026; avoiding the "shock" of sudden price increases in the land price list, affecting the rights and obligations of some land users.

However, when adjusting the current land price list, if localities do not consider carefully, thoroughly, and fully assess the impact, there will be cases where the land price in the price list after adjustment has a large difference compared to the current land price list.

Especially for localities during the 2021-2024 period, if the land price list is not adjusted or not regularly adjusted according to the provisions of the 2013 Land Law, if adjustments are made now, there will be a large difference, causing people and businesses to react because the amount of money to fulfill financial obligations on land is higher than when applying the land price in the land price list before adjustment.

Citing the adjustment of land prices in Ho Chi Minh City, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment said that when first collecting opinions, it encountered reactions from people and businesses because land prices in some areas had changed significantly, increasing dramatically compared to land prices in the current price list.

To promptly resolve the problem, the Prime Minister directed the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, ministries, branches and Ho Chi Minh City to meet to agree on a solution. After that, Ho Chi Minh City also had a plan to adjust the price list with a roadmap suitable to the local reality.

Regarding the difficulties in establishing economic and technical norms for making construction estimates, adjusting and supplementing land price lists that many localities have reported, the report of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment said that this content has been stipulated in Decree No. 32/2019 of the Government, as well as guiding documents of the Ministry of Finance, the Government Office, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment...

Recently, on October 14, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment also worked with 21 provinces and cities and then issued a detailed notice to resolve this issue.

Thus, the fact that some localities have reported difficulties and problems in implementing Clause 1, Article 257 of the Land Law related to the land price list is due to poor implementation, lack of initiative, and lack of flexibility (not regularly reviewing, adjusting, and supplementing the land price list according to the provisions of the 2013 Land Law in the previous period), not due to problems with policies or regulations of the 2024 Land Law and implementing documents.