After 3 years of editing, Ho Chi Minh City is about to have new land division regulations.

The Department of Natural Resources and Environment (DONRE) of Ho Chi Minh City has just informed about the progress of implementing the draft decision regulating the conditions for land division and land consolidation in the city.

This Decision will replace Decision No. 60/2017/QD-UBND dated December 5, 2017 regulating the minimum area for land division (Decision 60).

According to the Department of Natural Resources and Environment, after reviewing the land division work in Ho Chi Minh City according to Decision 60 in March 2020, the unit drafted regulations and sent them to departments, branches and People's Committees of districts and Thu Duc City for comments.

Based on the feedback, the Department of Natural Resources and Environment of Ho Chi Minh City has revised it many times in 2012, 2022 and 2023.

According to the comments of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Justice, the Department of Natural Resources and Environment sent the draft back to the Ho Chi Minh City Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee for comments.

Regarding the implementation progress, the Department of Natural Resources and Environment said that the unit is currently coordinating with the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee of Ho Chi Minh City to organize social criticism on the draft regulations on conditions for land division and land consolidation before submitting them to the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee for consideration and decision.

Effective from January 1, 2018, Decision 60 stipulates the minimum area for land subdivision in Ho Chi Minh City. It includes regulations on land subdivision with the formation of roads, agricultural land subdivision, and non-agricultural land subdivision.

However, after Decree No. 148/2020/ND-CP of the Government on amending and supplementing a number of decrees detailing the implementation of the 2013 Land Law (Decree 148) took effect from February 8, 2021, the Department of Planning and Architecture of Ho Chi Minh City found that the regulations on land division with the formation of traffic routes in Decision 60 were no longer consistent with this decree.

Therefore, in April 2021, the Department of Planning and Architecture of Ho Chi Minh City issued an internal guidance document requesting to temporarily stop receiving dossiers to resolve land division cases while waiting for the adjustment of Decision 60.

Since then, Ho Chi Minh City has not yet issued a decision to separate the land plots, affecting the land use rights of the people.

At a press conference in October 2023, Mr. Huynh Trinh Phong, Head of the Post-Planning Management - Legal Department, Department of Planning and Architecture of Ho Chi Minh City explained that Decree 148 stipulates the authority of the Provincial People's Committee in issuing detailed regulations on land division.

With the function of specialized advisory, the Department of Planning and Architecture found that Decision 60 has provisions on land division to form traffic routes. This content is no longer consistent with Decree 148.

Mr. Phong said that according to the Law on Promulgation of Legal Documents, Decision 60 of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee cannot be contrary to Decree 148. Therefore, the Department of Planning and Architecture has advised in writing internal instructions on temporarily suspending the receipt of land division dossiers.

Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee has approved the above instructions and assigned the Department of Natural Resources and Environment to draft a new decision to replace Decision 60.

“The Department of Planning and Architecture only instructs to temporarily stop receiving applications for land division cases that form traffic routes. Other contents such as agricultural land division or non-agricultural land division are still carried out normally,” said Mr. Phong.