Prime Minister asks 4 ministries to investigate land auctions showing signs of irregularities

The telegram sent to the Ministers of Natural Resources and Environment, Construction, Finance, Justice and Chairmen of People's Committees of provinces and centrally-run cities clearly stated:

Recently, the Government and the Prime Minister have directed and issued documents detailing the implementation of the 2024 Land Law, which will take effect from August 1, 2024, including regulations on land use rights auctions. A number of localities have successfully organized land use rights auctions, contributing to supplementing local budget revenues. However, some cases where the winning auction price is many times higher than the starting price (some cases are unusually high as reported by the media) are attracting great attention from public opinion, which may impact socio-economic development, the investment and business environment, and the housing and real estate markets.

To improve the effectiveness and efficiency of land management, improve the real estate market, and promote socio-economic development, the Prime Minister requests:

Chairmen of People's Committees of provinces and centrally-run cities shall direct functional agencies and units to review the organization of land use rights auctions in their localities to ensure compliance with the law, publicity and transparency; promptly detect and strictly handle violations of legal regulations in land use rights auctions, and prevent acts of taking advantage of land use rights auctions for personal gain and disrupting the market.

The Minister of Natural Resources and Environment shall preside over and coordinate with the Ministers of the Ministries of Justice, Finance, Construction and the Chairmen of the People's Committees of provinces and centrally-run cities to urgently review and inspect the organization of land use rights auctions in cases showing signs of abnormality, handle according to their authority violations of legal regulations on land use rights auctions, promptly detect shortcomings in legal regulations to advise and propose competent authorities to amend, adjust and supplement, prevent profiteering, and at the same time handle and propose solutions to strictly handle acts of taking advantage of land use rights auctions to disrupt the market and report to the Prime Minister before August 30, 2024.

The Minister of Construction shall preside over and coordinate with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment and the People's Committees of provinces and centrally-run cities to study and specifically assess the impacts of the recent land use rights auction results, especially cases with unusually high auction results, many times higher than the starting price, on the land and housing price level, on the housing and real estate market (supply and demand), proactively regulate and resolve according to authority and have effective solutions or propose solutions to limit negative impacts (if any), and report to the Prime Minister.

Authorities direct units and localities to strengthen their grasp of the situation, promptly detect, prevent and strictly handle violations of legal regulations in land use rights auctions, especially acts of collusion to manipulate the market and inflate prices to create an unhealthy market that is not true to reality for profiteering.

The Ministers of the Ministries of Natural Resources and Environment, Construction, and Finance urgently guide and organize training for localities on new policies of the Land Law, Housing Law, Real Estate Business Law and tasks directed by the Prime Minister in Official Dispatch No. 79/CD-TTg dated August 13, 2024.

Assign Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha to directly monitor and direct the implementation of this Official Dispatch.

The Government Office regularly monitors the situation and promptly reports to the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister in charge on urgent and arising issues.