Request to adjust land price list to avoid profiteering during auction

On August 23, Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Le Minh Ngan signed an official dispatch requesting provinces and centrally-run cities to adjust, amend and supplement the land price list.

The request was made based on the situation where some localities use land prices in the current price list issued under the 2013 Land Law as the starting price for land use rights auctions when the State allocates or leases land in cases where land plots and land areas have been invested in technical infrastructure according to detailed planning in the 2024 Land Law.

"This leads to a huge difference between the starting price and the winning auction price, potentially causing the risk of taking advantage of the land use rights auction for personal gain, disrupting the market, affecting socio-economic development, the investment and business environment, and the housing and real estate market," the document of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment stated.

The reason for the above situation is that the land price list issued under the 2013 Land Law and its implementing documents are controlled by the Government's land price framework, which has been abolished under the 2024 Land Law. Along with that, some localities have not promptly monitored common land price fluctuations in the market to make appropriate adjustments, leading to land prices being much lower than market prices.

To overcome the above situation, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment requires the People's Committees of provinces and centrally-run cities to direct the review when applying land prices. In case the land prices are not suitable to reality, the provincial People's Committees will adjust them according to the 2013 Land Law, applicable until December 31.

The 2024 Land Law stipulates that the land price list issued by the Provincial People's Committee is applicable until December 31. If necessary, the Provincial People's Committee is allowed to adjust it to suit the actual land price situation in the locality.

From January 1, 2026, the Provincial People's Committee will develop and submit to the People's Council of the same level for approval the first land price list for publication. Every year, the Provincial People's Committee will submit amendments and supplements to the land price list on January 1 of the following year.

Since early August, land auctions in Thanh Oai and Hoai Duc districts have attracted a large number of participants with thousands of registrations, causing a stir in the market. At the most recent auction in Hoai Duc on September 19, more than a dozen plots of land were won at prices of over VND100 million/m2, with the highest lot being over VND133 million/m2.

This price is 18 times higher than the starting price, which many investors and experts commented was higher than the real value compared to other plots of land in the same area. Along with that, some also said that the auctions still had unreasonable points such as the starting price being too low, causing the deposit to be small, not enough to prevent the situation of not paying if winning at a high price. The way the auction was organized in some localities may also be inappropriate, causing the auction time to last through the night.

In Hai Duong, on August 12, the Provincial People's Council issued a resolution to amend and supplement the residential land price list.