CHANGES IN REGULATIONS ON COMPENSATION, SUPPORT, AND RESETTLEMENT WHEN THE STATE ACQUIRES LAND IN HANOI.

Land compensation policy has always been one of the most complex and sensitive issues in urban and economic development. In Hanoi, the City People's Committee has issued numerous decisions to adjust compensation, support, and resettlement regulations when the State acquires land. In response to market changes, on September 6, 2024, the Hanoi City People's Committee issued Decision No. 56/2024/QĐ-UBND (“Decision 56”), which provides regulations on certain aspects of compensation, support, and resettlement when the State recovers land in Hanoi, implementing Decree No. 88/2024/NĐ-CP and the newly enacted Land Law 2024. Decision 56 includes many progressive points and more clearly defined regulations on compensation and resettlement support limits compared to the previous Decision No. 10/2017/QĐ-UBND (“Decision 10”). Specifically:

1. Clear distinction between compensation costs and support, resettlement costs when the State recovers land:

Previously, under Decision 10, many support items were grouped with compensation costs, which did not reflect the true nature of the expenses, leading to difficulties in tracking and applying compensation in land clearance work. Decision 56 has addressed this limitation.

2. Forms of Resettlement Prioritized to Suit the Characteristics of Land Use in Administrative Units:

Accordingly, the City People's Committee has stipulated that priority will be given to compensation in the form of selling resettlement apartments for districts in inner Hanoi. Compensation in the form of allocating residential land will only be carried out if the resettlement land fund ensures the scale and area for the project's resettlement and must be approved by the district People's Committee or the City People's Committee, depending on the resettlement location.

Meanwhile, for rural districts and Son Tay town, cases eligible for land compensation will be compensated by allocating residential land for resettlement. The compensated residential land area will be equivalent to the recovered residential land area but not smaller than the minimum resettlement quota and not exceeding the maximum new residential land allocation limit in the locality.

3. Increase in the Minimum Resettlement Area for Compensation in the Form of Resettlement Apartments:

Previously, under Decision 10, for areas and projects implementing compensation and resettlement through apartments in Hanoi, the minimum resettlement quota was only 30m². However, according to the new regulations in Decision 56, the minimum resettlement limit has been increased to 40m². This adjustment aims to align with the minimum land area regulations under the Land Law and Housing Law over different periods while keeping up with market trends and fluctuations. It enhances the rights and benefits of people whose land is recovered, supporting them in resettlement and stabilizing their lives.

4. Changes in Compensation and Support Levels in Certain Cases:

In Decision 56, the City People's Committee adjusted the rates and basis for determining compensation levels to be more in line with reality, ensuring fairness among land users. At the same time, the People's Committee increased support levels to be more aligned with current market prices.

+) Changes in the level and method of calculating compensation value for damages to houses and structures attached to the land:

Previously, compensation for damages to houses and structures was limited to not being less than 60% and not exceeding 100% of the value of constructing new houses or structures with equivalent technical standards. In Decision 56, the compensation level is specifically set at 60% of the existing value of the house or structure. This fixed compensation rate will help avoid instances of policy exploitation, ensuring fairness and preventing dissatisfaction among the public during the land clearance process.

+) Increase in support for relocating graves:

The support cost for families that arrange land to relocate graves themselves has been increased to 10 million VND (compared to the previous amount of 5 million VND).

+) Increase in temporary resettlement support for those with residential land recovered while waiting for resettlement and arranging temporary accommodation on their own:

 Decision 56 takes effect from September 20, 2024.