In response to the urgent need to remove legal “bottlenecks” to ensure continuity in state management of land, while at the same time establishing a clear legal framework for land users and investors, on 11 December 2025, the National Assembly promulgated Resolution No. 254/2025/QH15 (“Resolution 254”), providing for a number of special mechanisms and policies to address difficulties arising in the implementation of the Law on Land.
Below are the notable contents of Resolution 254.
1. Provisions on land recovery, compensation, support and resettlement
1.1. Supplementation of cases where the State recovers land:
Land recovery for national defence and security purposes for the establishment of drug rehabilitation facilities managed by the People’s Armed Forces.
Land recovery for socio-economic development in the national and public interest, including:
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Implementation of projects in free trade zones and projects in international financial centres;
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Cases where land is used for project implementation through agreements on the acquisition of land use rights, where the time limit for completing such agreements or the extended time limit has expired, and agreements have been reached with respect to more than 75% of the land area and more than 75% of land users, in which case the provincial-level People’s Council shall consider and approve the recovery of the remaining land area for allocation or lease to the investor;
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Creation of land funds for payment for projects implemented under Build–Transfer (BT) contracts; for leasing land to continue production and business activities in cases where organizations are using land subject to recovery by the State as prescribed in Articles 78 and 79 of the Law on Land; for the establishment of drug rehabilitation facilities managed by the People’s Armed Forces; and for implementation of projects in free trade zones and international financial centres.
1.2. Shortening the time limit for issuance of land recovery notices
Under the current Law on Land, competent state authorities are required to issue land recovery notices to land users prior to promulgating land recovery decisions, with a minimum notice period of 90 days for agricultural land and 180 days for non-agricultural land.
Resolution 254 adjusts this requirement by shortening the notice period to 60 days for agricultural land and 120 days for non-agricultural land, thereby creating a legal basis for accelerating land recovery and project implementation.
1.3. Permission to recover land prior to completion of compensation and resettlement
The Law on Land 2024 provides that land recovery for national defence, security, and socio-economic development in the national and public interest is conditional upon the approval of compensation, support and resettlement plans and the completion of resettlement arrangements. Resolution 254 supplements the following cases where land may be recovered prior to completion of compensation and resettlement:
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Land recovery in cases where compensation, support and resettlement plans that do not involve resettlement have been publicly posted but not yet approved, applicable to nationally important projects, urgent public investment projects as prescribed by the law on public investment, and other projects where more than 75% of land users consent to land recovery prior to approval of the compensation, support and resettlement plans;
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Land recovery prior to completion of resettlement arrangements for urgent public investment projects as prescribed by the law on public investment, projects implementing on-site resettlement, or projects where resettlement arrangements follow the alignment of the main construction works.
1.4. Compensation land prices determined based on land price tables and land price adjustment coefficients
Land prices used for compensation as prescribed in Clause 2, Article 91 of the Law on Land, and land prices used to calculate land use fees at resettlement locations as prescribed in Clause 3, Article 111 of the Law on Land, shall be determined based on the land price tables and land price adjustment coefficients.
For cases where land is used for project implementation through agreements on the acquisition of land use rights, where the time limit for completing such agreements or the extended time limit has expired and agreements have been reached for more than 75% of the land area and more than 75% of land users, if the compensation level is lower than the average agreed land price, the land users subject to land recovery shall receive the price difference. Such costs shall be advanced by the investor and included in the project costs.
1.5. Principles for application of Resolution 254 to transitional cases:
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Where land recovery decisions and/or compensation, support and resettlement plans have been approved prior to the effective date of Resolution 254, implementation shall continue in accordance with the previously approved plans or legal procedures.
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Where compensation, support and resettlement plans have not yet been approved prior to the effective date of Resolution 254, land recovery, compensation, support and resettlement shall be implemented in accordance with the Law on Land and the provisions of this Resolution; for ongoing projects, provincial-level People’s Committees may decide to apply appropriate regulations.
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Land recovery notices issued prior to 01 August 2024 for which land recovery decisions had not yet been issued before the effective date of Resolution 254 shall cease to be effective; if land recovery is to continue, new notices must be issued in accordance with the Law on Land.
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Projects for which competent authorities permitted the acquisition of land use rights prior to the effective date of Resolution 254 and which satisfy the prescribed conditions may be implemented in accordance with this Resolution.
It can be said that Resolution 254 introduces “breakthrough” regulations to address “bottlenecks” in land recovery and compensation, support and resettlement when land is recovered by the State, particularly provisions allowing land recovery prior to completion of compensation and resettlement plans for certain important or urgent projects or where consent is obtained from 75% of land users, as well as allowing compensation land prices to be determined based on land price tables and adjustment coefficients instead of requiring determination of specific land prices. These provisions are expected to shorten project implementation timelines and help unlock and accelerate numerous projects, especially long-delayed transport infrastructure projects hindered by compensation and resettlement issues.
2. Land allocation, land lease and change of land use purpose
First, Resolution 254 allows competent authorities to decide on land allocation, land lease and approval of changes in land use purpose from rice land, special-use forest land, protection forest land and production forest land to other purposes without requiring approval from the provincial-level People’s Council. This mechanism significantly facilitates the acceleration of project implementation; however, it also necessitates enhanced oversight mechanisms, given the substantial expansion of the powers of People’s Committees and their Chairpersons.
Second, Resolution 254 permits auctions of land use rights for residential construction investment projects based on approved zoning plans, or on general planning in cases where zoning plans are not required, or detailed planning as prescribed by the laws on urban and rural planning. Under the current Law, auctions are permitted only where a detailed plan at a scale of 1/500 has been approved. This adjustment is expected to shorten procedures and accelerate land auctions and housing project implementation.
3. Permission to allocate or lease land without auction of land use rights or bidding for selection of investors implementing land-use projects
Resolution 254 supplements the following cases where land allocation or lease may be conducted without auction or bidding:
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Allocation or lease of land for payment for BT contracts in accordance with the law on investment under the public–private partnership (PPP) model;
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Allocation or lease of land for projects falling within cases where the State recovers land for socio-economic development in the national and public interest as prescribed in Article 79 of the Law on Land and Resolution 254, which do not use state capital and have obtained decisions approving investment policy and investors or selecting investors in accordance with law;
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Energy projects and tourism projects associated with commerce and services in areas with particularly difficult socio-economic conditions.
Although the scope of application is limited to public projects or projects in the national and public interest, the supplementation of these provisions in Resolution 254 clearly reflects the State’s reform orientation and commitment to administrative procedure simplification. Nevertheless, strict supervision, review and regular effectiveness assessment are necessary to prevent abuse.
4. Reduction of land use fees when changing land use purpose from garden land, pond land or agricultural land to residential land
For garden land, pond land or agricultural land within the same land parcel containing residential land, as determined at the time of recognition of land use rights, when changing land use purpose to residential land; or for land originating as garden or pond land attached to residential land but separated by land users for transfer, or separated during cadastral mapping prior to 01 July 2014, land use fees shall be calculated as follows:
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30% of the difference between land use fees calculated based on residential land prices and those calculated based on agricultural land prices at the time of the decision permitting change of land use purpose (hereinafter referred to as the “difference”) for land areas within the residential land allocation quota applicable in the locality;
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50% of the difference for land areas exceeding the quota but not exceeding one (01) times the residential land allocation quota;
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100% of the difference for land areas exceeding the quota by more than one (01) time.
The above rates shall be applied only once for each household or individual (on one land parcel).
5. Numerous new regulations on land registration and issuance of Certificates of land use rights and ownership of land-attached assets that require attention when establishing transactions related to land and land-attached assets
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No requirement to complete registration prior to transfer of land-attached assets: land users may sell assets attached to land leased from the State with annual rental payments if two conditions are satisfied: (i) a construction permit has been obtained where required by law, or no legal violation exists where a permit is not required; and (ii) construction has been completed.
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No land subdivision if conditions are not met, even where there is a court judgment: where land use rights are divided pursuant to a court judgment or decision but such division fails to satisfy conditions on area and dimensions for subdivision, subdivision shall not be carried out, except where the judgment or decision took legal effect prior to 01 August 2024.
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No endorsement of mortgage information on Certificates: where mortgages over land use rights or land-attached assets are registered, changes shall be updated in the land database without endorsement on the issued Certificate.
Resolution 254 is assessed as having been promulgated in a timely manner, supporting and laying the foundation for effective implementation of the Law on Land 2024, while also helping enterprises and individuals overcome difficulties in practice. Nevertheless, the effectiveness of these new regulations requires thorough evaluation to promptly detect and address policy abuse or inequalities among investors or citizens arising from inconsistent implementation across localities, thereby minimizing negative impacts on socio-economic development.
Resolution 254 takes effect from 01 January 2026.
Comment: