Can Land Transferred by Handwritten Agreements Be Certified in Vietnam? Ministry Responds
A Ho Chi Minh City resident asked whether land transferred through several handwritten agreements qualifies for its first land use rights certificate. The Ministry of Agriculture and Environment said the case requires a review of records and local regulations before a determination can be made.
Ho Chi Minh City resident Hà Huy Trọng acquired 97.7 square meters of land and a house through a handwritten agreement in 2021 and has managed and used the property continuously since then. He asked whether the documents recording successive handwritten transfers can serve as proof of land rights and whether the plot qualifies for its first residential land use rights certificate.
The land was originally registered by a resident in 1989, with a recorded area of 2,200 square meters. In 1994, she gave 300 square meters of it to her son under a handwritten document. He built a house in 2003 and, after transferring portions of the land to others, transferred the remaining 97.7 square meters and the house to Hà Huy Trọng in 2021. The original documents for each handwritten transfer are available, as are receipts for non-agricultural land use tax payments from 2011 through 2026.
When the previous user applied for the first certificate in 2014, the former ward-level authority verified the land’s origin, the period of its use and the absence of disputes. The land registration agency returned the application, citing a lack of conformity with planning requirements and failure to meet the conditions under the regulations then in force. Hà Huy Trọng said that no investment project has been approved for the area and that no land recovery decision or notice has been issued. He also asked how land use fees and other financial obligations would be calculated if a certificate could be issued.
Vietnam’s Ministry of Agriculture and Environment said this specific case must be assessed against archived records and local regulations, and that it lacks sufficient information to give a definitive answer. The ministry noted that Articles 137 through 140 of the current Land Law set out different circumstances for issuing first certificates to households and individuals. Article 138 covers cases where land users lack land use rights documents, have not violated land laws and did not receive land through an allocation made without proper authority. The ministry advised Hà Huy Trọng to consult the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Agriculture and Environment.
Source: VietVance
