Better-connected land data could make property transactions easier

A proposed overhaul of Vietnam’s property-notarization rules could let people complete real estate transactions anywhere in the country from July 1, 2028. The Justice Ministry says notaries would no longer be restricted by the provincial or city boundaries that apply today.

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Personally, I strongly welcome this proposal because, as someone living in Hanoi who wants to buy or sell land in Ho Chi Minh City, I could sign the notarized documents where I live instead of flying thousands of kilometers south.

The proposal appears in a draft amendment to Decree 104/2025, which sets out provisions for implementing the Law on Notarization. Under the draft, notaries working for notarization organizations could certify all transactions involving real estate nationwide.

The ministry linked the planned date to progress on the country’s data systems. The database for housing and the real estate market has already been officially published and put into operation. National information and land databases, along with the notarization database, are expected to be basically completed and running by the end of 2027. Officials expect the systems to be connected by early July 2028.

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People would no longer be forced to wait at notary offices in the locality where the property is being transacted, which may be far away or overloaded.

Readers welcomed the prospect of removing administrative boundaries from property notarization. Trường Lưu said someone living in Hanoi who wanted to buy or sell land in Ho Chi Minh City could sign the documents locally instead of flying thousands of kilometers south. Hoai Le said people would have more freedom to choose trusted notary offices rather than wait at offices near the property, which could be distant or overloaded. That, the reader argued, would push notary offices to compete through better service and customer care.

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Removing the administrative-boundary obstacle in notarization is precisely a step toward opening up procedures, helping suburban or cross-provincial real estate transactions take place more quickly and easily.

Giup Le, who described himself as active in land transactions, said removing the boundary restriction could ease procedures for suburban and cross-provincial deals. Ha Son offered a note of caution, saying the reform reflected the inevitable shift toward digital land transactions, but its practical effect would depend entirely on the technology platform and the transparency of the national interconnected data system.

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This is an inevitable standard of the digitalization trend in land transactions. However, its practical effectiveness will depend entirely on the technology platform and the transparency of the national interconnected data system.