Vietnam land-law draft proposes reclaiming unused project land after 60 months

A proposed amendment to Vietnam’s Land Law would make it increasingly expensive to hold project land without using it, and would allow the state to reclaim the land after more than 60 months.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Environment said the measure targets abandoned land, delayed development and land speculation. The draft says annual charges would rise over time when investment-project land remains unused or is put into use late. If the investor still has not used the land after 60 months, the state would reclaim it.

The proposed deadline is longer than the limits in the 2024 Land Law, which set maximum periods of 36 months for unused land and 48 months for land whose use had been delayed. Several agencies said the draft should distinguish between projects that do not use land at all and projects that use it late. They also said the 60-month threshold should be assessed against the current 48-month rule and questioned whether the draft met the requirements of Resolution 21-NQ/TW on monitoring and handling violations.

The ministry said the progressive financial penalty follows the resolution’s direction to impose higher tax policies on abandoned land and land that has not been put into use. It said the approach would make holding land without using it more costly than the benefits of speculation.

Implementation regulations would define unused and delayed land, the deadlines and conditions for establishing a violation, the evidence required and the method for calculating the progressive payment.

The draft also incorporates land-recovery cases set out in National Assembly Resolution 254 of 2025. Additional defense and security purposes include temporary impound lots for vehicles involved in violations or accidents, driver-testing and licensing centers, and guesthouses. Three further public-interest cases would cover projects required to implement treaties to which Vietnam is a party, as well as public-service housing, rental housing and policy housing projects.