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Villas and homestays mushroom in protected forest: 1,001 ways to 'carve up' the green lungs
🇻🇳 Vietnam /Crime & Justice

Villas and homestays mushroom in protected forest: 1,001 ways to 'carve up' the green lungs

From Thanh Niên · () Vietnamese

Translated from Vietnamese, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

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  • Developers are illegally building villas and homestays within the Sóc Sơn protected forest in Hanoi, Vietnam.
  • Land prices in the area are high due to their potential for lucrative tourism businesses, with one seller promising success.
  • Sellers facilitate construction, even offering to help navigate regulations and 'relationship costs' for building permits, while legal documentation is often informal.

Illegal construction of villas and homestays is rampant within the Sóc Sơn protected forest in Hanoi, Vietnam, as developers exploit the area for lucrative tourism ventures. A Thanh Niên investigation found sellers actively marketing land for these developments, promising significant returns.

Buy here and if you don't win, chop my head off.

— Mr. P.A seller assuring a potential buyer about the profitability of developing a villa or homestay in the Sóc Sơn protected forest.

One seller, identified as Mr. P., offered a 900-square-meter plot near Đồng Đò lake for 25 billion Vietnamese dong (over $1,000 USD per square meter). He emphasized the area's high demand for villa and homestay businesses, claiming nearby resorts generate monthly revenues of 200-300 million dong. "Land here is still very cheap. Prime lots around the lake will later cost hundreds of millions of dong per square meter," Mr. P. asserted, adding, "If you buy here and don't win, chop my head off."

Land here is still very cheap. Prime lots around the lake will later cost hundreds of millions of dong per square meter.

— Mr. P.Describing the investment potential of land in the Sóc Sơn area.

Sellers like Mr. P. not only sell the land but also offer assistance with construction, suggesting that building up to three stories is feasible, while higher structures might be challenging but achievable through "relationship costs." He boasted of connections with local construction personnel and claimed to have facilitated the construction of several existing properties, estimating that building a 5-6 story structure could cost over 1 billion dong in 'relationship fees.'

there is nothing in this world that cannot be done

— Mr. P.Suggesting that building regulations can be overcome with the right connections and 'relationship costs'.

Legal documentation for these properties is often informal, with sellers relying on handwritten agreements and historical land use claims. Mr. P. advised that if authorities requested official land use certificates (sổ đỏ), buyers could claim the old documents were lost. He assured that local village leadership confirming long-term land possession would suffice for the process. This practice highlights a systemic disregard for environmental protection and land use regulations in favor of profitable, albeit illegal, development.

If you buy the land, I will help you 100% to be able to build.

— Mr. P.Promising assistance to a buyer in navigating construction permits and regulations.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Thanh Niên in Vietnamese. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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