Vietnam’s Ministry of Agriculture and Environment has proposed amending the Land Law to remove market-based principles in land price determination, giving the State full authority to set prices, Tap Chi Tai Chinh has reported→view source.
The draft will be submitted to the National Assembly in October 2025.
Key details:
- State control: Land prices would be decided entirely by the State.
- Option 1: Government issues a land price list every 5 years (instead of annually), adjustable in cases of major market changes.
- Option 2: No specific land prices per case; instead, provinces apply an annual “coefficient K” to adjust the 5-year price list from the second year onward.
- Intended goals: Simplify procedures, improve transparency in tax and financial obligations, stabilise the market, and increase land-use efficiency.
For some context, this comes barely a year after a new Law on Land took effect which scrapped the centrally set five-year price list and allowed local governments to set annual base prices.
This aimed to bring official valuations closer to real market values.
The change was intended to speed up land acquisitions, reduce disputes, and unlock stalled projects — even if it meant higher land costs.
It also sought to stem the practice of buyers making up the difference between the government set prices and the actual market value of a property through off-the-books payments.