VIETNAM Law and Practice Contributed by: Tran Thai Binh and Duong Thi Minh Han, LNT & Partners
not fully available and accessible because it is not centralised. A buyer should use consultancy services to access such information. Depending on the investment, the encouraging and supporting policies of localities, the scale and/or importance of a project, the authorities may consider proposals from developers to change master plans to suit or facilitate such projects on a case-by-case basis. In general, the developers must carry out projects in accord - ance with set master plans, except for in loca - tions where the local authority does not yet have these, in which case the developers may also provide proposals. 2.9 Condemnation, Expropriation or Compulsory Purchase The Land Law 2024, Law on Residential Housing and Law on the Compulsory Purchase of Assets provide for foreclosure, expropriation, and com - pulsory purchase of assets, including real estate. In general, land and real estate could be expro - priated in the following circumstances: • for national security and defence purposes; • for social and economic development serving national and public benefit; • due to violation of the laws on land by land users; • lawful termination of land use (including ter - mination of an investment project using land); • voluntary return; • life-threatening events; and • land requisition by the state for national defence or security, or in a state of war or emergency, or to prevent and combat natural disasters. The process of expropriation may be conduct - ed in different ways, depending on the cause of expropriation. In theory, the government will
notify the purchase, expropriation or recovery in writing to the property owners or land users with reference to the causes of expropriation and its legal basis, followed by a decision on such expropriation. In the case of a purchase, the purchase price may be agreed with the owner or decided by the authorities. If agreement cannot be reached on a fair market price through consultation between the relevant bodies, the authorities may then proceed with the purchase and settlement, although the owner has the right to appeal the decision. If the purchase is ruled unfair at a later stage, the owner may receive compensation. In the event of expropriation due to violation of laws, no compensation may be granted to the land users. According to the master plan approved by the authorities, land can be taken by the authori - ties for economic development purposes (eg, industrial parks or infrastructure development), and the authorities will set up a compensation council to assess and apply compensation and damages to land users. In reality, land users tend not to agree with the compensation granted on account of differing views between themselves and the authorities, but land compensation can still be enforced. Nevertheless, under the provi - sions of the Land Law 2024, project developers may be able to acquire land use rights (LURs) directly from land users or property owners without having to go through the formal land recovery and compensation procedures. In such cases, the parties involved can take a proactive approach to privately negotiate and reach agree - ment on purchase price, thereby expediting the overall land acquisition process.
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