Notes On Authority To Settle Disputes Over Ownership Of Houses Attached To Land Use Rights in Vietnam*

Following the series of articles on land disputes, in this article, Lac Duy & Associates will provide to readers some notes on the authority to settle disputes over ownership of houses attached to land use rights.

Disputes over ownership of houses attached to land use rights are one of the common dispute cases of land disputes. And for this dispute, we have the following notes on authority:

Firstly, for disputes over ownership of houses related to housing renovation policy

According to Decision No. 297/QD-CT dated  2^nd October, 1991 of the Chairman of the Council of Ministers on the settlement of a number of housing issues and Circular No. 383/TT-BXD-DT dated 5^th October, 1991 of the Ministry of Construction guiding the implementation of Decision No. 297/QD-CT, Resolution No. 23/2003/QH11 dated 26^th November, 2003 of the National Assembly on housing and land that has been managed and arranged for use by the State during the construction process. submit the implementation of housing management policies and socialist renovation policies before 1^st July, 1991 and Resolution No. 755/2005/NQ-UBTVQGH11 dated 2^nd April, 2005 of the National Assembly Standing Committee stipulating the settlement of a number of specific housing and land-related cases during the implementation of housing management policies and socialist renovation policies before 1^st July, 1991, disputes over ownership of housesrelated to the housing renovation policy will fall under the jurisdiction of the People’s Committee (“People’s Committee”), not the jurisdiction of the Court.

Secondly, for disputes over ownership of houses not related to the housing renovation policy

Disputes over ownership of housesthat are not related to the housing renovation policy fall under the court’s jurisdiction to settle in accordance with the civil procedure law.

In principle, if the property exists on land that already has a Land Use Right Certificate (“LURC”) or a document specified in Article 100 of the Land Law 2013, the Court has jurisdiction to settle both disputes over ownership of houses and disputes over land use rights.

In case houses attached to land without LURCs or papers specified in Article 100 of the Land Law 2013, according to Joint Circular No. 01/2002/TTLT-TANDTC-VKSNDTC-TCCD dated 3^rd January, 2002 of the Supreme People’s Court, the Supreme People’s Procuracy and the General Department of Cadastral Lands guiding on the competence of the People’s Court in settling disputes related to land use rights, disputes over properties attached to land shall be resolved by the People’s Court when the disputed properties attached to the land can be one of the following properties: kitchen, bathroom, toilet, water well, garage, churches, fences attached to houses, buildings built on land for production and business purposes (factories, warehouses, irrigation systems, livestock barns) or there are other properties on the land such as: trees for timber, trees for leaves, fruit trees or other perennial plants associated with the land use, specifically as follows:

• The first case: The involved party has had a document from the People’s Committee of the competent level certifying that the land use is lawful, but has not yet issued a LURC in accordance with the Land Law 1993, the Court will settle the dispute over property and disputes over land use rights;

• The second case: The involved party does not have a document from the People’s Committee of the competent level certifying that the land use is lawful, but there is a document from the People’s Committee of the competent level clearly stating that such land use does not violate the planning and may be considered for assignment of land use rights, the Court shall settle the dispute over the property, determine the boundary, and temporarily assign that land use right to the involved parties for the competent People’s Committee carry out the procedures for allocating land use rights and granting LURCs to the involved parties in accordance with the land law;

• The third case: The People’s Committee of the competent level has a document clearly stating that the land use is illegal and the property is not allowed to exist on that land, the Court will only settle the dispute over property;

In addition, when settling disputes over land use rights, ownership of house attached to land use rights, if the involved parties make a written request or present a request at the Court during the Court process requesting cancellation of the decision on issuance of LURCs or house ownership certificates, the Court will consider canceling such decision, if the decision is clearly illegal, infringing upon legitimate rights and interests of the involved parties in the civil case that the Court is responsible for settling (Article 34 of the Civil Procedure Code 2015).

Above are some notes on the authority to settle disputes over ownership of houses attached to land use rights. In case of needing detailed information or other information in related fields, readers can contact Lac Duy & Associates for timely advice and support.

Best regards.

* The article is based on the reference to the current article Resolving disputes over ownership of houses and land use rights according to current civil proceedings in our country by Mr. Doan Thi Ngoc Hai published in Court Magazine on 11^th March, 2019.