“13 Scenarios Where You Can Obtain a Red Book Without Paying Land Use Fees”

The Land Law of 2024 stipulates 13 cases in which families and individuals who are stably occupying land and possess one of the following types of documents issued before October 15, 1993, are eligible for a certificate of land use rights and ownership of assets attached to the land (commonly referred to as a Red Book) without having to pay land use fees:

Documents regarding the right to use land, issued by competent authorities during the implementation of land policies of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, the Provisional Revolutionary Government of the Republic of South Vietnam, and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam;

One of the following documents regarding land use rights, issued by competent authorities of the previous regime to land users: Land title deeds; Documents on the sale, donation, exchange, or inheritance of immovable property with the attachment of land, certified by the previous regime’s authorities; Wills or agreements on the distribution of inheritance related to housing, certified by the previous regime’s authorities; Building permits; Permits for the legalization of structures issued by the previous regime’s authorities; Court judgments of the previous regime that have taken legal effect;

Temporary land use certificates issued by competent state agencies or those with names registered in the Land Register or Land Book;

Documents on the transfer of land use rights or the sale of housing attached to residential land, now certified by the People’s Committee at the commune level, confirming that the land was used before October 15, 1993;

The Register of Surnames or the Register of Fields, established before December 18, 1980, containing the names of land users;

One of the documents issued during the implementation of the land registration process in accordance with Directive No. 299/TTg dated November 10, 1980, of the Prime Minister on the measurement, classification, and registration of land nationwide, by the state agency currently managing the land, containing the names of land users, including: Verification minutes of the commune-level Land Registration Council determining the legality of land use; Summary of cases of legal land use prepared by the People’s Committee at the commune level or the commune-level Land Registration Council or the district-level or provincial-level land management agency; Application for land-use right registration; Documents certifying the registration of land-use rights issued by the People’s Committee at the commune, district, or provincial level to the land user;

Documents on the declaration and registration of houses, certified by the People’s Committee at the commune, district, or provincial level, indicating the area of land with houses;

Documents issued by defense units allocating land to officers and soldiers for building houses in accordance with Directive No. 282/CT-QP dated July 11, 1991, of the Minister of Defense, provided that the land allocation complies with the approved defense land-use planning for housing for officers and soldiers at the time of allocation;

Projects, lists, or documents on the relocation of people to new economic zones or resettlement areas, approved by the People’s Committee at the district or provincial level or by a competent authority, containing the names of land users;

Documents regarding the ownership of houses and other constructions, as well as the construction or repair of houses and other constructions, certified or permitted by the People’s Committee at the district or provincial level or by the state management agency for housing and construction;

Documents on the temporary allocation of land issued by the People’s Committee at the district or provincial level; Applications for land use approved or consented by the People’s Committee at the commune level, agricultural cooperatives before July 1, 1980, or by the People’s Committee at the district or provincial level;

Documents issued by state agencies competent for allocating land to agencies and organizations for the purpose of assigning land to officers and employees for building houses or constructing houses for distribution or allocation to officers and employees with capital not belonging to the state budget or contributed by officers and employees themselves;

Other documents on land use rights issued before October 15, 1993, as specified by the People’s Committee at the provincial level, in accordance with the local reality.