Ho Chi Minh City Lowers Minimum Land Parcel Size for Subdivision to 36m²

Ho Chi Minh City has issued a new decision, Decision No. 67, to regulate the conditions for land subdivision and consolidation, and the minimum area allowed for subdivision. This update modifies the existing regulations for land subdivision within the city, notably reducing the minimum divisible area to 36m² in inner-city districts. This new decision replaces previous directives issued by the People's Committees of Ba Ria-Vung Tau province, Binh Duong province, and Ho Chi Minh City. To ensure effective implementation, the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee has assigned the Department of Agriculture and Environment the responsibility to monitor the processing of land subdivision and consolidation applications by the city's Land Registration Office and its branches, proposing remedies for any violations. The Departments of Planning and Architecture, and Construction, will guide local People's Committees in carrying out land subdivisions in compliance with urban planning, construction management, infrastructure requirements, access roads, fire safety, and urban aesthetics as stipulated by law. The Department of Justice will ensure that notary organizations strictly adhere to Decision No. 67, refraining from notarizing contracts or transactions for land subdivisions or consolidations that do not meet the stipulated requirements. According to Decision No. 67, ward-level People's Committees will be responsible for confirming common access roads that ensure connectivity with regional infrastructure, evacuation, and fire safety conditions, in accordance with legal provisions. However, Dr. Pham Viet Thuan, Director of the Institute for Economics, Resources, and Environment, has expressed concerns that this process could create administrative hurdles for residents. Individuals would first need to apply for road access confirmation from the ward People's Committee before submitting it to the Land Registration Office. Dr. Thuan advocates for an integrated administrative mechanism to streamline procedures. He suggests that residents should only need to submit applications to the Land Registration Office branches, which would then coordinate with ward People's Committees via official documents or opinion requests for road access confirmation. Furthermore, he proposes that a joint committee comprising the Departments of Construction, Fire Prevention and Fighting, and Agriculture and Environment should issue a clear, unified table of minimum technical standards for access roads across the city. The new decision delineates different minimum land parcel sizes based on location. The smallest minimum divisible area is 36m² for inner-city districts, while suburban areas have a minimum of 100m². For instance, in inner-city Area 1, the minimum area for a new parcel or a remaining parcel after subdivision is 36m², with a minimum width and depth of 3 meters. This area includes numerous wards such as Saigon, Tan Dinh, Ben Thanh, and others listed in the original text. Area 2 has a minimum of 50m² with a width and depth of at least 4 meters, covering wards like Tan Thuan and Thu Duc. Area 3 requires a minimum of 60m² with a width and depth of at least 4 meters, encompassing wards in Binh Duong and Ba Ria-Vung Tau. Area 4 requires a minimum of 80m² with a width and depth of at least 5 meters, including communes in Binh Chanh and Cu Chi. Area 5 requires a minimum of 100m² with a width and depth of at least 5 meters, covering communes in Bac Tan Uyen and Dau Tieng. For agricultural land, the minimum area for annual crops and other agricultural land is 500m², and for perennial crops, aquaculture, salt fields, and concentrated livestock farming, it is 1,000m². Source: Nhan Dan