Vietnam Land Law 2024: What Foreign Investors Need to Know

Vietnam's new Land Law — Law No. 31/2024/QH15 — took effect on 1 August 2024, several months earlier than its originally scheduled 1 January 2025 date. It is the most significant overhaul of the land regime in a decade and directly affects foreign-invested enterprises (FIEs) that lease land, build factories or acquire projects in Vietnam. This overview highlights what matters most for foreign investors and their counsel.

How foreign investors access land in Vietnam

A foreign individual cannot hold a land-use right certificate over land in Vietnam. Foreign investment accesses land through an economic organisation with foreign investment capital (an FIE established in Vietnam), which may:

Lease land from the State (typically with annual or one-off rental payment);
Sub-lease serviced land within industrial parks, export-processing zones or economic zones from infrastructure developers;
Receive a land-use right through capital contribution or an approved investment project, within the limits of the Land Law and the Investment Law.

For most manufacturing and logistics investors, leasing serviced land inside an industrial park remains the fastest, lowest-friction route because the zoning, clearance and infrastructure are already in place.

Key changes in the 2024 Land Law

Abolition of the Government land-price framework

The 2024 Land Law removes the rigid Government-issued land price bracket and moves to annual land price tables built closer to market value, updated each year by provincial authorities. For investors this means land rent, compensation and financial obligations are increasingly benchmarked to market prices — improving transparency but, in many locations, raising cost.

Clearer rules on land without documents

The law sets out the treatment of long-term land use without formal papers, with 1 July 2014 as an important cut-off date for recognition in certain cases. This is relevant during due diligence when acquiring project land whose paperwork is incomplete.

Land recovery and compensation

The 2024 Land Law tightens the grounds and process for State land recovery and the principles of compensation, resettlement and support. Investors relying on State-cleared land, and those whose own land may be recovered for public projects, should understand these rules — see our companion guide on land recovery and compensation.

Administrative reform: who now has authority

Two structural reforms during 2025 changed which authority investors deal with:

From 1 March 2025, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment was merged into the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment; its provincial departments changed name accordingly.
From 1 July 2025, Vietnam moved to a two-tier local government, abolishing the district level. Many land functions previously handled by the district People's Committee — including first-time certificate issuance — were reassigned to the commune-level People's Committee under Decree 151/2025/ND-CP.

Practically, filings and dossiers that used to go to the district office now route differently. Confirming the correct competent authority before submitting has become an essential first step.

Transfer conditions and formalities

A transfer of land-use rights generally requires a valid land-use right certificate, no dispute over the land, no seizure or enforcement measure, use within the land term, and no injunctive measure. Transfer contracts must be notarised or authenticated, and the change must be registered within 30 days; the transfer takes effect upon registration in the land register.

Practical takeaways for foreign investors

Prefer serviced industrial-park land for speed and certainty;
Budget for higher, market-based land costs under the new price tables;
Run careful due diligence on land-use paperwork, term and dispute status before committing;
Re-confirm the competent authority after the 2025 administrative reforms.

How LTV Law can help

LTV Law advises foreign-invested enterprises on land leasing, project land due diligence, transfer formalities and dealings with the competent authorities under the 2024 Land Law. Contact us for tailored guidance on your project.