HoREA proposes bringing informal land-plot transactions under the amended Law on Real Estate Business

In its 23/9/2026 report summarising businesses’ difficulties and evaluating responses from ministries, the HCMC Real Estate Association (HoREA) again warned about the legal loophole in informal land-plot transactions and proposed bringing them within the scope of the draft amended Law on Real Estate Business.

What HoREA raised

• A loophole in land-splitting rules: The current Land Law allows splitting and merging plots and converting land to residential use, creating a “surplus” of land that enters the market.
• The “hiding behind individuals” tactic: Using this rule and gaps in the 2015 Civil Code, many companies or “land brokers” act in the name of individual land users to subdivide and sell plots. Instead of setting up official projects, they gather land, build basic infrastructure and sell plots directly to the market.
• Consequences: These transactions have led to many fraud cases and serious losses for customers, because buyers lack the “legal shield” they would have when buying in a licensed project.
• Proposal: Expand the scope of the draft amended Law on Real Estate Business to cover transfers and leases of land use rights both inside and outside real estate projects, instead of only transactions within projects as now.

Compiled from VnExpress on 24/9/2026, citing HoREA’s report of 23/9/2026.