Is building an upper floor with a larger area than on the certificate of land use rights and ownership of houses and other land-attached assets prohibited in Vietnam?

Is building an upper floor with a larger area than on the certificate of land use rights and ownership of houses and other land-attached assets prohibited in Vietnam?

Pursuant to Clause 2, Article 175 of the 2015 Civil Code, boundaries between immovable properties are specified as follows:

2. A person having land use rights may use the airspace and the sub-surface according to the vertical dimensions of the boundaries around the land as prescribed by law and may not interfere with the use by other persons of the adjoining land.

A land user may only plant trees and performs other activities within the area covered by its land use rights and according to the defined boundaries. If the roots and branches of trees extend beyond the boundaries, such person must clip and prune the parts of the trees beyond the boundaries, except as otherwise agreed.

According to Article 12 of the 2013 Land Law, prohibited acts include:

1. Encroaching, occupying or destroying land.

2. Violating publicized land use master plans and plans.

3. Failing to use land, or using land for improper purposes.

4. Failing to comply with law when exercising the rights of land users.

5. Acquiring agricultural land use rights exceeding the quota set for households and individuals as prescribed by this Law.

6. Failing to register with competent state agencies when using land or making transactions of land use rights.

7. Failing to perform or fully perform financial obligations toward the State.

8. Abusing positions and powers to act against land management regulations.

9. Failing to provide land information or providing incorrect land information as prescribed by law.

9. Obstructing, or causing difficulties to, the exercise of the rights of land users as prescribed by law.

Thus, building an upper floor of house with an area larger than the ownership area on the certificate affects the space of the residential area and this behavior is strictly prohibited in Vietnam.

Is building an upper floor with a larger area than on the certificate of land use rights and ownership of houses and other land-attached assets prohibited in Vietnam? (Image from the Internet)

Is there a penalty for building an upper floor with a larger area in Vietnam?

According to Clause 4, Article 14, Decree 91/2019/ND-CP stipulates land invasion and appropriation as follows:

4. Invasion or appropriation of non-agricultural land, except cases specified in Clause 6 of this Article in rural areas shall be sanctioned as follows:

a) A fine ranging from VND 10,000,000 to VND 20,000,000 shall be imposed if invaded or appropriated land area is less than 0.05 hectare;

b) A fine ranging from VND 20,000,000 to VND 40,000,000 shall be imposed if invaded or appropriated land area is from 0.05 hectare to less than 0.1 hectare;

c) A fine ranging from VND 40,000,000 to VND 100,000,000 shall be imposed if invaded or appropriated land area is from 0.1 hectare to less than 0.5 hectare;

d) A fine ranging from VND 100,000,000 to VND 200,000,000 shall be imposed if invaded or appropriated land area is from 0.5 hectare to less than 01 hectare;

dd) A fine ranging from VND 200,000,000 to VND 500,000,000 shall be imposed if invaded or appropriated land area is 01 hectare or more.

In addition, Clause 7 of Article 14, Decree 91/2019/ND-CP also stipulates the following measures:

7. Rectification measures:

a) Enforced restoration of land to its original conditions before the violations with respect to cases specified in Clauses 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 of this Article and enforced return of invaded and appropriated land; except cases specified in Points b and c of this Clause;

b) Enforced land registration as per the law in case of eligible to be recognized for land use rights according to Article 22 of Decree No. 43/2014/ND-CP;

c) Enforced continued adoption of procedures to allocate and lease land as per the law in case of using land before completing procedures to allocate and lease land;

d) Enforced submission of illegal revenues generated by committing the violations specified in Clauses 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 of this Article; the illegal revenues shall be determined according to Clause 2 Article 7 of this Decree.

According to this Article, in your case you may be fined from 10,000,000 VND to 20,000,000 VND for encroachment or appropriation of residential land and forced to restore the original condition of the land before the violation.

Best regards!