According to Mr. Thach Thanh Phung (in Tra Vinh Province), in 2015, Mr. Phung bought 1 parcel of land, an area of 11mx28m, for an amount of VND 77 million. The two sides only made a written agreement, the seller promised that after a few months, he would make the land use right transfer certificate, so Mr. Phung trusted to hand over 73 million dong to the seller.

However, until now, Phung has not received the land use right transfer certificate from the seller. Mr. Phung would like to ask, what should he do to get a land use right transfer certificate because he currently only has a sales agreement paper and there are no witnesses.

The General Department of Land Administration, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment answers this issue as follows:

Article 203 of  Land Law2013 stipulates competence to settle land disputes as follows:

If the conciliation at a commune-level People’s Committee fails, a land dispute shall be settled as follows:

1.The land dispute in which the concerned party possesses a certificate or any of the papers prescribed in Article 100 of this Law and the dispute over land-attached assets shall be settled by the People’s Court;

2. For the land dispute in which the concerned party does not possess a certificate or any of the papers prescribed in Article 100 of this Law, the parties may choose between the following two options of settlement:

a) Filing a written request for dispute settlement with a competent People’s Committee as prescribed in Clause 3 of this Article;

b) Filing a lawsuit with a competent People’s Court in accordance with the law on civil procedures;

3. In case the concerned parties choose the option of settlement at a competent People’s Committee, the settlement is as follows:

a) In case the dispute occurs among households, individuals and communities, the chairperson of the district-level People Committee is responsible for the settlement. If the concerned parties disagree with the settlement decision, they are entitled to lodge a complaint with the chairperson of the provincial People’s Committee or to file a lawsuit at a People’s Court in accordance with the law on administrative procedures;

b.In case the dispute involves one party being an organization, a religious establishment, an overseas Vietnamese or a foreign-invested enterprise, the chairperson of the provincial People’s Committee is responsible for the settlement. If the concerned parties disagree with the settlement decision, they are entitled to lodge a complaint with the Minister of Natural Resources and Environment or to file a lawsuit with a People’s Court in accordance with the law on administrative procedures;

4. The person having competence to settle the land dispute as prescribed in Clause 3 of this Article shall issue a settlement decision. The legally effective decision on dispute settlement must be strictly abided by the concerned parties. If the parties fail to comply, the decision shall be enforced.

Based on the above provisions, Mr. Phung is requested to research and send the recommendation to the competent People's Court for consideration and settlement according to the provisions of law.