After the two-tier local government model went into effect, some intermediary units such as land registration office (LRO) branches, regional agricultural extension stations, and regional project management boards began to reveal limitations in efficiency and management consistency.

Therefore, Nguyen Ngoc Nam, Deputy Chief of the Provincial People’s Committee Office and Director of the Provincial Public Administration Service Center in Bac Ninh, proposed that these intermediary units be quickly reorganized. They should be either transferred to the provincial or commune level. 

For LRO branches, Nam suggested they be transferred to communes, as this is the level closest to the people.

According to representatives of the Yen Bai Commune People’s Committee (Hanoi), in mountainous communes, land fluctuations occur frequently. However, the city only provides cadastral maps to LRO branches, and communal authorities have no access or authority to update them.

Therefore, when residents apply for land use right certificates or request land use conversion, the commune must still send files to the branch for verification, prolonging the process and forcing residents to wait.

“The LRO branch currently handles land transfer, inheritance, and donation procedures. If these functions are transferred to the commune, the Commune People’s Committee will carry out all these tasks. Citizens would only need to visit the commune office, where their paperwork could be processed quickly and conveniently,” the representative explained.

The Yen Bai Commune representative said collecting and processing land change data at the commune level will make it easier to manage according to current data-cleaning requirements.

A commune-level officer in Hanoi told VietNamNet that LRO branches currently handle simple land management tasks.

Meanwhile, communes are the administrative units closest to the people. When citizens request a land parcel split, the Commune People’s Committee should be the one to handle it. That way, residents can complete all land-related procedures, from splitting land plots, issuing new certificates, to registering changes, at a single office quickly and conveniently.

“If communes are granted authority, people can complete procedures at one office, ensuring both speed and transparency. This is the right time to transfer LRO branches to the commune level to unify management and clean up land data,” the official emphasized.

“One level, one agency” 

To meet this reform goal, in a report dated October 7 sent to the Party Committee of the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment, the Party Committee of the General Department of Land Administration proposed two options for transferring the authority, functions, and duties of LRO branches to communes.

Option 1: The Commune People’s Committee establishes a public service unit at the commune level to fully take over the authority, functions, and duties of the LRO branches.

Option 2: Transferring the authority to issue land use right certificates and confirm changes on certificates (for cases under the LRO branch’s authority) to the Chairperson of the Commune People’s Committee. At the same time, transferring the functions and duties of the LRO branches to the commune’s land management agency (Economic Division/Economic - Infrastructure Division), assigning at least two LRO staff members to this office.

The Party Committee of the General Department of Land Administration assessed that option 2 is more feasible and aligns with the government’s goals of streamlining the apparatus and enhancing decentralization and local authority.

This option ensures the principle of “one level, one agency,” unifying land registration tasks, aligning with administrative streamlining goals, and ensuring effective and flexible state management.

Speaking at the National Assembly session on October 30, Nguyen Huu Thong, Deputy Head of the Lam Dong Provincial Delegation of National Assembly Deputies, emphasized that 2025 marks a special milestone as the two-tier local government model and administrative unit restructuring are implemented nationwide. This is a major institutional reform step that helps streamline the administrative apparatus, improve governance efficiency, and open new development opportunities for localities.

Along with positive results, the new model has also generated challenges that need urgent resolution, particularly in land management, one of the most frequently raised concerns among voters.

“In many localities, citizens still have to travel multiple times and go through several intermediary steps for land-related procedures. One reason is that LRO branches remain under provincial management, which does not align with the two-tier local government model and contradicts the goal of genuine decentralization,” Thong said.

Thu Hang