Hanoi struggles to eliminate ultra-thin houses left by road expansions

Hanoi's efforts to eliminate ultra-thin, oddly shaped houses left by road widening projects have stalled as residents face unclear procedures for merging neighboring land plots and difficulties reaching agreements with other owners.

From the street, four adjoining houses belonging to Vu Thanh Hai, 64, and his siblings in Khuong Dinh Ward appear normal, each with a three-meter-wide facade.

But viewed from Khuong Dinh Bridge, the buildings resemble a thin strip of brickwork squeezed between the newly opened Ring Road 2.5 and an old alley.

Their father bought the land in 1993 and divided it equally among his four children. For more than three decades, each household occupied over 30 square meters, with a shared 1.5-meter-wide access path.

After land clearance for the road, however, Thang was left with just 3.5 square meters, Mai with 7.5, Ha with 11.5 and Hai with 18.5.

All four households qualified for resettlement apartments or alternative land plots because their remaining properties were smaller than 50 square meters.

But rather than relocate, the family wanted to combine their plots, retain their ancestral land and benefit from its new street frontage.

In July, Hai visited the ward office to ask about merging the four land-use rights certificates into one. Officials told him to wait for guidance from the city.

Months later, the family has made no progress.

A similar predicament faces Vu Hung and three neighboring households along an alley off Chinh Kinh Street in Thanh Xuan Ward.

Hung's 50-square-meter property was reduced to just one square meter, while his mother's neighboring plot retained slightly more than 40 square meters. Two other households were left with five and seven square meters.

Together with their shared passageway, the remaining land totals around 70 square meters.

Although all four families have agreed to consolidate their properties, they cannot proceed without clear administrative guidance.

A VnExpress survey along Ring Roads 1 and 2.5 found dozens of narrow, irregularly shaped plots, some measuring only a few square meters. Many have been locked up and enclosed with corrugated metal sheets.

Residents said negotiations to merge adjoining properties had often stalled.

Across from Hung's home, Quang owns a plot measuring slightly more than five square meters, narrowing to less than 30 centimeters at one point.

Rather than sell it to Thoa, whose 80-square-meter house stands behind the plot, Quang built an extremely narrow retail kiosk against her exterior wall.

Although the road expansion gave half of Thoa's house direct street frontage, the kiosk blocks the other half.

"I offered to buy the strip multiple times to open up the street front, but he flatly refused to sell," Thoa said.

As of May 2026, Hanoi had acquired land for 1,428 infrastructure projects, with road construction through established neighborhoods leaving numerous unusable parcels.

Along Ring Road 2.5 in Khuong Dinh Ward, 76 leftover plots measure less than 15 square meters, while another 21 have been identified along Ring Road 1 in Dong Da District.

Hanoi generally bans construction on leftover plots smaller than 15 square meters, except those more than three meters wide, located between existing buildings and meeting minimum functional requirements. Plots of at least 15 square meters with one side narrower than three meters are limited to single-story buildings no taller than 4.5 meters.

Authorities encourage owners to merge adjoining plots to meet building standards.

Pending citywide guidance, local authorities have been encouraging voluntary land consolidation.

Officials in Lang, Cau Giay, Yen Hoa and Khuong Dinh wards have urged residents to negotiate mergers that would allow them to retain valuable streetfront properties.

Trinh Thi Dung, chairwoman of Yen Hoa Ward, said her office was ready to simplify paperwork for interested households.

"Consolidating parcels is by far the most practical approach, but our office has not received a single completed application to date."

Tran Xuan Tien, a lawyer with the Hanoi Bar Association, warned that roads costing more than VND1 trillion (US$38.7 million) could lose their aesthetic appeal and economic value if surrounded by awkwardly shaped buildings.

Owners of tiny leftover plots have three options, he said: ask authorities to acquire the remaining land, retain it under strict construction restrictions, or negotiate a merger with neighbors.

However, combining land-use rights certificates is not as simple as many residents believe.

Under property laws, adjoining plots can be consolidated only when they share the same owner. Households must therefore complete legal procedures, such as notarized transfers, donations or capital contributions, to establish common ownership.

Tien advised residents to resurvey boundaries, verify land titles and calculate ownership shares according to commercial value, particularly the difference between streetfront and alley properties.

He also recommended notarizing agreements on profit sharing, taxes, management, withdrawal and inheritance to prevent future disputes.

Before transferring ownership, residents should consult planning authorities and the Land Registration Office to confirm that the merged plot would qualify for construction permits.

"A newly widened thoroughfare dramatically lifts surrounding property values, and plot consolidation is the only sustainable way for residents to capture that premium instead of clinging to unusable, untradable slivers."

For Hai's family, the legal uncertainty has prolonged their difficult living conditions.

The sibling left with just 3.5 square meters has moved away because the space is uninhabitable.

Hai sold his resettlement apartment and used part of the proceeds to renovate his 18.5-square-meter plot into temporary accommodation.

Mai has put most of her furniture into storage to make room in her 7.5-square-meter home. She is considering buying her younger brother's 3.5-square-meter plot to expand her living space.

"Our children can build their lives wherever they like, but my husband and I are determined to hold on to this streetfront land at all costs," the 60-year-old said.

*Characters' names have been changed.