Land-use certifications held up   Apartments at Dang Xa Urban Area in Ha Noi's Gia Lam District. At present, about 120,000 apartments have been delivered to house buyers in the city, but only a quarter have so far been granted land-use right certificates. - VNA/VNS Photo Tuan Anh HA NOI (VNS)- Collaboration among authorities, people and housing developers was needed to speed up the granting of land-use right certificates, said vice director of Ha Noi's Department for Natural Resources and Environment Nguyen Huu Nghia. Speaking at an online forum on the Government's portal yesterday, Nghia said that thanks to recent advice from the Deputy PM Hoang Trung Hai, the city could address problems involving the granting of certificates, especially for those buying apartments in housing projects. In one month, the city granted nearly 6,000 certificates, including 1,600 for those involved in housing projects. At present, 223 housing projects in the city offer about 220,000 apartments. About 120,000 apartments have been delivered to house buyers but only a quarter have so far been granted land-use right certificates. Nghia said that his department was making efforts to complete the granting of certificates by the end of this year. However, some investors in housing projects ignored their obligations to submit applications for their clients, he said, adding that only about 50 per cent of enterprises and investors had submitted documents. "Investors who received the department's request three times but delayed their obligations will be punished," he said, adding that house buyers could directly submit applications. Nghia said that about 80,000 buyers of project homes had yet to get certificates mostly because investors had delayed fulfilling their financial obligations or had not followed approved planning. He said Deputy Prime Minister Hai's direction would help buyers if they were not involved in the violations. He said that the municipal People's Committee was tackling shortcomings in granting ownership certificates and land-use certificates for overseas Vietnamese and foreigners living in Viet Nam. Le Van Lich, vice head of the Land Management General Department under the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry said that overseas Vietnamese and foreigners living in Viet Nam had been able to apply for certificates since 2008. So far, about 520 certificates had been granted. The modest number could be the result of violations or conflicts. For example, some overseas Vietnamese used their relatives' money to buy houses and the relatives were named in the certificates. - VNS