VietNamNet Bridge - Foreigners can buy and own houses in Vietnam for a 50 year period. If the owners sell or give their houses to foreign institutions and individuals within that period, the recipients will have the right to possess the house for the remaining time, according to a draft legal document that guides the implementation of the 2014 Housing Law. 

The proposed restriction on the duration on foreign house ownership in Vietnam has raised controversy.

The Chair of the HCM City Real Estate Association (HoREA), Le Hoang Chau, said the regulation, if approved, would not satisfy the demand of foreigners who want to buy houses in Vietnam.

Chau proposed to allow foreigners who buy used houses and apartments to own the houses and apartments for 50 years as stipulated in the 2014 Housing Law.

Thoi Bao Kinh Te Sai Gon quoted Chris Owen, from the UK, who now lives in a rented house in Phan Thiet City of Binh Thuan province. He wants to buy a house in Vietnam, and said that 50 years was too short, even though the ownership can be extended.

Owen said that the ownership period should be 70-90 years as commonly seen in many other countries. 

Nguyen Trong Ninh, a senior official of the Ministry of Construction, said at a workshop in HCM City recently that the new law clearly stipulated that foreigners’ house ownership period would be 50 years.

In case foreigners sell the houses to other foreigners, the buyers will possess the house for the remaining time. However, the buyers have the right to extend the ownership after the house ownership certificate expires.

Meanwhile, Yoshida Akio, chief representative of Kitakei Group in HCM City, noted that it was unreasonable to allow foreigners to buy 30 percent of houses and apartments within one project. He said the proportion should be raised to 40-50 percent in some specific cases.

Chau of HoREA has proposed to create more favorable conditions for Viet Kieu (overseas Vietnamese) to buy houses in Vietnam. Due to past events, many Viet Kieu have not been able to keep original documents needed to prove their origin. Thus, it is necessary to think of solutions to allow Viet Kieu to buy houses in Vietnam.

Under the provisions of the Housing Law 2014, the conditions for participation in housing transactions are: foreign individuals, overseas Vietnamese must have the capacity for civil acts to perform housing transactions under the provisions of the law of Vietnam, must be subject to own houses in Vietnam under the provisions of the Housing Law and are not required to have temporary residence registration or permanent registration in the area where the houses for transaction are located.

TBKTSG