Mr.Phan Huu Thang, Vice President, Vietnam National Real Estate Association told us about foreign ownership of real estate in Vietnam as follows:

 

1. What conditions do foreigners need to buy houses in Vietnam?

Foreign individuals must meet the following 02 conditions:

- Have a valid passport bearing the entry verification stamp of the Vietnamese immigration management agency;

- Not subject to diplomatic privileges and immunities.

 

     2. Foreign organizations and individuals when owning houses in Vietnam are restricted from certain rights, specifically:

Firstly, foreign organizations and individuals investing in housing construction under projects in Vietnam will have the same rights of house owners as Vietnamese citizens. In case of building houses on leased land, they are only entitled to lease houses.

Thus, in the case of foreigners investing in building houses under projects in Vietnam, the current housing law still gives them certain priority rights while allowing them to have full power of the owner. own houses like Vietnamese citizens, such as the right to use, transfer, donate, inherit, mortgage, contribute capital, etc., in order to encourage them to invest in building and develop infrastructure in Vietnam, creating more houses and real estate to serve the great demand for housing of domestic organizations and individuals as well as foreigners in Vietnam. In case of building houses on leased land, foreign organizations and individuals have only the right to lease houses.

Secondly, for foreign organizations and foreign individuals who are allowed to enter Vietnam , they have the same rights of  house owners as Vietnamese citizens, Specifically, the rights to sell, transfer, purchase and sell contracts, lease, lease-purchase, donate, exchange, inherit, mortgage, contribute capital, lend, stay, authorize house management, rights inviolability of  their lawfully owned housing; the right to be granted a Certificate for houses under their lawful ownership according to the provisions of the Law on Housing and the law on land; the right to be compensated according to the provisions of law when the State demolishes, expropriates or requisitions houses or to be paid by the State at market prices when the State buys in advance a house under its lawful ownership for national purposes. room, security.

 

However, the ownership rights of the house owner being a foreign organization or individual in this case must also comply with certain conditions:

- Regarding the number of houses: Foreign organizations and individuals may only buy, rent-purchase, receive as gifts, inherit and own no more than 30% of the number of apartments in an apartment building; In case there are many apartment buildings for sale or lease purchase in an area with a population equivalent to a ward-level administrative unit, foreign organizations and individuals may only own no more than 30% of the apartments of each apartment building and not more than 30% of the total number of apartments of all these apartment buildings.

- Regarding type of  housing: Foreign organizations and individuals may only own houses through the purchase, lease purchase, donation or inheritance of commercial houses, including apartments and separate houses in housing construction investment projects, except for areas ensuring national defense and security as prescribed by the Government. In case a foreign organization or individual is gifted or inherited a house that is not in the above categories, they are only entitled to the value of that house.

- Regarding the term of ownership: Foreign individuals are only allowed to own houses for a maximum of 50 years from the date of issuance of the Certificate and can be extended according to the Government's regulations if there is a need. In case a foreign individual marries a Vietnamese citizen or marries an overseas Vietnamese, he/she is entitled to a stable and long-term home ownership and has the same rights of a home owner as a Vietnamese citizen. For foreign organizations, they are only allowed to own houses as agreed upon in contracts for purchase, sale, lease purchase, donation or inheritance of houses, but not exceeding the time limit stated in the Investment Certificate. investment grant to that organization, including the extended period (currently according to the provisions of the Law on Investment 2014, the investment term for investors is 50 years, maximum 70 years).

- Regarding the disposition of residential property: Foreigners are not allowed to buy separate houses and apartments for business, but if they invest in building houses under projects in Vietnam, they can still sell houses for business. This is a relatively special point in house ownership of foreign owners compared to Vietnamese citizens.