Based on the provisions of the Law on Housing, foreigners are allowed to purchase and own houses in Vietnam. However, not all foreigners are entitled to purchase and own houses, they need to meet certain conditions as prescribed by Law to be able to own houses in Vietnam.
Objects and conditions required for foreigners who want to purchase houses in Vietnam
NPLaw would like to provide objects and conditions to ensure that foreigners purchase houses in Vietnam in accordance with procedures and processes, as follows:
First object: Foreign organizations and individuals investing in projects for housing construction in Vietnam in accordance with this Law and relevant Laws. Thus, these organizations and individuals need to meet the following conditions:
- Owning investment registration certificates and;
- Owning houses built in the projects in accordance with the Law on Housing 2015 and relevant Laws.
Second object: Foreign-Invested Enterprises, branches, representative offices of foreign enterprises, foreign investment funds and foreign bank branches are operating in Vietnam. For these subjects, it is necessary to obtain investment registration certificates or documents related to the authorization to operate in Vietnam issued by the competent state agencies of Vietnam.
Third object: Foreign individuals are allowed to enter Vietnam and are not entitled to preferential rights and diplomatic and consular immunities in accordance with the Law.
Forms of housing ownership for foreigners in Vietnam
The above mentioned objects are owned houses in Vietnam in one of the following forms:
- Investment in housing construction under the projects in Vietnam in accordance with this Law and relevant Laws;
- Purchasing, leasing, receiving donations or receiving inheritance of commercial houses, including apartments and independent houses (individual houses) in the projects of housing construction investment, except for defense and security secured areas in accordance with the Law of Vietnam.
For other types of real estate, such as land or houses attached to privately owned land, foreigners are not allowed to purchase them, and transactions relating to these objects will not be recognized and protected by the competent authorities.
Rights of foreigners when owning houses in Vietnam
Depending on each object, there are different rights, namely the following:
3.1. For foreign organizations and individuals investing in the housing construction under the projects in Vietnam, they have the rights of the owners of the houses as domestic organizations, households, domestic individuals and Vietnamese people settled abroad, there are some typical rights such as:
- Having the inviolable rights to legally owned houses;
- Using houses for residential purposes and other purposes that the Law does not prohibit;
- Being issued certificates for legal ownership of houses in accordance with this Law and the Law on Land;
- Selling and transferring contracts of sale, lease, donation, exchange, inheritance, mortgaging, capital contribution, loan, depending on living and authorized housing management;
- In cases of donating and inheriting houses for non-residential objects owned in Vietnam, these objects are only entitled to the value of such houses.
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3.2. For Foreign-Invested Enterprises, branches, representative offices of foreign enterprises, foreign investment funds, branches of foreign banks operating in Vietnam and foreign individuals allowed to enter Vietnam, there are the rights of ownership such as Vietnamese citizens, but must comply with certain regulations, as follows:
- Only being purchased, leased, received donations, received inheritance or owned no more than 30% of apartments in an apartment building; if independent houses consist of villas and adjacent houses, then in an area with the number of inhabitants equivalent to a ward-level administrative unit, can only be purchased, leased, received donations, received inheritance or owned no more than two hundred and fifty houses;
In cases where in an area with inhabitants equivalent to a ward-level administrative unit but there are many apartment buildings or independent houses on a street, the Government shall regulate, in particular, the number of apartments and independent houses that foreign organizations and individuals are entitled to purchase, lease, receive donations, receive inheritance or own .
- In the cases of donating or inheriting houses that are not subject to apartment buildings or independent houses in the housing construction investment projects or exceed the number of houses specified in Point a of this Clause, only the value of such houses is entitled.
- For foreign individuals, they are entitled to own houses in accordance with the agreement in the transactions of the contract of sale, lease, donation or inheritance of houses but not more than 50 years from the date of issuance of the Certificates, and these Certificates can be extended in accordance with the Government’s regulations if there are needs; the duration of housing ownership must be specified in the Certificates.
- If foreign individuals marry Vietnamese citizens or marry Vietnamese people who settle abroad, they will own stable and long-term houses and have the ownership rights of Vietnamese citizens.
- For foreign organizations, they are entitled to own houses in accordance with the agreement in the transactions of the contract of sale, purchase, donation or receipt of inheritance of houses, but the maximum does not exceed the duration stated in the Investment Certificates issued to those organizations, including the period of extension; the duration of housing ownership is calculated from the date of issuance of the Certificates and is specified in these Certificates.
- Before the expiration of housing ownership in accordance with this Law, the owners can donate or sell houses to objects that are subject to owner houses in Vietnam; if the housing ownership is exceeded but owners don’t complete the sale or donation, these houses are owned by the State.
Therefore, from the above mentioned contents, foreigners have the right to purchase and own houses in Vietnam if they fully meet the objects and conditions as prescribed by the Law and can exercise the rights to use houses and freely transfer them to other organizations and individuals, and can be protected by Law for their legitimate rights and interests in housing assets in Vietnam.
The above is some basic content to clarify whether foreigners can purchase houses in Vietnam or not. However, in fact, the housing purchases of foreigners have no less trouble in documents and procedures, and there have been many disputes related to these issues that cause the legal rights and interests of foreigners to not be protected in the best way.
