Illustrative image (Photo: Internet) In the draft, which the ministry recently made public for comments, theministry added a new section on “Term for apartment ownership” with twooptions.
In the first option, the term for apartment ownership would be defined based onthe lifespan of the building. In the second option, there would be no change,meaning that there would be no regulation about the ownership term.
Experts said that it was essential to give careful consideration to theproposal of limiting apartment ownership terms because this was a new thing in Vietnamand could have a significant impact on the market and residents.
The view of the first option was similar to the proposal setting a limited termof 50-70 years for apartment ownership raised four months ago which had causeda stir among the public.
Most residents and experts did not agree with the proposal, pointing out that alimited term for apartment ownership was not appropriate for buildings thatwere developed on long-term residential land as apartment owners still had theright to own the land in the long term following the established land laws.
Van Quang, who lives in an apartment building in Binh Thanh district, HCM City,said that his family saved up for 10 years to buy the apartment. He was worriedhe would lose his biggest asset when the ownership term expired.
Another resident said that he planned to sell a house to buy an apartment closeto the city centre which was more convenient for traveling to work. However,when he heard about the ministry’s proposal, he changed his mind.
If the proposal was passed, people might rush to buy land instead of apartmentsand this would cause a problem for the market, he said.
According to David Jackson, general director of property market research firmColliers Vietnam, in any approach, the Ministry of Construction aimed forstable growth of the real estate market, and clarifying issues related to houseownership and ownership terms was an important part of the process.
It was necessary to have an appropriate approach with a specific roadmap andtransparent regulations, which would help diversify the housing market and openup more opportunities for customers and real estate developers, he said.
Limited-term apartment ownership was currently applied in many countries in theworld but is a completely new thing in Vietnam, thus, careful consideration wasneeded to harmonise benefits and achieve long-term development goals, he said.
Limited terms for apartment ownership were expected to tackle difficulties inurban development and management, he said, pointing out that like other typesof housing, the quality of apartment buildings gradually decreased years overyears, affecting the safety and lives of residents.
He said applying limited ownership terms would also bring many opportunitiesfor redevelopment and change of land use purposes, thereby better servingsocial needs in the future while providing access to housing for the nextgenerations as land was a finite resource.
Nguyen Duy Thanh, Chairman of Global Home, said that it was important to havesolutions to handle construction works that expired and ownership issues toprotect the legitimate rights of residents.
If the buildings had to be demolished and rebuilt, the old owners should havethe right to receive compensation at market prices to settle down, he said,stressing that every building had its lifespan and would degrade over time.
In response to the public, Deputy Director of the Housing and Real EstateMarket Management Department under the Ministry of Construction Nguyen Manh Khoitold Viet Nam News Agency that the proposal was raised to tackle existingdifficulties in the renovation and rebuilding of old and degraded apartmentbuildings.
Many buildings had degraded and seriously affected the lives of residents, butit was difficult to demolish and rebuild because ownership was permanent, hepointed out.
He said that in the first option, there was no specific limit on the number ofyears for ownership, but it would depend on the work’s lifespan in accordancewith the law on construction.
Khoi said that the ministry would listen to every contribution and ensurebenefit harmonisation in policy-making, in which the benefits of residents wouldbe the top priority.
He said that with the limited-term apartment ownership, some people wouldswitch to buying land but not the majority. The regulations on apartmentownership terms might affect housing prices and create conditions for prices todrop, he said.
The Ministry of Construction was making public for comments two draftamendments to the Law on Housing and the Law on Real Estate Business, both hadsignificant impacts on the real estate market and enterprises operating in theindustry.
The amended Law on Real Estate Business was expected to be submitted to theNational Assembly in May 2023 and passed in October 2023 while the amended Lawon Housing was scheduled to be discussed by the National Assembly for the firsttime in October and passed in May 2023.
Both are expected to come into force on January 1, 2024 to put the developmentof the real estate market on track.
Other points in the drafts which are drawing attention include the legalframework for condotels, officetels and shophouses, the operation of realestate brokers, house ownership of foreigners, and transactions via real estatetrading centres./.
VNA
