1. How long after buying an apartment must the investor apply for a pink book?
Clause 8, Article 39 of the 2023 Housing Law stipulates the responsibilities of investors in commercial housing construction projects, including commercial apartment projects, as follows:
Within 50 days from the date of handover of the house to the buyer or from the date the lessee has fully paid the agreed amount, the application must be submitted to the competent state agency requesting a certificate to be issued to the buyer or lessee of the house, except in cases where the buyer or lessee voluntarily completes the procedures to request a certificate.
2. The investor is slow to issue the pink book, what should people do?
Delay in issuing pink books can come from many different reasons such as delay in issuing pink books due to investors intentionally not performing/delaying the procedures for issuing books or due to State agencies delaying the request for issuing books to investors.
In each specific case, people need to have appropriate and specific ways of handling:
In case the State agency is slow in issuing the pink book
In case the apartment buyer carries out the procedure for granting the certificate himself, the time limit is specified in Clause 6, Article 22 of Decree 101/2024/ND-CP as follows:
- In case of registration and issuance of certificates of land use rights and ownership of assets attached to land for transferees of land use rights, ownership of houses, construction works, and construction items in real estate projects, it shall not exceed 10 working days.
- The above time does not include days off, holidays as prescribed by law, and time to fulfill financial obligations.
In addition, when submitting an application for a certificate, the agency receiving the application will clearly state the deadline for returning the results. If the competent state agency has not resolved the issue within the deadline, the people have the right to complain or sue the administrative decision or administrative act.
In case the investor is slow in carrying out procedures for issuing pink books
Within 50 days from the date of handing over the house to the buyer, the investor must complete the procedure to request the competent State agency to issue a certificate to the buyer, except in cases where the buyer voluntarily does so.
To ensure their legitimate rights and interests when the investor is slow in carrying out the procedures for granting the certificate, the buyer needs to handle it in the following way:
- Make a petition to the construction inspector or the competent People's Committee to handle the investor's violations (if the implementation is delayed, depending on the time and number of apartments delayed, the investor will be fined up to 1 billion VND - in addition to the fine, the investor must carry out the procedures for granting certificates according to regulations).
- If the contract contains a penalty clause for late implementation of the certificate issuance procedure or the buyer suffers damage due to the delay, the investor must comply with the agreed terms or file a lawsuit.
