According to the Vietnam Real Estate Market Evaluation Research Institute (VARS IRE), in Resolution No. 21-NQ/TW on viewpoints and orientations for amending the Land Law and related laws, one of the issues receiving special attention is the orientation to determine the term of use of newly built apartments according to the construction year.
According to VARS IRE, the construction age must be understood as a management milestone, not the time of automatic termination of ownership. Construction age should not be approached by applying a rigid number to every apartment building. The actual usage time needs to be determined based on design documents, construction quality, maintenance history, operating conditions and independent inspection results.
In addition, it is necessary to fully identify the rights of the owner in the process of conversion after demolition. One of the most important requirements is not to let people fall into a legal gap between the time the old project is demolished and the time the reconstruction project is completed. Related rights such as the common land use rights, the right to participate in the reconstruction project, the principle of receiving a new apartment or corresponding value, the possibility of transfer, inheritance, and mortgage need to be clearly defined in legal documents and management databases. Only when the rights are fully identified can people feel secure in participating in the reconstruction process.
VARS IRE believes that it is necessary to build a transparent and feasible reconstruction financial mechanism. Apartment reconstruction is not only a technical problem but first of all a financial problem. Therefore, the mechanism for mobilizing and allocating resources needs to be established from the beginning. The general principle needs to be aimed at rationally exploiting the value of land use rights, the added value from planning adjustments, revenue from commercial areas and additional development areas; and at the same time combine with other resources such as accumulation funds, long-term credit and appropriate participation of owners.
In addition, there needs to be a mechanism to protect vulnerable groups in the reconstruction process. A good policy not only solves the problem of the majority, but also must protect vulnerable groups. Elderly people, low-income households, policy families or people with only one house cannot be placed in a situation of losing their place just because they are not able to fulfill financial obligations at one time.
Therefore, it is necessary to study many flexible support mechanisms such as long-term installments, preferential credit, lease-purchase, suitable apartment arrangement or mechanisms for extending financial obligations in some special cases.
Each apartment building needs to be gradually managed through a "digital project passport", which fully updates information such as: acceptance time, design documents, project lifespan, inspection history, structural status, fire safety, the use of maintenance funds, common land use rights and reconstruction plans when necessary.
This data system needs to be connected to land, notary, banking, insurance databases and real estate market information systems. On that basis, information about the project status, remaining usage time and related rights after the project life cycle ends also needs to be considered for addition to the information group that must be made public when transacting.
Communication work to create social consensus also needs to be focused on. Building life cycle management is a new approach, directly impacting people's awareness of housing ownership rights. Therefore, if information is not fully conveyed, policies are very easily misunderstood in the direction of reducing the rights of owners. It is necessary to clearly affirm that the goal of determining the term of use of buildings is not to limit ownership rights, but to ensure the safety of life, property and improve the quality of living space.
Resolution 21 opens up opportunities for Vietnam to shift from the mindset of handling degraded works to the mindset of managing the life cycle of assets right from the time they are formed. This is not just a story about the term of use of apartments, but a larger problem about how to reorganize urban space, effectively exploit land resources and protect people's rights in a new development stage.
