The Ministry of Justice is considering and appraising the draft revised Housing Law, drafted by the Ministry of Construction with many important adjustments, aiming to improve the legal framework for housing development, management and use in the new period.
Notably, the draft revised Housing Law proposes many new points on time-limited apartment ownership. Accordingly, apartment ownership rights are established from the time the State recognizes ownership rights and terminated when the apartment building expires its term of use or has not expired its lifespan but falls under the case of forced demolition according to regulations.
When the apartment building expires or has not expired but is damaged, at risk of collapse, and does not ensure safety for the owner or users of the apartment building, the Provincial People's Committee must direct the inspection and evaluation of the quality of the apartment building construction according to the provisions of construction law to decide on the extension of use and ownership.
In case the apartment building has expired its term of use but is not eligible for extension as prescribed, it must be demolished according to the provisions of this Law. The owner's ownership of the apartment and other area in the apartment building terminates when the apartment building is demolished.
Regarding this proposal, the Ho Chi Minh City Real Estate Association (HoREA) has just sent a document to the Prime Minister and ministries and branches, proposing not to regulate the termination of apartment ownership when the project expires but is subject to demolition. According to the Association, this is to ensure the synchronicity and unity of the legal system, maintain the stability of the housing law, and create peace of mind for people who are apartment owners.
HoREA said that the proposal on "establishing and terminating the ownership of apartment buildings for a definite term" is actually the content that the Ministry of Construction once put forward when drafting the 2023 Housing Law.
The Association also cited the conclusion of the National Assembly Standing Committee when discussing the draft Housing Law in 2023. At that time, this agency did not agree with the regulation on limited ownership of apartment buildings because it believed that this content affected the property ownership rights of people. Instead, it is necessary to clearly stipulate the State's responsibility in deciding to relocate, demolish, and renovate apartment buildings that are no longer safe to protect people's lives and health.
According to HoREA, if the regulation on limited apartment ownership is applied, people may switch to prioritizing buying land to build houses instead of buying apartments. This may cause supply-demand imbalance, negatively impact the real estate market, push land prices up and is not consistent with the orientation of developing apartment buildings in urban areas to ensure the principle of economical and efficient land use according to the Land Law.
From there, the Association proposed to continue to maintain the regulation on the ownership of apartment buildings indefinitely, associated with stable and long-term residential land use rights as stipulated by the 2023 Housing Law.
HoREA also said that Clause 1, Article 9 of the 2023 Housing Law stipulates the right to own houses for an indefinite term, while Clause 2, Article 9 stipulates the right to own houses for a term in cases where parties agree to buy and sell houses for a term. The Law has also specifically stipulated the issuance of Certificates, the handling mechanism when the ownership term expires, as well as transactions of buying and selling houses for a term in Article 165 and Article 166. According to the Association, these regulations are consistent with practice and need to be supplemented back into the draft revised Housing Law.
