Circular No. 31/2016/TT-BXD dated December 30, 2017 of the Ministry of Construction on prescribing the grading and recognition of grades of apartment buildings

CIRCULAR

Prescribing the grading and recognition of grades of apartment buildings[1]

Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. 62/2013/ND-CP of June 25, 2013, defining the functions, tasks, powers and organizational structure of the Ministry of Construction;

Pursuant to the November 25, 2014 Housing Law;

At the proposal of the Director of the Housing and Real Estate Market Management Agency,

The Minister of Construction promulgates the Circular prescribing the grading and recognition of grades of apartment buildings.

Chapter I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1.Scope of regulation

This Circular prescribes the grading, criteria for the evaluation and grading, dossier of request for recognition of grades, and competence, order and procedures for recognition of grades of commercial apartment buildings (including residential and mixed-use apartment buildings).

This Circular does not apply to apartment buildings built before 1994.

Article 2.Subjects of application

1. Apartment building project owners; apartment building management boards; and apartment owners and users;

2. State management agencies involved in the grading and recognition of grades of apartment buildings.

3. Other related individuals and organizations.

Article 3.Purposes of, and requirements for, grading and recognition of grades of apartment buildings

1. Apartment buildings shall be divided into different grades which will be used as a basis for determination of value of apartment buildings serving their management or trading in the market.

2. The grading and recognition of grade of an apartment building shall be carried out on a case-by-case basis and must meet the following requirements:

a/ It is so requested by an organization or individual specified in Article 4 of this Circular;

b/ The apartment building is built under a detailed construction plan approved by a competent agency under a granted construction license (for apartment buildings subject to construction license in accordance with the construction law);

c/ The apartment building conforms to the national technical regulation on apartment buildings and other relevant national technical regulations;

d/ The construction of the apartment building has been completed in accordance with the housing law, the construction law and other relevant laws, the apartment building has been handed over and put into use and involves no violation at the time of submission of the dossier of request for grade recognition;

dd/ The apartment building is neither subject to compulsory demolition nor located in an area subject to land recovery by a competent state agency.

Chapter II

GRADING AND RECOGNITION OF GRADES OF APARTMENT BUILDINGS

Article 4.Organizations and individuals requesting recognition of grades of apartment buildings

1. For a multi-owner apartment building subject to the establishment of apartment building management board in accordance with the Housing Law, the grade recognition may be requested by the following organization:

a/ The project owner, in case an apartment building management board has not yet been established;

b/ The apartment building management board, in case such a board has been established.

2. For a multi-owner apartment building not subject to establishment of apartment building management board in accordance with the Housing Law, the request for recognition of apartment building grade must contain the written consensus of over 50% of total owners of apartments of such building.

3. For single-owner apartment buildings (including also those having management boards), apartment building owners shall request the recognition of apartment building grades.

Article 5.Criteria for grading of apartment buildings

The grading of apartment buildings shall be based on the following 4 groups of criteria:

1. Group of planning and architecture criteria.

2. Group of technical system and equipment criteria.

3. Group of social service and infrastructure criteria.

4. Group of quality, management and operation criteria.

Article 6.Grading of apartment buildings

Apartment buildings are divided into the following 3 grades:

1. Grade-A apartment buildings are those satisfying all the requirements for grading specified in Clause 2, Article 3 of this Circular and concurrently meeting at least 18 out of 20 criteria provided in Appendix 1 to this Circular.

2. Grade-B apartment buildings are those satisfying all the requirements for grading specified in Clause 2, Article 3 of this Circular and concurrently meeting at least 18 out of 20 criteria provided in Appendix 2 to this Circular.

3. Grade-C apartment buildings are those satisfying all the requirements for grading specified in Clause 2, Article 3 of this Circular but failing to meet the sufficient number of criteria for being recognized as grade A and B as prescribed in Clauses 1 and 2 of this Article.

Article 7.Dossier for recognition of apartment building grades

1. A request for recognition of grade of an apartment building, made according to the form in Appendix 3 to this Circular.

2. A certified copy of the construction license (for apartment buildings subject to construction license in accordance with the construction law).

3. A certified copy of the decision approving the 1:500-scale detailed plan or a written approval of the general site layout of the area where the apartment building is located (for cases not required to have a 1:500-scale detailed plan) enclosed with the general site plan of the apartment building approved by a competent agency.

4. A certified copy of the written appraisal of a competent agency enclosed with the apartment building blueprint in accordance with the construction law.

5. A certified copy of the written notice of results of the apartment building pre-acceptance test of a construction-specialized agency.

6. A written declaration of self-evaluation and grading of the apartment building, made by the organization or individual that requests recognition of apartment building grade according to the form in Appendix 4 to this Circular.

Article 8.Competence, order and procedures for recognition of apartment building grades

1. Construction Departments of provinces and centrally run cities (below referred to as provincial-level Construction Departments) shall recognize grades of apartment buildings located in their localities under this Circular.

2. The order and procedures for recognition of grade of an apartment building are as follows:

a/ The organization or individual that requests recognition of the grade of the apartment building shall submit 1 set of the dossier specified in Article 7 of this Circular to the concerned provincial-level Construction Department. The provincial-level Construction Department shall receive and examine the dossier. In case the dossier is incomplete under Article 7 of this Circular, within 3 working days after receiving the dossier, the provincial-level Construction Department shall issue a written notice to the requester for dossier supplementation;

b/ Within 15 days after receiving a complete dossier prescribed in Article 7 of this Circular, the provincial-level Construction Department shall examine and appraise the dossier, and carry out the physical examination of the apartment building;

c/ In case the apartment building satisfies the requirements prescribed in Article 3, and meet the criteria prescribed in Article 6, of this Circular, the provincial-level Construction Department shall issue a decision on recognition of apartment building grade, made according to the form in Appendix 5 to this Circular.

In case the apartment building does not satisfy the prescribed requirements and criteria, the provincial-level Construction Department shall reply in writing to the requester, clearly stating the reason for not recognizing apartment building grade;

d/ Within 3 working days after issuing the decision on recognition of apartment building grade, the provincial-level Construction Department shall publicly post up information on such decision on its e-portal, and send the decision to the requester for publicly announcing to the apartment owner(s) and users.

3. The validity of a decision on recognition of apartment building grade prescribed in this Circular is 5 years. Upon the expiration of the recognition decision, the concerned provincial-level Construction Department shall remove the information on the decision on its e-portal, and notify such in writing to the apartment owner(s), management board and project owner (if any).

4. During the examination and inspection by competent agencies, if an apartment building of which the grade has been recognized is detected to no longer satisfy the grading criteria or has involved violations of the housing law, the construction law or other relevant laws, the concerned provincial-level Construction Department shall invalidate the grade recognition decision, remove relevant information posted on its e-portal, and notify such in writing to the concerned apartment owner(s), management board and project owner (if any).

5. Provincial-level Construction Departments shall coordinate with provincial-level Finance Departments in reporting to provincial-level People’s Committees on expenses for examination and appraisal of dossiers and recognition of apartments building grades as suitable to local practical conditions.

Organizations and individuals requesting recognition of apartment building grades shall pay such expenses under this Clause when submitting dossiers of request for recognition of apartment building grades.

Article 9.Recognition of adjustment and re-recognition of apartment building grades

1. The recognition of adjustment or re-recognition of apartment building grades shall be carried out at the request of the organizations and individuals specified in Article 4 of this Circular.

2. In case an organization or individual specified in Article 4 of this Circular wishes to adjust the grade of an apartment building of which the grade recognition decision has not yet expired, it/he/she shall submit 1 set of the dossier prescribed in Clause 3 of this Article to the concerned provincial-level Construction Department for consideration, examination, and recognition of the adjustment of apartment building grade. The order and procedures for recognition of adjustment of apartment building grade must comply with Clause 2, Article 8 of this Circular.

When handing over the adjusted grade recognition decision to the requester, the provincial-level Construction Department shall revoke the original grade recognition decision which is still valid for dossier filing and posting information on the new decision on its e-portal.

3. A dossier of request for adjustment of apartment building grade must comprise:

a/ A request for adjustment of apartment building grade, made according to the form in Appendix 3 to this Circular;

b/ A written declaration for self-evaluation and grading of the apartment building made by the requester made according to the form in Appendix 4 to this Circular;

c/ A certified copy of the valid apartment building grade recognition decision.

4. In case an organization or individual specified in Article 4 of this Circular wishes to request re-recognition of grade of an apartment building of which the grade recognition decision has expired under regulations, it/he/she shall submit 1 set of the dossier prescribed in Article 7 of this Circular to the concerned provincial-level Construction Department for consideration, examination and re-recognition of apartment building grade. The order and procedures for re-recognition of apartment building grade must comply with Clause 2, Article 8 of this Circular.

5. Organizations and individuals that request for re-recognition or adjustment of apartment building grades specified in Clauses 2 and 3 of this Article shall pay expenses for dossier examination and appraisal under Clause 5, Article 8 of this Circular.

Chapter III

INSPECTION AND HANDLING OF VIOLATIONS

Article 10.Organization of inspection of grading and recognition of apartment building grades

1. The Housing and Real Estate Market Management Agency shall organize the inspection or assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with functional agencies and units under the Ministry of Construction and related ministries and sectors in, organizing scheduled or unscheduled inspection of the grading and recognition of grades of apartment buildings nationwide.

2. Provincial-level Construction Departments shall organize the inspection or assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with local functional agencies in, organizing scheduled or unscheduled inspection of the grading and recognition of grades of apartment buildings in their localities.

Article 11.Violations

1. Recognizing, re-recognizing and recognizing the adjustment of apartment building grades which fail to satisfy the requirements and criteria prescribed in this Circular.

2. Falsifying dossiers, information and documents for recognizing, re-recognizing and recognizing of the adjustment of, apartment building grades.

3. Untruthfully announcing information on recognition of grades of apartment buildings, or advertising and posting information on apartment building grades which have not yet been recognized by competent agencies under this Circular.

Article 12.Handling of violations

1. In case an organization or individual commits one of the violations specified in Clauses 1 and 2 of Article 11 of this Circular, the concerned provincial-level Construction Department shall invalidate the decision on recognition of apartment building grade and make a public announcement of violation; remove information on the decision posted on its e-portal; and notify such in writing to the apartment owners or apartment building owner, management board and project owner (if any).

2. Depending on the seriousness of their violations, organizations and individuals that commit violations specified in Article 11 of this Circular shall be administratively handled or examined for penal liability in accordance with law; and pay compensation for damage caused (if any) in accordance with law.

Chapter IV

ORGANIZATION OF IMPLEMENTATION

Article 13.Responsibilities of provincial-level People’s Committees and Construction Departments

1. Provincial-level People’s Committees shall:

a/ Direct provincial-level Construction Departments in recognizing, re-recognizing or adjusting apartment building grades in their localities under this Circular;

b/ Handle violations within the scope of their competence, or request competent agencies to handle violations under this Circular.

2. Provincial-level Construction Departments shall:

a/ Guide and organize the recognition, re-recognition and recognition of adjustment of apartment building grades under this Circular;

b/ Sum up the practical grading and recognition of grades of apartment buildings in their localities for reporting to the Ministry of Construction on a biannual basis or at the request of the Ministry of Construction;

c/ Perform other tasks under this Circular and at the request of provincial-level People’s Committees.

Article 14.Responsibilities of the Housing and Real Estate Market Management Agency

1. Guide and urge the implementation of this Circular.

2. Assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with the provincial-level Construction Departments in, organizing scheduled or unscheduled inspection of the grading and recognition of grades of apartment buildings nationwide.

3. Sum up and report to the Minister of Construction on the practical grading and recognition of grades of apartment buildings nationwide; and study and propose to the Minister of Construction amendments and supplementations to this Circular to suit realities.

Article 15.Effect

1. This Circular takes effect on February 15, 2017.

2. The Ministry of Construction’s Circular No. 14/2008/TT-BXD of June 2, 2008, guiding the grading and recognition of grades of apartment buildings ceases to be effective on the effective date of this Circular.

3. Any problems arising in the course of implementation should be promptly reported to the Ministry of Construction for guidance and appropriate amendment and supplementation.-

For the Minister of Construction
Deputy Minister
DO DUC DUY