New Law enacted to promote sustainable housing market development

With 198 articles arranged in 13 chapters, the 2023 Housing Law contains new provisions which are expected to promptly address the people’s recent concerns about the housing market.

The new Law sets a limit only on the use duration of condominiums instead of limiting their ownership duration.

Specifically, Article 58 provides the determination of the use duration of condominiums based on their design documents and practical use duration as stated in inspection conclusions of competent agencies.

In case the use duration of a condominium stated in its design documents expires or has not yet expired but such condominium is damaged and in danger of collapse, threatening the safety of condominium owners and users, the provincial-level People’s Committee will direct the condominium quality inspection and evaluation.

In addition, to ensure consistency with the Land Law, the new Law requires owners of commercial housing projects to be real estate enterprises.

In light of this, those project owners must have their projects’ investment policy approved and be accepted to act as commercial housing investment project owners when they acquire land use rights through agreements on acquisition of land use rights for land categories on which they are permitted to implement these projects or when they currently have land use rights for these land categories in accordance with the Land Law.

Worthy of note, the new Law introduces for the first time an independent legal framework on development of multi-story multi-apartment houses for sale, lease-purchase or lease.

As per Article 57, individuals having residential land use rights may build houses with two or more floors with each floor designed for construction of apartments for sale or lease-purchase or combined sale, lease-purchase and lease; or houses with two or more floors and 20 or more apartments for lease.

In this case, they are required to satisfy the conditions for acting as housing investment project owners and comply with the construction law and relevant regulations applicable to housing investment projects.

Such apartments may be granted certificates in accordance with the land law, and put for sale, lease-purchase or lease in accordance with this Law and the real estate business law.