Door set to open for more foreign property buying, Vietnam
27-05-2013
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Trinh Dinh Dung, Minister of Construction, admitted the current tight restrictions on foreign housing ownership had badly impacted on the local real estate market.
In a ground-breaking move, Dung said the Ministry of Construction would propose foreigners be eligible to buy villas or private houses, not only high-end apartments as currently, in its plan to revise the Housing Law and the Real Estate Business Law.
Moreover, Dung said foreign enterprises would be permitted to buy and own office buildings.
Dung revealed the above information during a meeting last week in Hanoi to review the implementation of the Housing Law, the Real Estate Business Law and the National Assembly’s Resolution 19 on permitting foreigners to buy houses in Vietnam.
According to the Ministry of Construction, the revised ownership rules could be put into implementation in 2015 when the revised laws could be approved.
“We are now at the planning step and the revised laws will seek public opinions before being submitted to the National Assembly in 2014,” Dung said.
According to Resolution 19 dated June 3, 2008, five types of organisations and foreign individuals are eligible to buy and own homes in Vietnam.
However, the reality is that with the complicated procedures and the tight regulations, a very small number of foreigners and overseas Vietnamese (Viet Kieu) were reported to have bought homes in Vietnam. Many have authorised their Vietnamese spouses or relatives to own the property.
A most revealing statistic provided by the General Department of Land Management shows that after four years from the date the government started permitting overseas Vietnamese and foreigners to own their houses in Vietnam, less than 500 cases were reported throughout the country.
Meanwhile, it is estimated that more than 80,000 foreigners and overseas Vietnamese are living and working in Vietnam.
Experts said that in the context that a large amount of accommodation still unsold, encouraging foreigners to buy houses could be a good channel to absorb these unsold units.
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