Laws of Vietnam

Proceeding from the Law on the Organization of Government on the 30th of September 1992;

Proceeding from the Land Law on the 14th of July 1993;

Proceeding from the Ordinance on Dwelling Houses on the 26th of March 1991;

At the request of the Minister of Construction, the Minister of Finance, and the Director of the General Land Administration.

Article 1.- The State recognizes and protects the legitimate ownership of dwelling houses and the legitimate right to use residential land.

Dwelling houses and residential land covered by this Decree include:

1. Dwelling houses occupied by one or many families;

2. Residential land inside cities, towns and townships is land for building dwelling houses and other projects for dwelling, and parks, if any, in accordance with a plan approved by the authorized State office.

Article 2.- There are three forms of ownership of dwelling houses:

1. Dwelling houses owned by the State;

2. Dwelling houses owned by political, social and economic organizations;

3. Dwelling houses owned by private citizens.

Article 3.- All dwelling houses and residential land must be registered. Legal owners are issued certificates of the ownership of dwelling houses and of the right to use residential land.

The certificates of the ownership of dwelling houses and of the right to use residential land issued in accordance with this Decree shall replace all legal papers on the ownership of dwelling houses and on the use of land issued before the promulgation of this Decree.

Article 4.- The State does not recognize claims for dwelling houses which the State is currently managing as a result of the implementation of the past policy on socialist transformation of houses and land.

The State does not recognize claims for residential land which the State has allotted to other people for use under policies of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, the Provisional Revolutionary Government of the Republic of South Vietnam, and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

Article 5.- The dwelling houses owned by the State are:

1. Dwelling houses built with the State budgetary allocations (central and local budgets) or with other sources of capital originating from the State budget;

2. Dwelling houses originally in other forms of ownership but transformed into State-ownership by law;

3. Dwelling houses mentioned at Point (1) of this Article, which were built partly with financial contributions from individuals or collectives by mutual agreement or under contracts whereby the buyer of a house has paid by installments but not in full.

Article 6.- The dwelling houses owned by political, social and economic organizations are:

1. Dwelling houses built with capital procured by these organizations;

2. Dwelling houses lawfully donated to them by other organizations or individuals;

Article 7.- Private dwelling houses are houses lawfully acquired by private citizens through building, buying or inheritance, or other legal forms.

Article 8.- Dwelling houses and residential land must be registered at the People's Committees of wards and townships.

Article 9.- The owner must register his/her dwelling house and residential land. In other cases, the persons who are using dwelling houses must register them.

Article 10.- The procedure for considering and granting a certificate of ownership of dwelling house and residential land is as follows;

1. In case the owner of a house has valid papers issued by the authorized offices of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, the Provisional Revolutionary Government of the Republic of South Vietnam, or the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, he/she will be issued a certificate of ownership of his/her dwelling house and of the right to use residential land.

2. In case the owner of a house has valid papers issued by the authorized offices of the former regime, and if this house and land is not disputed or is not yet allotted to other people for use under the policies of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, the Provisional Revolutionary Government of the Republic of South Vietnam, or the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, then his/her application will be considered for the granting of a certificate of ownership of the dwelling house and his/her right to use residential land.

3. In case the owner of a house has no or not the necessary, valid papers before the promulgation of this Decree:

a/ The owner of a dwelling house has no valid papers:

a1. If the dwelling house and residential land conform to the overall planning and is not disputed, then the owner's application shall be considered for the granting of a certificate of ownership of dwelling house and of his/her right to use residential land.

a2. If the dwelling house was built on land not planned for residential use, the owner would not be issued a certificate of ownership of dwelling house and right to use residential land. The owner must abide by the State's order for house removal and for land requisition.

b/ If the house owner has valid papers on the right to use land, but no permit for building the house, and if his/her dwelling house and residential land conforms to the overall planning and is not disputed, his/her application shall be considered for the granting of a certificate of ownership of the dwelling house and residential land.

c/ If the house owner built his/her house with a permit on a plot of land that conforms to the overall planning, but has no valid papers on the right to use land and there is no dispute, his/her application shall be considered for the granting of a certificate of ownership of the dwelling house and the right to use the land belonging to the house. The house owner must pay land tax.

d/ In case of a land dispute, the granting of a certificate of ownership of a dwelling house and the right to use residential land shall be considered only after the dispute has been settled in accordance with law.

Article 11.- The dossier for the granting of a certificate of ownership of a dwelling house and the right to use residential land includes the following:

1. An application for the granting of a certificate of ownership of dwelling house and the right to use residential land.

2. The valid papers including the following:

a/ A decision on land allotment and a permit for house building, or a certificate of house ownership and the right to use land issued by the authorized State office in the cases mentioned at Item (1), Article 10, of this Decree.

b/ A certificate of house and land ownership or other valid papers as stated at Point (2), Article 10, of this Decree.

c/ In the cases mentioned at Point (a1), Item 3, Article 10, of this Decree, the applicant must apply for a certificate by the People's Committee of the ward or the township where he/she resides certifying that he/she is the owner of the house as well as a certificate by the authorized office in charge of urban development planning.

d/ In the cases mentioned at Point (b), Item 3, Article 10, of this Decree, the house owner must have a decision on land allotment and a certificate by the authorized office in charge of urban development planning.

e/ In the cases mentioned at Point (c), Item 3, Article 10, of this Decree, the house owner must have a building permit issued by the authorized office.

In case the applicant is not the owner of the papers mentioned in this Item, he/she must have other papers enclosed, such as a certificate of the buying and selling of the house, or certificates of the inheritance of the house or reception of it as a gift. The applicant shall be issued a certificate of ownership of the house after fulfilling his/her obligations as owner and paying house tax as prescribed by law.

Article 12.- Certificates of ownership of houses and the right to use land in cities, towns and townships are issued by the People's Committees of provinces and cities under the Central Government (hereafter called provincial level).

Article 13.- The Office for Land and Housing Management and the Land Administration Office shall help the provincial People's Committee organize the registration, consideration and granting of certificates, the making of original dossiers, and the management of the ownership of dwelling houses and residential land.

Article 14.- No later than 60 days after receiving a complete dossier, the people's Committee at provincial level shall issue a certificate of ownership of dwelling house and the right to use residential land to the applicant. If the certificate cannot be issued, it must notify the applicant of the reason.

Article 15.- A certificate of ownership of a dwelling house and the right to use residential land is made in two copies, one to be issued to the house owner and the other deposited at the issuing office.

Article 16.- The granting of certificates of ownership of dwelling houses and right to use residential land is stipulated as follows:

1. With regard to private dwelling houses, the certificate is granted to the house owner.

2. With regard to dwelling houses owned by political, social and economic organizations, it is granted to the organization concerned.

3. With regard to dwelling houses owned by the State, it is granted to the office or organization assigned to manage them.

4. With regard to dwelling houses owned by many households, certificates are granted to each household for the ownership of their particular dwelling space.

The housing space, technical facilities and land reserved for common use by the households concerned, must be registered and used in accordance with the stipulations on the management of houses for collective habitation issued by the Ministry of Construction and the General Land Administration.

5. In case a dwelling house is owned by many persons and if there is not any paper on the division of the house with the signatures of the co-owners, then the certificate of ownership of the house shall register all the names of the co-owners and each owner keeps a copy.

Article 17.- A house owner receives a certificate of ownership of the dwelling house and the right to use residential land after paying the certification fee as jointly stipulated by the Ministries of Finance and Construction and the General Land Administration. In the cases mentioned at Point (a1) and (c), Item 3, Article 10, of this Decree, he/she shall be issued a certificate only after paying land tax as stipulated by the Ministry of Finance.

In case a house owner is permitted to change the dimensions or structure of his/her house, after the transformation, he/she must register it again at the authorized office that issued the certificate.

In case the owner wishes to split a plot of residential land from or merge it into another plot, he/she must apply for permission to do so from the authorized office which shall issue a certificate to the new owner in case of a split, and destroy the certificate of the old owner in case of a merger.

Article 18.- Foreigners residing in Vietnam are allowed to own a dwelling house for themselves and their families on a plot of residential land leased from the Vietnamese State during their residence in Vietnam, unless otherwise stipulated by an international treaty which Vietnam has signed or acceded to, or by agreements which Vietnam has reached with the governments of other countries or international organizations.

Article 19.- Foreign residents in Vietnam shall be granted certificates of ownership of dwelling houses if they:

- Buy a dwelling house from a housing company of the Vietnam State;

- Build a dwelling house with permission from the authorized State office; or

- Inherit a dwelling house in accordance with Vietnam's laws.

The purchase of a dwelling house, the leasing of residential land, the building of a dwelling house and the inheritance of a dwelling house must conform to Vietnam's laws.

Article 20.- The dossier to apply for a certificate of ownership of a dwelling house and the right to use residential land leased includes:

1. An application for the granting of certificate of ownership of dwelling houses and the use of residential land leased;

2. A permit issued by the Vietnamese State allowing the person concerned to reside in Vietnam;

3. A permit for construction of the dwelling house, or a contract on the buying and selling of the dwelling house certified by the Notary Public, or a valid paper on inheritance;

4. A contract on land lease;

5. A copy of the map showing the premises of the dwelling house, scale 1/200.

The dossier is issued in Vietnamese and filed in at the Provincial People's Committee.

Certificates of ownership of dwelling houses and the right to use the residential land leased are issued by the Provincial People's Committees.

Article 21.- Foreign residents owning dwelling houses in Vietnam can use, sell, give or legate their dwelling houses in accordance with Vietnam's laws and must register the ownership of their dwelling houses at the Provincial People's Committee, and pay taxes and fees as stipulated by law.

Article 22.- In case foreign residents cease to reside in Vietnam without performing the stipulations at Article 21 of this Decree, then 90 days after the day they leave Vietnam, the certificate of ownership of their dwelling house shall automatically be invalidated and the house concerned shall come under the management and use of the Vietnamese State in accordance with Vietnam's law.

Article 23.- Disputes over the ownership of dwelling houses and the right to use residential land are settled by the People's Courts.

Article 24.- Those who use dwelling houses illegally, violate the ownership of dwelling houses and the right to use residential land of other people or violate the laws on dwelling houses and residential land shall be fined or investigated for penal liability depending on the extent of their violation.

Those who abuse their positions and authorities for mercenary or other personal motives to make incorrect entries in the dwelling house and land registry, or to issue certificates of ownership of dwelling houses and residential land contrary to the law, shall be - depending on the extent of their violation - punished according to administrative procedure or subject to criminal prosecution.

Those who cause material damage must compensate for it.

Article 25.- This Decree takes effect from the date of signing.

Article 26.- The Minister of Construction, the Minister of Finance, and the Director of the General Land Administration, in their capacity as managers of their branches, are responsible for guiding and inspecting the implementation of this Decree.

The President of the People’s Committees of provinces and cities directly under the Central Government are responsible for guiding the People’s Committees of precincts, districts, towns and the local housing and land managing offices in implementing this Decree.

Article 27.- The Ministers, the Heads of the ministerial-level agencies, the Heads of the agencies attached to the Government, the Presidents of the People's Committees of provinces and cities directly under the Central Government, and the owners of dwelling houses are responsible for implementing this Decree.