New regulations regarding the lifespan of apartment buildings in Vietnam under the Housing Law 2023

Regarding this matter, LawNet would like to answer as follows:

What's new about the lifespan of apartment buildings in Vietnam under the Housing Law 2023?

According to Article 58 of the Housing Law 2023, the lifespan of apartment buildings is stipulated as follows:

- Lifespan of apartment buildings shall be determined by design dossiers and actual useful life of apartment buildings according to conclusion of competent authority. Lifespan of apartment buildings according to design dossiers shall be specified in written appraisal of competent authorities in accordance with construction laws.

- Lifespan of apartment buildings shall start from the date on which apartment buildings are commissioned for use in accordance with construction laws.

- If lifespan of apartment buildings according to design dossiers under Clause 1 of this Article expires or the apartment buildings in question are damaged, prone to collapse, or do not guarantee safety for owners and occupants of apartment buildings before expiry of lifespan, provincial People's Committees shall coordinate inspection and quality assessment of apartment buildings.

Clause 1, Article 99 of the Housing Law 2014 stipulates the lifespan of apartment buildings as follows:

- The lifespan of apartment buildings is determined according to the class of the construction and conclusion on quality assessment provided by the housing authority of province where the apartment buildings are located. The People’s Committee of the province shall grant funding to carry out the housing quality assessment.

- When the lifespan of apartment buildings expires as prescribed in law on construction or the apartment building is seriously damaged, or in danger of collapse, or unsafe for its occupiers, the housing authority of province shall carry out the housing quality inspection according to regulations.

Thus, compared to current regulations, from January 1, 2025, the lifespan of apartment buildings will be determined according to the design documents and must be clearly stated in the appraisal document of the competent authority, instead of based on the class of the construction as before.

In addition, the provincial People's Committees shall coordinate inspection and quality assessment of apartment buildings and do not issue regulations on the allocation of funds to carry out quality inspection of houses by the provincial People's Committee.

What are the regulations on forms of compensation for owners of apartment buildings shall be specified under compensation and relocation solutions in Vietnam under the Housing Law 2023?

Forms of compensation for owners of apartment buildings shall be specified under compensation and relocation solutions are prescribed in Clause 7, Article 70 of the Housing Law 2023 as follows:

- For apartment buildings built in 1994 or earlier, apartment building owners may choose compensation in form of relocation housing or money equivalent to value of relocation housing;

- For apartment buildings that have not been invested in and built in 1994 or earlier, where owners do not contribute funding for apartment building renovation and reconstruction, the owners shall be eligible for compensation equivalent to value of land use right based on percentage of land use right ownership determined in accordance with land laws applicable at the time of producing the compensation and relocation solutions and transfer land use right to developers of apartment building renovation, reconstruction investment projects;

- For the apartment building that has any of the following primary structural elements: foundation, pillars, walls, girders, beams damaged, does not qualify for regular use, is not subject to mandatory demolition as prescribed, is located in areas where the apartment building must match apartment buildings subject to mandatory demolition under this Clause according to approved construction planning, apartment building owners shall be eligible for compensation equivalent to land use right and remaining value of dwelling units according to regulations of the Government.

- In addition, according to the provisions of Clause 8, Article 70 of the Housing Law 2023, in respect of area other than apartment buildings in apartment complex for renovation and reconstruction, apartment building owners shall be eligible for compensation, assistance, relocation, and arrangement of temporary accommodation according to regulations of the Government.

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