Can I buy a house without a house ownership certification in Vietnam?

Can I buy a house without a house ownership certification in Vietnam?

Pursuant to Article 118 of the Law on Housing 2014 stipulates requirements applied to houses entered into transactions as follows:

1. Any house regarding transactions in housing sale, lease purchase, gifting, mortgage, or capital contribution shall meet the requirements below:

a) There is the Certificate as prescribed, except for cases prescribed in Clause 2 of this Article;

b) There is no dispute, complaint, or proceedings for homeownership; the term of homeownership has not expired if the house is under a term contract on housing;

c) The house is not distrained;

d) There is no decision on land revocation, notification of housing clearance or demolishment issued by the competent agency.

The requirements prescribed in Point b and c of this Clause shall not apply to transactions in off-the-plan housing sale or lease purchase.

2. The following transactions in housing are not required the Certificate:

a) Transactions in off-the-plan housing sale or mortgage;

b) Transactions in house of gratitude gifting;

c) Transactions in state-owned housing sale or lease purchase; social housing or non-state-owned housing serving the relocation sale or lease purchase; housing sale prescribed in Clause 4 Article 62 in this Law;

d) Transactions in housing lease, lending, permission for stay, management authorization;

dd) Transactions in housing inheritance;

e) Transactions in transfer of agreement on commercial housing which is under residential construction projects including the case in which the house is received from the investor but the application for the Certificate of that house has not sent to the competent agency.

Any documentary evidence on requirements pertaining to the house to be entered into the transaction as prescribed in this Clause shall comply with regulations of the Government.

3. Any house under lease contract shall both comply with Point b, c, and d Clause 1 of this Article and satisfy requirements pertaining to quality, safety regarding the lessee, electricity system, water supply and drainage, hygiene and environment.

Thus, it is still possible to buy a house without a house ownership certification in Vietnam if the house falls into one of the cases specified in Clause 2, Article 118 of the Law on Housing 2014.

What are procedures for trading houses without a house ownership certification in Vietnam?

Pursuant to Article 31 of Decree No. 43/2014/ND-CP stipulating conditions for being granted a house ownership certification are as follows:

House owners eligible to own houses under the housing law and possessing papers proving the lawful formation of houses may have their house ownership certified according to the following provisions:

1. Domestic households and individuals must possess one of the following papers:

a/ House construction permit, in case construction permit is required under the construction law.

In case a house was built in contravention of the granted construction permit, written opinions of the construction licensing agency certifying that the improperly built area does not affect the safety of the house and is now compliant with the approved construction master plan are required;

b/ Contract on purchase and sale of a state-owned house under the Government’s Decree No. 61/CP of July 5, 1994, on purchase, sale and trading of houses, or paper on liquidation or sale of a state-owned house before July 5, 1994;

c/ Paper on handover or donation of a gratitude or great-unity house;

d/ Paper on house ownership, granted by competent authorities in different periods while such house is not subject to entire-people ownership establishment by the State under the XIth National Assembly’s Resolution No. 23/2003/QH11 of November 26, 2003, on houses and land managed and arranged by the State for use during the implementation of housing and land management policies and socialist reform policies before July 1, 1991, and the National Assembly Standing Committee’s Resolution No. 755/2005/NQ-UBTVQH11 of April 2, 2005, on the settlement of specific house- and land-related cases during the implementation of housing and land management policies and socialist reform policies before July 1, 1991;

dd/ Paper on purchase and sale, donation, exchange or inheritance of the house already notarized or certified by a competent People’s Committee under law.

For a house purchased, donated, exchanged or inherited from July 1, 2006 on, a paper on such transaction is required under the housing law.

For a house purchased from an enterprise building houses for sale, a contract on house purchase and sale signed between the purchaser and the seller is required;

e/ Legally effective judgment or decision of the people’s court or paper of the state agency competent to permit house ownership;

g/ An applicant for house ownership certification that possesses one of the papers specified at Points a, b, c, d, dd and e of this Clause which bears the name of another person is required to possess one of the papers on house purchase and sale, donation, exchange or inheritance before July 1, 2006, signed by the related parties and certified by the commune- level People’s Committee; for a house purchased, donated, exchanged or inherited before July 1, 2006, without a paper on such purchase, donation, exchange or inheritance signed by the related parties, the commune-level People’s Committee’s certification of the time of purchase, donation, exchange or inheritance of such house is required.

In case an applicant for house ownership certification possesses one of the papers specified at Points a, b, c, d, dd and e of this Clause while the current conditions of the house are inconsistent with such paper, the commune-level People’s Committee’s certification is required for the part of the house inconsistent with the paper as in the case prescribed at Point h of this Clause;

h/ A domestic individual who possesses none of the papers specified at Points a. b. c, d, dd and e of this Clause shall obtain the commune-level People’s Committee’s written certification that the house was completely built before July 1, 2006, before the land use master plan or construction plan was promulgated, or complied with the master plan in case the house was built after the land use master plan, the detailed urban construction plan or master plan on construction of rural residential areas was promulgated under law. For a house completely built since July 1, 2006, the commune-level People’s Committee’s written certification that die house is not subject to construction permit and satisfies the planning conditions like houses built before July 1, 2006, is required; for a house which was subject to construction permit but was built without such permit, the district-level construction management agency’s written approval of the existence of such house is required.

In addition, according to Article 121 of the 2014 Housing Law, housing contracts are as follows:

A housing agreement shall be concluded by contracting parties and made in writing, including:

1. Full names of individuals, names of organizations and addresses of contracting parties;

2. Description of characteristics of the house and the piece of land attached to that house. Regarding agreements on apartment sale or lease purchase, contracting parties must state the common areas or common-using areas; private areas; floor area; purposes of the common areas or common-using areas in the apartment building according to approved design;

3. The value of contributed capital, the transaction price of housing if there is a term on pricing in the agreement; regarding transactions in housing sale, lease, or lease purchase which is regulated pricing by the State, contracting parties shall comply with that regulations;

4. Deadline for and method of payment regarding transactions in housing sale, lease, lease purchase or transfer of agreements on housing sale;

5. Deadline for housing transfer; housing warranty duration regarding transactions in buying or renting and buying new house; terms of agreements on housing lease, lease purchase, mortgage, lending, permission for stay, authorization of housing management; deadline for capital contribution;

6. Rights and obligations of contracting parties;

7. Commitments of contracting parties;

8. Other agreements;

9. Effective date of the agreement;

10. Date of agreement;

11. Signatures and full names of contracting parties, or stamps (if any) and positions of the signatories regarding organizations.

Buying a house without a certification of ownership if it is not in the cases specified in Clause 2, Article 118 of the Law on Housing 2014, the house owner must apply for a certification of house ownership according to Article 31 of Decree No. 43/2014/ND-CP in Vietnam.

For the above case, if the house does not have drugs in the cases specified in Clause 2, Article 118 of the Law on Housing 2014, the house owner must apply for a certification of house ownership according to Article 31 of Decree No. 43/2014/ND-CP to carry out the house purchase and sale in Vietnam.

Best regards!