Can the Investor Freely Transfer a Real Estate Project?

According to the provisions of current law, a real estate project investor is allowed to transfer all or part of the project to another investor for continued business investment. Pursuant to Article 48 of the Law on Real Estate Business 2014, the transfer of all or part of a real estate project must comply with the following principles:

- Firstly: The transfer of all or part of a real estate project must meet the following requirements:

+ It does not change the objectives of the project;

+ It does not alter the content of the project;

+ It ensures the rights of customers and related parties.

- Secondly: The transfer of all or part of a real estate project must receive approval in writing from the competent state authority that decides the investment. The receiving investor shall be granted a Certificate of Land Use Rights, Ownership of Houses, and Other Assets Attached to Land or will be registered for changes on the certificate issued to the transferring investor according to land law regulations.

- Thirdly: The investor receiving the transfer of all or part of a real estate project is not required to reapply for project documents, construction planning, and project construction permits if there are no changes in the investment policy approval content, investment decisions of the project.

Thus: Based on the aforementioned provisions, before implementing the transfer of all or part of a real estate project, the real estate project investor must obtain written approval from the competent state authority deciding the investment.

According to Article 50 of the Law on Real Estate Business 2014, the authority to permit the transfer of a real estate project is specified as follows:

- For a real estate project decided upon by the Provincial People's Committee: The investor must be permitted to transfer all or part of the real estate project in writing by the Provincial People's Committee.

- For a real estate project decided upon by the Prime Minister of the Government of Vietnam: The investor must be allowed by the Prime Minister of the Government of Vietnam to transfer all or part of the real estate project in writing.

=> Therefore: In the case that your company is the investor of a real estate project decided upon by the Prime Minister of the Government of Vietnam, when transferring all or part of the real estate project, it must receive approval (permission) in writing from the Prime Minister of the Government of Vietnam.

The above are our advisory opinions on the issue you are inquiring about.

Sincerely!