Cases of Building Houses Without Permission

Construction Law 2014 stipulates 10 cases exempted from construction permits as follows:

(1) State secret works, works constructed under emergency orders, and works located in the territory of two or more provincial administrative units;

(2) Works under investment projects approved for construction by the Prime Minister, Ministers, Heads of ministerial-level agencies, and Chairpersons of People's Committees at all levels;

(3) Temporary structures serving the construction of the main project;

(4) Linear projects outside urban areas, which are consistent with the construction planning approved by competent state agencies or have been approved by competent state agencies regarding the project direction;

(5) Projects within industrial zones, export processing zones, high-tech zones with detailed planning 1/500 already approved by competent state agencies and evaluated for construction design according to this Law;

(6) Housing projects within urban development projects, housing development projects with less than 7 floors and a total floor area under 500 m² with detailed 1/500 planning approved by competent state agencies;

(7) Repair, renovation works, or installation of equipment inside the structure that does not change the load-bearing structure, usage purpose, or affect the environment and safety of the work;

(8) Repair, renovation works changing the exterior architecture not adjacent to streets in urban areas with architectural management requirements;

(9) Rural technical infrastructure works requiring only an economic – technical report for construction investment in areas without approved detailed rural residential area plans;

(10) Structures in rural areas that do not have an approved urban development plan and detailed construction plan; individual houses in rural areas, except for those built within conservation areas, historical-cultural relic areas;

However, for housing construction, works under cases (2), (4), (5), and (9), the investor must inform the local construction management authority of the commencement time with attached construction design documents for monitoring and record-keeping.

In case of constructing a house or work without a permit, administrative fines or criminal liability may be applied according to the legal provisions.

Regarding administrative sanctions: As per Clause 6, Article 13 of Decree 121/2013/ND-CP:

6. Fines for organizing construction without required construction permits are as follows:

a) Fines from 3,000,000 VND to 5,000,000 VND for constructing individual houses in rural areas or other works not specified in Points b and c of this Clause;

b) Fines from 10,000,000 VND to 15,000,000 VND for constructing individual houses in urban areas;

c) Fines from 30,000,000 VND to 50,000,000 VND for constructing projects requiring an economic – technical report for construction works or an investment project for construction.

Regarding criminal sanctions: As prescribed in Penal Code 1999:

Article 270. Violations of housing management regulations

1. Anyone who illegally occupies housing or constructs houses without permission, who has been administratively sanctioned for this behavior, or convicted for this offense and has not yet been cleared of their criminal record, shall be subject to non-custodial reeducation for up to two years or imprisonment from three months to two years.

Illegal housing or structures may be dismantled, compulsorily purchased, or confiscated.

2. The offender may also be subject to a fine ranging from five million VND to fifty million VND.

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