Rights and obligations of buyers of social housing in Vietnam from August 1, 2024

Rights and obligations of buyers of social housing in Vietnam from August 1, 2024 (Image from the Internet)

Rights and obligations of buyers of social housing in Vietnam from August 1, 2024

Based on the provisions in Clause 2, Article 45 of Decree 100/2024/ND-CP, the rights and obligations of purchasers, lessees, and lease-purchasers of social housing are defined as follows:

The rights, duties, and responsibilities of purchasers, lessees, and lease-purchasers of social housing shall be carried out per civil law, housing law, and specified in the Social Housing Purchase, Lease-Purchase, and Lease Contract, including:

- The right to terminate the Social Housing Purchase, Lease-Purchase, and Lease Contract as agreed in the signed Contract;

- Compliance with the terms agreed in the signed Social Housing Purchase, Lease-Purchase, and Lease Contract and the Regulations on management and use of apartment buildings in case the social housing is an apartment;

- The purchasers, lessees, and lease-purchasers must comply with the decisions of the competent authorities regarding the resolution of violations and the settlement of complaints and disputes related to the purchase, lease-purchase, and lease of social housing, and fulfill other rights and obligations as prescribed by law;

- For social housing for lease, the lessee is responsible for returning the house to the lessor as agreed in the signed lease contract; in case the lessee unilaterally terminates the contract before the due date, the lessee must notify the lessor at least one month in advance; if the lessee has paid the rent in advance for the entire rental period as per the lease contract, the lessee is entitled to a refund of the paid rent for the remaining rental period and the deposit (if any), except where unilateral termination of the lease occurs due to a party's breach requiring treatment of the deposit as per the Civil Code; the lessee has the right to purchase the rented house if the owner decides to sell it according to the provisions of Decree 100/2024/ND-CP and related housing law; the lessee shall not independently maintain, renovate the leased house, use the rented house for another purpose, re-lease, or lend to others; the lessee shall not transfer the lease contract or exchange the rental house with others without the lessor's consent;

- If the lease contract expires and the lessee is still eligible for social housing rental, the parties shall negotiate to renew the lease contract; three months before the expiration of the lease contract, if the lessee still needs to rent the house and has not violated any terms leading to mandatory termination as stipulated in the lease contract, the lessee has the right to renew the lease contract or extend the social housing lease contract;

- The social housing tenant is required to deposit an amount agreed upon by both parties, but no more than three months' rent and not less than one month’s rent, to ensure the fulfillment of the tenant's obligations.

Both parties, the lessor and the lessee of social housing, are allowed to negotiate a higher deposit amount than the stated regulation, but not exceeding 50% of the lease value. In the event the lessee deposits as per this regulation, they may receive a rental discount or may not need to pay rent for a specific period as agreed by both parties.

For individuals specified in Clauses 1, 4, and 11 of Article 76 of the Law on Housing 2023, there is no mandatory deposit requirement when renting social housing.

Procedures for reselling social housing within 5 years

Reselling social housing within five years, as defined in Point e, Clause 1, Article 89 of the Law on Housing 2023, shall be carried out as follows:

- In case of resale to the project investor, the seller must complete the contract liquidation procedure with the project investor. The resale shall be conducted following the provisions of Point e, Clause 1, Article 89 of the Law on Housing 2023 and relevant real estate business and land law regulations.

- In case of resale to other eligible subjects, the procedure shall be performed as follows:

+ The purchaser must possess documents verifying their eligibility and condition as guided by the Minister of Construction, the Minister of Defense, and the Minister of Public Security, and submit the file to the local Department of Construction where the project is located to confirm the eligible subject and conditions as stipulated in Point e, Clause 1, Article 38 of Decree 100/2024/ND-CP;

+ The seller must complete the contract liquidation procedure with the project investor (if any). The resale shall be conducted following the provisions of Point e, Clause 1, Article 89 of the Law on Housing 2023 and relevant real estate business and land law regulations.

(Article 39 of Decree 100/2024/ND-CP)

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