Vietnam: What does apartment building maintenance include?

What is an apartment building?

Pursuant to Article 3 of the Law on Housing 2014, apartment building means any multi-storey building which has multiple apartments, public stairs, hall ways, private areas, common areas and common infrastructural works for organizations, households or individuals, including apartment buildings for residential use and mixed-use buildings for both business and residential purposes.

 Vietnam: What does apartment building maintenance include? (Internet image) 

What does apartment building maintenance include?

Pursuant to Article 107 of the Law on Housing 2014, the maintenance of an apartment building includes the maintenance of private areas and maintenance of common areas. The homeowner of the apartment building must maintain the private areas and provide funding for maintenance of common areas in the apartment building.

Regarding the multi-owner building, the funding for maintenance of common areas shall be provided as prescribed in Article 108 of the Law on Housing 2014 and that funding shall be used as prescribed in Article 109 of the Law on Housing 2014.

The maintenance work, program and management of documents on the apartment building maintenance shall comply with the law on construction.

Funding for maintenance of common areas in the multi-owner building in Vietnam 

Pursuant to Article 108 of the Law on Housing 2014, funding for maintenance of common areas in the multi-owner building in Vietnam s prescribed as follows:

- Funding for maintenance of common areas in the multi-owner building shall comply with regulations below:

+ Regarding apartments or other areas in the apartment building which are sold, or leased and sold by the investor, the investor must pay 2% of value of the apartments or other areas; this amount of money shall be included in the selling price or lease purchase price paid by the buyer or lessee when transfer the apartments or other area, which is stated in the agreement;

+ Regarding apartments or other areas in the apartment building which are not sold, or lease and sold by the investor or have been not sold, or leased and sold up to the date on which the apartment building is put into operation, except for the common areas, the investor must paid 2% of value of the remaining apartments or areas; this value shall be determined according to the highest selling price of apartments in the apartment building.

- In case the maintained funding prescribed in Clause 1 of Article 108 of the Law on Housing 2014 is not enough for the maintenance of common areas in the apartment building, the homeowner must provide additional funding in proportion to the areas under private ownership of every homeowner.

- In case the investor concludes agreements on sale or lease purchase of apartments or other areas in the apartment building before July 1, 2006 but he/she has not collected contribution towards maintenance of common areas, the homeowners of apartment building shall hold an Apartment building meeting to determine the contribution; that contribution may be paid monthly into the deposit account in deposit account a credit institution operating in Vietnam made by the Management board or collected when the apartment building required maintenance.

- In case the investor concludes agreements on sale or lease purchase of apartments or other areas in the apartment building after July 1, 2006, but the maintenance funding is not agreed in the housing sale and lease purchase agreement, the investor shall make this contribution; in case the selling prices or lease purchase prices in the agreement are not included the maintenance funding, the investor shall make the contribution relating to funding for common areas as prescribed in Clause 3 of Article 108 of the Law on Housing 2014.

- In case the apartment building for residential and commercial use is divided into separate areas in the same building including apartment areas, business areas, and each area has common areas which are separated from the common areas of the entire building which is independently managed, the investor and the buyer or lessee of apartments or other areas in the apartment building shall agree to divide the funding for the maintenance of common areas into smaller parts in order to manage and use as prescribed in Clause 4 Article 109 of the Law on Housing 2014.

Mai Thanh Loi

>> CLICK HERE TO READ THIS ARTICLE IN VIETNAMESE