Revised law on foreign property ownership has issues to iron out

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The association proposed easing the maximum limitation of houses owned by foreigners within a certain project. In addition, they suggested raising the ownership duration, and crucially, extended visas for foreign property owners in Vietnam.

The main concern from the Ho Chi Minh City Real Estate Association (HOREA) related to the limitation of houses owned by foreigners in a certain project. The revised law stipulates that foreigners are allowed to buy a maximum of 30 per cent of total units in a certain project, or less than 250 houses in every commune. In cases where there are a very high number of apartment buildings in a commune, the percentage of apartments legally available to foreigners will be decided by the government.

This limitation, HOREA said, should be eased in localities where many foreigners currently reside, such as Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Danang, Khanh Hoa, Quang Ninh, Haiphong, Binh Duong, Dong Nai, Ba Ria – Vung Tau, Binh Thuan, and Kien Giang.

In a statement from HOREA, the association said, “We propose that the government and various ministries ease this limitation to create more favourable conditions for local authorities in implementing the revised laws.”

This limitation, it said, could be assigned to the local people's committee to decide how many per cent of their area should be occupied by foreigners.

The revised laws also stipulate that foreigners would have ownership of their house for a 50-year period only, and, should the house be sold on, the new owners would only retain ownership for the remainder of the initial 50-year limit.

HOREA stated that this issue was not suitable and suggested that the time limit be renewed when the house is transferred to the new owner. In addition, HOREA requested that the government clearly point out the areas where foreigners are not allowed to buy housing due to national security concerns.

The association also asked the Ministry of Construction and the State Bank to map out the regulations for foreigners to transfer their money or get loans from banks to buy a property in Vietnam. They stressed that the regulation to transfer their money to abroad after selling the house must also be perfectly clear.

Regarding the granting of visas, the association suggested visas from one to three years for foreigners who buy a house in Vietnam.