Hanoi (VNS/VNA) - Foreigners have the right to ownhouses for a set period, but land ownership is not permitted. Once theirownership duration concludes, they may renew it once and have the privilege topurchase and sell houses similarly to local residents.

These are the most recent guidelines incorporated by the Ministry ofConstruction (MoC) in the revised draft of the Housing Law, following feedbackfrom the National Assembly (NA) deputies.

In a report detailing the NA deputies' views on the updated draft Housing Lawsubmitted to the Government, the MoC noted that a NA deputy proposed that therevised Housing Law should only address the house ownership in Vietnam byforeign entities and individuals.

The right to use land should be excluded.

Moreover, the MoC has suggested that the Government add provisionsabout extending the period of house ownership in Vietnam for foreigners.

The Government should include a clause stating that if a foreigner purchases ahouse in Vietnam and subsequently sells it to Vietnamese nationals or those ofVietnamese descent living abroad, the buyer should enjoy the same rights andresponsibilities as local individuals.

Nguyen Van Dinh, a legal expert, told the TienPhong (Vanguard) newspaper that if a project is sold to a foreigner afterfully complying with the laws on housing and real estate, and the foreigneralso fully meets the conditions to buy and own houses in Vietnam, he/she needsto be granted a certificate.

“If the draft law does not stipulate the land use rights offoreigner, it will prolong the problems of the Law on Land 2013 and conflictwith the Law on Housing 2014,” said Dinh.

Specifically, foreign individuals or organisations intending to legallypurchase a house are not issued certificates by the State, whereas this provisionis available for other buyers, including Vietnamese living overseas.Consequently, the nation fails to appeal to a potentially significant segmentof buyers, perhaps those of high calibre, who wish to purchase homes and settlein Vietnam.

Such challenges have led to a diminishing enthusiasm for thepolicy of selling homes to foreigners as outlined in the 2014 Housing Law,noted Dinh.

Under the present Housing Law, foreigners who can own houses in Vietnamencompass foreign entities and individuals who invest in housing constructionventures within the country; foreign-backed firms, representative offices orbranches of overseas businesses, foreign investment funds, and internationalbanks that operate in Vietnam. Additionally, foreign individuals permitted toenter the country can also own houses.

The legislation further states that foreigners can only acquire homes in Vietnamthrough specific means: by investing in housing construction ventures; bypurchasing, leasing, receiving as a gift, or inheriting apartments orindividual homes within housing development projects, barring regionsdesignated for national defence and security as determined by the Government.

The 2013 Land Law dictates that foreigners are not qualified for landallocation, leasing, land use rights acknowledgement, or the receipt of theserights. Hence, foreigners are prohibited from transferring land use rights orpurchasing land in Vietnam./.