'Do not reduce the number of foreigners buying houses in Vietnam'

The Ministry of Construction believes that it is not necessary to stipulate that foreigners must have Vietnamese nationality to be able to buy and own houses to encourage investment.

This content was stated by the Ministry of Construction - the drafting agency - in the report sent to the National Assembly to explain and accept the draft Law on Housing (amended) on June 16.

Previously, in the discussion group on June 5 of the draft Housing Law, many National Assembly deputies suggested caution with the regulation allowing foreigners to own houses in Vietnam. Accordingly, some opinions suggested that foreigners must have investment and Vietnamese nationality to be able to buy and own houses.

According to the Ministry of Construction, allowing foreigners to buy and own houses in Vietnam has been implemented since 2008.

This draft revised Housing Law inherits the provisions of the 2014 Housing Law, which stipulates that foreigners who buy and own houses must be allowed to enter Vietnam. At the same time, they must comply with the regulations on residence and entry according to the Law on Entry, Exit, Residence and Transit.

One of the conditions for the subjects to buy and own houses is that they are foreign-invested organizations operating or investing in housing construction in Vietnam. According to the Ministry of Construction, the case of stipulating that foreigners must have Vietnamese nationality to be able to buy houses will narrow the subjects, while the policy is aimed at encouraging foreign investment and creating favorable conditions for foreigners to live and work in Vietnam.

Real estate, apartments, high-rise buildings along Hanoi Highway and Metro Line 1, February 2023. Photo: Quynh Tran — Real estate, apartments, high-rise buildings along Hanoi Highway and Metro Line 1, February 2023. Photo: *Quynh Tran*

In addition, the current Law as well as the draft law amending this time stipulates the conditions for foreigners to buy houses. For example, they are only allowed to buy houses in commercial housing projects, the project must be located in an area that is allowed to ensure that it does not affect national security. Foreign organizations and individuals are not allowed to own more than 30% of apartments in a building or no more than 250 individual houses in the project. Foreigners are only allowed to own houses for a maximum of 50 years.

"These regulations will not affect the implementation of social housing policies, resettlement, and housing for low-income people in urban areas," the Ministry of Construction stated. Therefore, the Ministry proposed to keep the regulations as in the draft Law to continue attracting foreign investment in the current period.

The draft also provides strict regulations, such as foreign organization owners are only allowed to use the house to accommodate employees. The Ministry of Construction explains that this regulation is to ensure housing conditions for foreign individuals and organizations investing in Vietnam, but does not affect the domestic supply. This is also to prevent them from buying and reselling houses for business purposes, not for residential purposes, affecting the domestic housing market.

Since 2014, more than 3,500 foreign organizations and individuals have purchased and owned houses in Vietnam, mostly in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Bac Ninh, Binh Duong, and Ba Ria - Vung Tau. Foreigners buying houses mainly come from Korea, China, Singapore, the US, Australia, Japan, and Malaysia.

The apartments purchased by foreigners recently are mainly in commercial housing projects, so according to the Ministry of Construction, they do not affect the home buying needs of domestic people.

According to the program, the National Assembly will discuss the draft Law on Housing (amended) in the hall on the morning of June 19.

Mr. Minh

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