Reporting at the session, the Chairman of the Economic Committee, Vu Hong Thanh, stated: Taking into account the opinions of National Assembly deputies, the draft Law on Real Estate Business (amended) has been reviewed regarding its scope of application with the draft Law on Land (amended), the draft Law on Housing (amended), and other related laws. The draft Law ensures there is no overlap or conflict in the scope of application, while also ensuring the consistency and uniformity of the legal system and revising it to clearly define the scope of application, including real estate business, the rights and obligations of organizations and individuals engaged in real estate business, the regulation of the real estate market, and state management of real estate business.
Chairman of the Economic Committee Vu Hong Thanh stated that the draft Law has added provisions on cases where the Law on Real Estate Business does not apply, ensuring consistency with the scope of the draft Law. Regarding the concept of "real estate business," the draft Law has revised the definition of real estate business in the following ways: clarifying the types of real estate business; adding content on the transfer of real estate projects and real estate service business; and retaining the phrase "for the purpose of seeking profit" to align with the concept of business as defined in the Enterprise Law.
Chairman of the National Assembly's Economic Committee, Vu Hong Thanh, presents the report. Photo: Doan Tan/TTXVN
Chairman of the Economic Committee Vu Hong Thanh said that many opinions suggested not making it mandatory but only encouraging real estate transactions to be conducted through real estate exchanges. Some opinions agreed on regulating the types of real estate transactions that can be conducted through real estate exchanges.
The Standing Committee of the Economic Committee noted that, based on the practical review of the implementation of the 2014 Law on Real Estate Business, current real estate exchanges do not ensure transparency or legal security of transactions because the real estate exchange is a beneficiary in the transaction relationship. Mandating transactions through real estate exchanges is inconsistent with the current legal system, hinders the freedom of business, and poses a risk of exploiting legal regulations to create monopolies and disrupt the market, failing to ensure the development of a healthy, safe, and sustainable real estate market.
In response to feedback from National Assembly deputies, the draft Law has been revised as follows: The mandatory requirement for real estate transactions to be conducted through real estate exchanges in Chapter VII of the draft Law has been removed to facilitate investors and customers in freely choosing transaction methods; Clause 7 of Article 8 of the draft Law on the State's policy on real estate investment and business has been added, stating that "the State encourages organizations and individuals to conduct transactions for buying, selling, transferring, leasing, and renting houses, construction works, and land use rights through real estate exchanges."
The draft law proposes two options regarding deposits in the business of housing and future construction projects.
Option 1: The regulation stipulates that "Real estate project developers are only permitted to collect deposits as agreed with customers when the project's basic design has been appraised by a state agency and the developer possesses one of the land use right certificates. The deposit agreement must clearly state the selling price or lease-purchase price of the house or construction project, and the deposit amount must not exceed 10% of the selling price or lease-purchase price of the house or construction project."
Option 2: The regulation states that "The investor of a real estate project may only collect deposits from customers when the housing or construction project has met all the conditions for being put into business and the transaction has been conducted in accordance with the provisions of this Law."
The Standing Committee of the Economic Committee chose option 1 because, once the basic design is appraised by a specialized construction agency, the project's legal status will be sufficiently clear to buyers. Businesses will have more control over their business plans and can finalize the construction design after the basic design is completed.
According to the Standing Committee of the Economic Committee, the deposit acceptance rate needs to be regulated at a reasonable level to ensure that the purpose of the deposit is not for real estate businesses to receive deposit money as a channel for raising capital.
If the deposit rate is too high, it will not deter unqualified real estate businesses from entering the market, increasing the risk of capital misappropriation, fraud, and misappropriation of customers' (citizens') assets. If the deposit rate is too low, it will not effectively bind the parties involved, and the parties may be willing to violate commitments and accept the loss of their deposit.
Therefore, the draft Law stipulates a maximum deposit rate of 10% of the sale or lease-purchase price. In addition, the draft Law adds a provision requiring the parties to clearly state the sale or lease-purchase price in the deposit agreement, thus binding their responsibilities and ensuring the conclusion of the contract.
According to the Standing Committee of the Economic Committee, under Option 2, allowing the collection of deposits when "housing and construction projects have met all the conditions for being put into business and have conducted transactions in accordance with the provisions of this Law" would no longer have the meaning of a deposit but would essentially become a contract payment according to the progress of the project.
Previously, at the 5th Session, the National Assembly discussed and gave opinions on the draft Law on Real Estate Business (amended). Based on the opinions of National Assembly deputies, the Standing Committee of the Economic Committee, in coordination with the drafting agency ( Ministry of Construction ) and relevant agencies and organizations, researched, incorporated, and explained the revisions to the draft Law. Simultaneously, workshops were organized to consult with experts, managers, and those affected by the draft Law to gather more theoretical and practical basis for perfecting the draft Law.
The revised draft Law comprises 10 chapters and 84 articles, omitting 9 articles and adding 1 article compared to the draft Law submitted to the National Assembly at the 5th Session.
According to VNA/News Agency
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