Minister of Construction: Remove regulations on apartment ownership period

Minister Nguyen Thanh Nghi said the Government agreed not to regulate the term of ownership of apartment buildings after receiving opinions from the National Assembly Standing Committee.

The above information was provided by Minister Nguyen Thanh Nghi when explaining to the National Assembly on June 19 about the regulations on the term of ownership of apartment buildings. The Minister of Construction admitted that this proposal received many different opinions. During the process of drafting the draft, the Ministry of Construction proposed two options, one is limited ownership, the other is not.

However, accepting the opinion of the National Assembly Standing Committee, Mr. Nghi said that the Government agreed to choose the option of not specifying the ownership period as in the draft to submit to the National Assembly for comments.

At the same time, the drafting agency added content on the case of apartment building demolition, the rights and obligations of the owners in relocation, demolition and contribution to reconstruction. The draft also clarifies the responsibilities of related entities to serve as a basis for handling and resolving cases that are facing difficulties and obstacles in practice.

Minister of Construction Nguyen Thanh Nghi explains before the National Assembly, June 19. Photo: Hoang Phong — Minister of Construction Nguyen Thanh Nghi explains before the National Assembly, June 19. Photo: *Hoang Phong*

In previous discussions, some National Assembly deputies also agreed with the plan to maintain long-term ownership of apartments. Mr. Truong Trong Nghia (HCMC) said that the longer the apartment building's lifespan, the greater the economic efficiency for society. Mr. Nghia said that abroad, there are apartment buildings that are hundreds of years old and these places "make up the soul of that urban area".

For example, in Singapore, commercial housing can be owned for up to hundreds of years, but when the safety period is not guaranteed, real estate development companies will negotiate with people to buy back old houses for maintenance, repair, and new construction.

Therefore, Mr. Nghia proposed a plan to maintain long-term ownership apartments, in addition to limited-term ownership. At the same time, people should be able to choose between limited-term and long-term apartments.

However, some delegates also proposed to regulate the house ownership period according to the design period, to avoid disputes and facilitate the renovation of old apartments. Mr. Hoang Van Cuong, Vice President of the National Economics University, said that the current old apartments are low-rise, and demolishing and building high-rise buildings will generate profits and attract investors. Currently, the renovation of old apartments is stuck, due to the fact that apartments are owned indefinitely.

But in the future, all apartments will be high-rise buildings. When they are demolished and no longer have a profit factor, no investor will be foolish enough to invest money in them. People living in those buildings will have to spend their own money to renovate and repair them if they want to have a new house to live in. That is, at some point, high-rise apartments will be difficult to renovate, even after their term has expired.

Therefore, the regulation on the ownership period of apartment buildings, according to the analysis of the Vice President of the National Economics University, will avoid the difficult situation of demolishing and renovating old apartments when "some people do not agree because it is the house they own".

The draft Law on Housing (amended) is expected to be passed at the 6th session, late 2023.

Anh Minh - Son Ha

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