Will regulations regarding the lifespan of apartment buildings be revised?

Báo Quốc Tế•04/09/2023

Will the regulations on the lifespan of apartment buildings be revised when amending the Law on the Capital City? What are the current regulations regarding the lifespan of apartment buildings? - Reader Van Tan

Sửa Luật Thủ đô: Sẽ chỉnh lý quy định niên hạn sử dụng chung cư?

Amending the Capital City Law: Will the regulations on the lifespan of apartment buildings be revised?

This content is addressed in Resolution 135/NQ-CP dated August 30, 2023, of the Government on the specialized session on lawmaking in August 2023.

Regarding some specific issues: Revising regulations on matters that have received feedback from the Standing Committee of the Government, Government members, and Comrade Dinh Tien Dung, Secretary of the Hanoi City Party Committee, specifically:

(1) Application of law: In case a legal document issued after the effective date of the Capital City Law (amended) stipulates a mechanism and policy that is more advantageous than the provisions of this Law, Hanoi may choose to apply that legal document;

(2) Research the mechanism of granting Hanoi the autonomy to decide on the staffing of cadres, civil servants, and public employees to suit the development needs of the Capital;

(3) Construct works directly serving agricultural production in accordance with the law's prescribed principles, and assign the Government to specify the details;

(4) Clearly define the application of preventive measures and ensure the handling of administrative violations;

(5) Mobilizing resources from land use fees and land lease fees under Hanoi's management authority: the draft Law stipulates the principle and assigns the Prime Minister to decide based on Hanoi's annual revenue report;

(6) Regulations on the form of payment for build-transfer (BT) contracts in money and in land;

(7) Unify the regulations on controlled testing and business franchise and management (O&M) models as in the draft Law;

(8) Regulations on the lifespan of apartment buildings (with a time limit) associated with urban reconstruction and renovation and housing policies, purchase, rent, lease-purchase;

(9) The Government issues bonds to Hanoi to mobilize resources to implement key projects and works of the Capital; Hanoi is responsible for paying interest and principal;

(10) Regulations on principles, management methods, and project preparation procedures using recurrent expenditure funds to implement projects for renovation, expansion, or new construction in existing public facilities and assets, without limiting the total monetary value, and decentralizing to Hanoi for consideration and decision;

(11) Legal mechanism for implementing the relocation of buildings, schools, and agency headquarters; construction and management of high-tech zones, cultural villages, etc.

According to the above, regulations on the lifespan of apartment buildings (with a time limit) related to urban reconstruction and renovation, and housing policies, including buying, renting, and lease-purchasing, will be revised when amending the Law on the Capital City.

Current regulations regarding the lifespan of apartment buildings.

Currently, according to Article 99 of the 2014 Housing Law, the lifespan of apartment buildings is as follows:

(1) The service life of an apartment building is determined based on the construction class and the quality inspection conclusion of the provincial housing management agency where the apartment building is located, as stipulated in section (2). The provincial People's Committee allocates funds to carry out the quality inspection of the housing.

(2) When an apartment building has reached the end of its service life as prescribed by the law on construction or is severely damaged and at risk of collapse, not ensuring safety for users, the provincial housing management agency must organize a quality inspection of this apartment building to handle it according to the following regulations:

- If the apartment building still meets quality and safety standards for users, the owner may continue to use it for the period stated in the inspection report, except in cases stipulated in Clauses 2 and 3 of Article 110 of the 2014 Housing Law.

- In cases where apartment buildings are severely damaged, at risk of collapse, and no longer safe for occupants, the provincial housing management agency must issue a quality inspection report and submit it to the provincial People's Committee for written notification to the homeowners;

The content of the notification document must be publicly announced on the electronic portal of the People's Committee and the provincial-level housing management agency, and on local mass media.

Apartment owners are responsible for demolishing the apartment building to renovate and rebuild a new apartment building or handing it over to the competent authority for demolition and construction of another building as prescribed in section (3).

(3) The handling of apartment buildings and land use rights for apartment buildings that are severely damaged, at risk of collapse, and no longer safe is regulated as follows:

- If the land plot with the apartment building is still consistent with the housing construction plan, the owner may renovate or rebuild a new apartment building in accordance with the provisions of Section 2, Chapter VII of the 2014 Housing Law;

- If the land plot containing the apartment building is no longer in accordance with the housing construction plan, the apartment building owner must hand over the building to the competent authority for demolition and construction of another structure in accordance with the approved plan;

- In cases where the owner of an apartment building fails to comply with the demolition order or fails to hand over the apartment, the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee shall decide to forcibly demolish or forcibly relocate the owner to hand over the apartment;

- The provision of housing for owners whose apartment buildings are demolished is carried out in accordance with the provisions of Article 116 of the 2014 Housing Law on the arrangement of resettlement housing.

In the case of demolition for the purpose of rebuilding an apartment building, the owners are entitled to continue exercising their land use rights on the land where the apartment building is located; in the case of demolition for the construction of other structures, the handling of land use rights on the land where the apartment building is located will be carried out according to the provisions of land law.

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