1st of July 2015 marks the effective date of the New Housing Law which allows oversea Vietnamese and foreigners who has visa to enter Vietnam, as well as foreign invested enterprises (FIEs) to buy projects, houses in Vietnam. The ownership rights include the right to use, sell, mortgage or contribute houses as capital to an entity. Project house means condominium and houses in a real estate project.
Removing many of the previous restrictions on foreign individual buyers, the New Housing Law can be summarized as below:
WHO: Individuals: all foreigners who are granted a visa to Vietnam are allowed to buy residential properties in the country.
ENTITIES: all foreign investment funds, banks, Vietnamese branches and representative offices of overseas companies are eligible to buy.
TYPES: All types of residential sector including condominiums and landed property such as villa and townhouses. (previously only applicable to condominiums)
VOLUME: There is no limit on the number of dwelling units a foreigner can buy, but the total number of dwelling units owned by foreigners must not exceed 30% of the total units in one condominium complex, or not exceed 250 landed property units in one particular administrative (or the equivalent of) ward. (Previously an eligible foreigner could buy only one condominium in Vietnam.)
PURPOSE OF PURCHASE: The properties owned by foreigners can be sub-leased, inherited and collateralized (previously only for owner occupying purpose).
TENURE: The tenure allowed to foreign individuals buying homes is a 50-year leasehold with renewal possibility upon expiration, which remains unchanged compared to previously stipulated. Foreign individuals married to Vietnamese citizens are entitled to freehold tenure.
However opening the new law may sound, there has been a concern over the possibility of the law to be effective. If you are foreigner living in Vietnam, would you buy youself the Vietnam house? If you have available fund, would you consider buying house in Vietnam an option of investment?