Several issues related to housing transactions

Transactions in housing include agreements on housing sale, lease, and lease purchase, transfer of agreements on commercial housing sale, gifting, exchange, inheritance, mortgage, capital contribution, lending, permission for stay, and management authorization. Each type of transaction has different characteristics with different regulations, however, there are some common issues to note with all housing transactions as follows:

1. Any house regarding transactions in housing sale, lease purchase, gifting, mortgage, or capital contribution shall meet the requirements below:

–  There is the Certificate as prescribed, except for cases prescribed in Clause 2 of this Article 118, Law on Housing 2014.

–  There is no dispute, complaint, or proceedings for homeownership; the term of homeownership has not expired if the house is under a term contract on housing;

–  The house is not distrained;

–  There is no decision on land revocation, notification of housing clearance, or demolishment issued by the competent agency.

2. The Certificate is not required in the following transactions in housing:

–  Transactions in off-the-plan housing sale or mortgage;

–  Transactions in house of gratitude gifting;

–  Transactions in state-owned housing sale or lease purchase; social housing or non-state-owned housing serving the relocation sale or lease purchase; housing sale prescribed in Clause 4 Article 62 in Law on Housing 2014;

–  Transactions in housing lease, lending, permission for stay, management authorization;

–  Transactions in housing inheritance;

–  Transactions in transfer of agreement on commercial housing which is under residential construction projects including the case in which the house is received from the investor but the application for the Certificate of that house has not been sent to the competent agency.

1. Any entity who sells, leases, leases and sells housing, transfers agreements on commercial housing sale, gives, exchanges, bequeaths, mortgages, lends, permit to stay in housing, or authorizes housing management must satisfy the following requirements:

–  He/She is the homeowner, or the person permitted and authorized by the homeowner to enter into housing as prescribed in this Law and law on civil; if the agreement of commercial housing is transferred, he must be the buyer for housing of the investor or the transferee of the agreement on housing sale;

–  If the entity is a person, he must have full civil capacity to enter into transactions in housing as prescribed in law on civil; if the entity is an organization, it must have legal personality, except for the organization giving house of gratitude.

2. If the entity who buys, rents, rents and purchases housing, or receives agreements on commercial housing sale, receives housing exchange, gives, inherit housing, receives housing as capital contribution or mortgage, borrows, or stays in housing, or is authorized to manage housing is an individual, he/she must satisfy following requirements:

–  If the entity is a Vietnamese person, he/she must have full civil capacity to enter into transactions in housing as prescribed in law on civil and he/she is not required to register permanent residence in the place where the house under transactions is located;

–  If the entity is a foreign person, or an oversea Vietnamese, he/she must have full civil capacity to enter into transactions in housing as prescribed in Vietnamese law, qualify for the homeownership in Vietnam as prescribed in this Law and he/she is not required to register temporary or permanent residence in the place where the house under transactions is located.

3. If the entity who buys, rents, rents and purchases housing, or receives agreements on commercial housing sale, receives housing exchange, gives, inherit housing, receives housing as capital contribution or mortgage, or is authorized to manage housing is an organization, it must have legal personality regardless of place where it sets up or registers business; if the entity is a foreign organization, it must qualify for the homeownership in Vietnam as prescribed in Law on Housing 2014; if it is authorized to manage housing, it must provide real estate services and run business in Vietnam as prescribed in law on real estate trading.

1. Content and form

A housing agreement shall be concluded by contracting parties and made in writing, including:

–  Full names of individuals, names of organizations and addresses of contracting parties;

–  Description of characteristics of the house and the piece of land attached to that house. Regarding agreements on apartment sale or lease purchase, contracting parties must state the common areas or common-using areas; private areas; floor area; purposes of the common areas or common-using areas in the apartment building according to approved design;

–  The value of contributed capital, the transaction price of housing if there is a term on pricing in the agreement; regarding transactions in housing sale, lease, or lease purchase which is regulated pricing by the State, contracting parties shall comply with that regulations;

–  Deadline for and method of payment regarding transactions in housing sale, lease, lease purchase or transfer of agreements on housing sale;

–  Deadline for housing transfer; housing warranty duration regarding transactions in buying or renting and buying new house; terms of agreements on housing lease, lease purchase, mortgage, lending, permission for stay, authorization of housing management; deadline for capital contribution;

–  Rights and obligations of contracting parties;

–  Commitments of contracting parties;

–  Other agreements;

–  Effective date of the agreement;

–  Date of agreement;

–  Signatures and full names of contracting parties, or stamps (if any) and positions of the signatories regarding organizations.

2. Notarization and authentication of agreements and effective date of housing agreements

–  Regarding agreements on housing sale, giving, exchange, capital contribution, mortgage, or transfer of agreement on commercial housing sale, it is required to notarize or authenticate the agreement, except for cases prescribed in Clause 2, Article 122 of Law on Housing 2014.

Regarding such agreements, the effective date of the agreement shall be the date on which the agreement is notarized or authenticated.

–  Regarding transactions in giving houses of gratitude; sale or lease purchase of state-owned housing; sale or lease purchase of social housing, housing serving the relocation; contributed housing which one entity of contracting parties is an organization; housing lease, lending, permission for stay, or authorization of housing management, it is not required to notarize or authenticate the agreement, unless contracting parties wish to notarize or authenticate the agreement.

Regarding such agreements, the effective date of the agreement shall be agreed by contracting parties; if the contracting parties do not agree, the effective date of agreement shall be the date on which the agreement is signed.

–  The documents on housing inheritance must be notarized or authenticated as prescribed in law on civil.