Government proposes to limit apartment ownership duration

With the law currently not spelling out the ownership tenure, people assume their ownership is permanent, and many refuse to relocate, making it difficult to renovate or demolish old apartment buildings to ensure safety, it said.

“It is necessary to supplement regulations on the tenure of use of apartment buildings, and establishment and termination of ownership of apartment buildings,” the draft says.

Slated for discussion by the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on March 17, it says the useful life of apartment buildings will be fixed based on their design documents and the tenure determined by competent authorities.

Ownership will end when apartment buildings are due for demolition, though owners can continue to use the land portion of the apartment buildings. But they need to pay the cost of constructing new buildings.

In proposing the amendments to the Housing Law, the Ministry of Construction said it wants to limit ownership to 50-70 years, which is the average lifespan of buildings.

But many analysts want the current freehold provision to remain unchanged because apartment ownership is recognized by the government and it is a large asset for many people.