Competent authorities should take prompt action to demarcate areas subject to foreign property ownership ban so as to facilitate foreigners’ purchase of houses in the country.
Such is proposed by the Ministry of Construction in an official letter recently sent to the Ministry of National Defense, the Ministry of Public Security and provincial-level People’s Committees.
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| Foreigners have a look at a resort project of Hung Thinh company in Vung Tau city, Ba Ria-Vung Tau province__Photo: Internet |
As explained by the Ministry of Construction, the 2014 Housing Law, in its Chapter 9, specifies that foreign organizations and individuals may purchase, rent-purchase, and receive donations or inheritances being, apartments and detached houses built under housing development projects in Vietnam. However, foreign property ownership is banned in national defense and security maintenance areas stipulated by the Government.
In light of this, in Decree No. 99 of 2015, the Government assigned the Ministries of National Defense and Public Security to specify national defense and security areas in each locality and then notify them in writing to provincial-level People’s Committees for use as a legal basis for identifying commercial housing projects which are not allowed to sell houses to foreigners.
However, until now, local administrations have not yet received any information on such issue from defense and security agencies and therefore encountered a great obstacle in attracting foreigners to buy homes in Vietnam.-(VLLF)
