Condotel legal framework takes center stage at forum
Condotel legal framework takes center stage at forum
Officials, experts and firms at a real estate forum last week underscored the need to issue clear regulations on the condotel segment, VnEconomy news site reported.
Nguyen Tran Nam, chairman of the Vietnam Real Estate Association (VNREA), said that resort properties are drawing significant attention from investors, but in recent years, many problems, especially with the legality of condotels, have affected the real estate market.
Nam said that multiple bottlenecks are clouding the condotel segment, including the issuance of long-term land use right certificates, the maximum duration of land allocation to businesses being fixed at only 50 years and the murky functionalities of condotels in terms of living and business.
Besides this, it is vital to remove some regulations on condotel transfer and trading activities, future products, guarantees for buyers and lessors and sales of condotels to foreigners in the condotel segment.
However, many enterprises operating resorts and tourism properties, including condotels, have not been able to apply for permanent condotel land use right certificates, Nam said.
Nam backed the opinion of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, saying that if it is used as a business product, its owner should be granted fixed-term land right use certificates, but if it is a housing product, it could be given a permanent land use certificate so that the owners’ rights can be protected.
Also Nam pointed out that the ownership of condotels has been discussed by enterprises over the past few years, and VNREA has repeatedly proposed issuing a resolution and detailed guidance for the condotel segment in late 2019.
Meanwhile, Professor Dang Hung Vo, former Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment, said that the owners of resort properties need long-term land use, which would attract secondary investors.
Private investors would be willing to invest in resort properties if they can get long-term land use right certificates, Vo said, adding that they would be hesitant if the maximum duration of land allocation for condotels is capped at only 50 years under the prevailing rules.
The priority is to complete the legal framework to manage and develop multifunctional properties, Vo said. It is necessary to add some regulations on governance methods for multifunctional property products to the laws on Land, Real Estate and Housing, he added.
In addition, Vo proposed allowing investors in real estate projects involved in tourism business operations to select the terms of land use rights and pay fees for those rights.
Do Huy Hoang from the Real Estate Market and Housing Management Agency pointed out that the prime minister has issued Directive 11, rolling out some solutions to improve the development of the property market and asking the Ministry of Construction to supplement requirements and standards for the construction of apartment buildings, condotels, resort villas and officetels.
The Ministry of Construction is working on draft amendments to some regulations in Circular 02 on managing the use of apartments and trading condotels and officetels. The amended circular is expected to be released in late 2019.
