HCM City announces guidelines for issuing apartment ownership certificates
HCM City announces guidelines for issuing apartment ownership certificates
HCM City authorities have issued guidelines to speed up the issuance of land use and home ownership certificates to buyers to prevent disputes with housing developers. 
They divide apartment projects in the city into two categories for collecting land use fees for issuance of ownership certificates.
For apartments with a compound, the entire project area is identified as ‘residential land’ and subject to fees for issuance of certificates for land use rights, house ownership and other land-related assets.
For those without compounds that come with public areas such as parks, schools, hospitals, and main roads connecting to public roads outside the apartment building, only the area of land used for apartment construction is considered ‘residential land.’
For the public areas, the city will organise bids to select investors.
The construction of technical works such as electricity and water supply, drainage, lighting, telecommunications systems must be done by the developer and handed over to the city. No land-use fees will be collected.
The Department of Natural Resources and Environment has been assigned to work with the departments of planning and architecture, construction, and other agencies to classify land areas in each project (both already completed and upcoming) subject to fees for issuance of ownership certificates.
The Department of Construction will be responsible for monitoring compliance with construction norms and penalising violators.
A number of apartments have been built in violation of approved plans and designs in HCM and Ha Noi, delaying the issuance of land use and home ownership certificates, according to city authorities.
Many developers have even mortgaged their buildings to get loans for other projects, meaning buyers have been unable to get ownership certificates, according to the Department of Construction.
Vo Van Hoan, vice chairman of the People’s Committee, said the city would continue to review apartment projects in the city and work out solutions for delays in the issuance of ownership certificates.
He urged agencies to carefully review investors’ financial capacity before licensing their projects. Investors found to have committed violations must be severely sanctioned, he added.
The lack of certificates means apartment buyers cannot mortgage their property or use it as collateral for bank loans or complete inheritance procedures.
This often causes them to sell their apartments at below their real value.
Experts said legal provisions related to investment, construction and land use are riddled with inconsistencies.
HCM City and Ha Noi have seen a rising number of disputes between buyers and apartment developers in recent years, especially with relation to construction progress, services fees, maintenance fees, construction quality, the use of common areas, ownership certificates, and appointment of building managers.
The Government has ordered the cities to resolve the disputes.
