Buying property in Vietnam as a foreigner: what the law says

This guide summarises what Vietnam’s Housing Law 2023 (Luật Nhà ở) says about foreign individuals owning a home, Articles 17 to 21 (official text on the Government portal, in Vietnamese). Government decrees fill in the detail. The guide states the law only and names no project.

Two rules matter most for a buyer from abroad: ownership has a fixed term, and it is limited to commercial housing projects.

Who may own

A foreign individual who is allowed to enter Vietnam may own a home, unless they hold diplomatic or consular privileges and immunities (Article 17, clause 1; Article 18, clause 3). The law also lets some foreign organisations own homes; this guide covers individuals.

A foreigner married to a Vietnamese citizen living in Vietnam may own a home with the same rights as a Vietnamese citizen (Article 20, clause 2, point c).

What you may buy, and how

A foreign individual may own both apartments and individual houses, but only commercial housing inside a housing investment project, in a project outside areas reserved for defence and security (Article 17, clause 2). There are three routes:

• buying or lease-purchasing from the project’s developer;
• receiving such a home as a gift or inheritance;
• buying or lease-purchasing from another foreigner who acquired the home in one of the first two ways.

A foreigner who is given or inherits a home outside these cases, or beyond the quantity limits, receives only its value and cannot be registered as owner (Article 20, clause 2, point b).

Quantity limits

Foreign organisations and individuals together may own no more than 30% of the apartments in one apartment building. For individual houses, such as villas and townhouses, the limit is 250 houses in an area with the population of one ward (Article 19, clause 1). Where that area has several apartment buildings, or for houses along one street, the limit applies to the area as a whole (Article 19, clause 2).

A buyer cannot check these quotas alone. Ask the developer or the local housing authority whether the home is still within the share open to foreigners.

How long ownership lasts

A foreign individual owns the home for the term agreed in the contract, up to 50 years from the date the certificate is issued. On request the term can be extended once, by up to another 50 years. The term is printed on the certificate (Article 20, clause 2, point c).

Before the term ends, the owner may sell or give the home to someone who is allowed to own housing in Vietnam. If the term ends and the home has been neither sold nor given away, it becomes public property (Article 20, clause 2, point đ).

Renting out, taxes and fees

A foreign owner may rent the home out for any purpose the law allows. Before renting, the owner must notify the local housing authority where the home is in writing and pay tax on the rental income (Article 21, clause 2, point a).

On purchase, a foreign buyer pays the registration fee like any other buyer 1. On a later sale, a non-resident individual seller also pays personal income tax on transfer of 2% of the price 2. The transaction costs calculator treats every buyer the same way.

The law may change

A draft amendment to the Housing Law proposes narrowing foreigners’ right to own individual houses. On the check date at the top of this page it was still a proposal, not law. Before you pay a deposit, check the text in force or ask a lawyer or notary.