HA NOI (Biz Hub)— The new decree, No 7, which requires home buyers to pay for land use rights when buying an apartment, has stirred up a debate in the past few days.

However, Tran Duc Thang, head of the Ministry of Finance's Public Asset Management Department said people had misunderstood the decree.

Thang said home buyers would not have to pay for land use rights while buying apartments as the Government had already collected the money from property investors.

He said the decree stipulated that land use right money would be paid at apartment projects which the Government directly manages and operates.

Only those people who buy houses belonging to the State after a rental period would have to pay.

The misunderstanding, however, has become a sore point for home buyers while giving new hope to property investors.

Nguyen Van Hai, a resident in Hoang Mai District who had paid 70 per cent for an apartment, questioned the efficiancy of the decree.

Hai said investors added money for land use rights to the selling price. If the regulation was correct, customers would have to pay double for the apartment.

He said selling prices would rise if the fee was added. The freeze in the real estate market was due to high selling prices which did not suit people's incomes, he added.

However, property investors were happy with the regulation.

Nguyen The Diep, Chairman of the Reenco Song Hong Company, told Dat Viet newspaper that the decree would facilitate businesses which have been in the doldrums.

Hua Vinh Cuong, Deputy General Director of Song Da Thang Long Company added that this would be good news and reduce the burden for investors as land use rights accounted for 15 to 20 per cent of a project's total investment. — VNS