Ownership certificates will be granted to buyers of condotels, officetels, resort villas and other properties which are built on commercial and services land and used for accommodation and tourism purposes.

This is a notable point in the Government’s Decree No 10/2023/ND-CP issued early this week about amending and supplementing several points of decrees guiding the implementation of the Law on Land.

The decree said that ownership certificates will be granted providing that the properties meet the established regulations prescribed by the laws on land, construction and real estate business.

Owners of the construction works are responsible before law for meeting all requirements.

The regulation about granting ownership certificate for condotels and officetels, hybrid properties that combine condominium with the option to rent out units like a traditional hotel or office, was expected to tackle the legal bottlenecks for enterprises and individuals investing in these properties.

The 2016-18 period witnessed the rapid development of condotels and officetels with a number of projects built across the country as a new investment wave in the real estate market. However, this segment fell into stagnation in recent years because of the legal bottlenecks in granting ownership certificates, which was not only affecting rights of both buyers and developers but also inserting negative impacts on the market’s transparency, Le Hoang Chau, President of HCM City Real Estate Association said.

Chau stressed that both buyers and developers of condotels and officetels were expected detailed regulations about granting ownership certificates for these properties.

Condotels and officetels are mostly located in high-rise buildings developed on commercial and service land with a maximum use period of 50 years or not exceeding 70 years in special cases. Unlike condominiums which are used for accommodation only, these hybrid properties still lacked a legality.

A report of real estate services firm DKRA Viet Nam showed that the condotel and officetel market did not see any new projects in the first two months of this year. The report pointed out stagnation prolonged from the second quarter of 2022 due to roadblocks in credit, inflationary pressure, high interest rates and caution of investors about the legality of condotels and officetels.

According to Viet Nam Real Estate Association, there are about 239 tourism property projects throughout the country with a total of 114,000 condotels worth around VND297 trillion, nearly 24,400 resort villas worth around VND244 trillion and nearly 30,900 shophouses worth VND154 trillion. This segment was estimated to total VND681 trillion (US$30 billion). — VNS