To reflect practical conditions

Alongside the influx of FDI, the number of foreigners working and living in Vietnam has continued to rise. Vietnam’s 2026 Economic Census found that the country had 29,786 FDI enterprises as of the end of 2025, while a report reviewing the implementation of Decree No. 219/2025/ND-CP showed that 162,858 foreign workers from approximately 110 countries and territories were employed in Vietnam as of the end of last year. Technical workers accounted for the largest group, at 85,951, followed by 44,342 specialists, 22,416 managers, and 10,149 executive directors. These figures point to substantial demand for housing among foreigners living in Vietnam.

To reflect changing conditions and the country’s development priorities, as well as to institutionalize new policies and orientations set by the Party and the government, the draft revised Law on Housing proposes several amendments, including changes to the rules governing homeownership in Vietnam by foreign organizations and individuals.

Policy adjustments

Vietnam first piloted a policy allowing foreigners to own homes in 2008 under Resolution No. 19/2008/QH12. The right was subsequently formalized under the Law on Housing 2014, which took effect on July 1, 2015, and was retained in the Law on Housing 2023, which expanded eligibility and eased conditions for foreign homeownership in Vietnam.

Since the Law on Housing 2023 took effect on August 1, 2024, the number of homes owned by foreign nationals in Vietnam has risen sharply compared to previous years. According to a report from the Vietnam Association of Realtors (VARS), only slightly more than 3,000 foreigners purchased homes in Vietnam between 2015 and the end of the third quarter of 2023. Most were apartments in commercial housing projects, concentrated in major cities and provinces. 

However, the Ministry of Construction (MoC)’s Report No. 356/BC-BXD, dated September 9, 2026, stated that ownership certificates were issued for approximately 6,188 homes nationwide purchased by foreign organizations and individuals.

Foreign buyers tend to favor projects with integrated planning and comprehensive amenities. This trend suggests that the homeownership policy under the Law on Housing 2023 has been implemented effectively, encouraging foreign organizations and individuals to invest in residential property in Vietnam and providing housing for those living in the country. It has also helped absorb some of the market’s high-end housing supply, supported real estate market development, improved infrastructure and urban environments, and stimulated economic growth and local employment.

After more than two years of implementation, several provisions of the Law on Housing 2023 have revealed shortcomings and inconsistencies. 

Regarding housing for foreigners, some stakeholders have raised concerns that the Law on Housing 2023 and the Land Law 2024 do not recognize foreign individuals as land users and do not specify how ownership certificates should be issued when a homeowner does not hold land-use rights over the underlying plot. Current legislation also lacks provisions governing land-use rights when homes are sold to foreign organizations or individuals and when foreign owners subsequently resell them to Vietnamese buyers.

This raises several practical questions. If a home is sold to a foreign buyer without transferring land-use rights, who retains those rights? If a foreign owner without land-use rights resells the property to a Vietnamese buyer who is entitled to such rights, how should the transfer contract be handled, and how should related issues be resolved? At recent meetings, several National Assembly (NA) deputies called for a review of these provisions to ensure consistency with relevant rules under the Civil Code and the Law on Management and Use of Public Property, particularly those concerning assets established as collectively owned by the people and the handling of such assets.

Redefining foreign homeownership

Vietnam is entering a new stage of development, with ambitious targets and stricter legal requirements. As a result, certain provisions of the Law on Housing, including those governing homeownership by foreign nationals, need to be revised to reflect practical conditions and the development orientations of the Party and government. The proposed changes also aim to address existing shortcomings, improve consistency across the legal system, establish a more transparent and secure regulatory environment with lower compliance costs, improve the investment and business climate, and simplify administrative procedures.

Deputy Minister of Construction Nguyen Van Sinh said the draft had been revised to incorporate several changes. These include removing provisions on accommodation for specialists and workers outside industrial parks and in dormitories; excluding foreign workers from the group eligible to rent social housing; adjusting the rules on foreign ownership of landed houses; and revising provisions on the rights and obligations of foreign owners, as well as the handling of residential property when the ownership period expires.

The MoC had initially proposed adding rules on accommodation for these groups following feedback from several agencies. The draft had included definitions, eligibility criteria, construction investment procedures, and operational management requirements under Clause 8, Article 2, and Articles 50 and 51.

However, the NA Standing Committee and the Committee on Legal and Judicial Affairs called for careful consideration before including this type of accommodation in the draft law. They argued that the boundary between social welfare policy and commercial real estate activity remained unclear, creating a risk that the policy could be exploited or transformed into commercial property projects, potentially affecting policies on accommodation in industrial parks and social housing. The Ministry of Public Security (MPS) also proposed removing the relevant provisions.

On the proposal to remove foreign workers from the group eligible to rent social housing, the MoC noted that Resolution No. 201/2025/QH15 allows businesses, State agencies, political organizations, socio-political organizations, and public service units to rent social housing for their own officials, civil servants, public employees, and workers, including foreign workers. The Ministry had proposed incorporating this provision into the revised law.

However, after reviewing feedback from the MPS, the MoC proposed excluding foreign workers. The police argued that foreign workers employed by businesses are largely specialists, managers, and highly-skilled technical staff whose incomes are relatively high, making them ineligible for preferential social housing policies. They also noted that separate policies already provide accommodation for workers in industrial parks.

The draft also removes the right of foreign organizations and individuals to own landed houses. Under the Law on Housing 2023, foreign owners may hold up to 250 villas or adjoining houses in an area with a population equivalent to that of a ward. If the draft is approved and takes effect, foreign organizations and individuals would no longer be allowed to own landed houses in residential projects, including villas and adjoining houses, and would be limited to apartments in housing development projects.

Another proposal in the draft allows the government to determine the foreign ownership quota for apartments, replacing the current law’s explicit 30 per cent cap. Under existing rules, the Ministry of National Defense and the MPS are responsible for identifying areas where national defense and security must be safeguarded. Local authorities then use this information to determine and publicly announce which projects may be purchased by foreign buyers.

NA deputies have argued that this is a sensitive issue involving national defense, security, and the rights and obligations of foreign nationals in Vietnam. They called for consultations with competent authorities and consideration of whether the ownership cap should remain explicitly stated in the law.

Foreign ownership

Speaking during a group discussion on October 22, Mr. Nguyen Thanh Tam, NA Deputy from Ho Chi Minh City, said allowing foreign organizations and individuals to legally own homes could help attract investment. However, ownership limits also affect population management, territorial administration, and national defense and security, particularly in border areas, along coastlines, on islands, and near critical infrastructure.

He said a higher foreign ownership rate should not automatically be considered a security risk, but any adjustment must be evidence-based and subject to clear oversight mechanisms. Mr. Tam therefore proposed retaining the 30 per cent cap in the law while authorizing the government to regulate how the quota is calculated, how apartment numbers are managed, how buildings with multiple sections or projects with several buildings are treated, and how subsequent transactions are monitored.

Other NA deputies called for further impact assessments of the proposal to narrow the scope of foreign homeownership, noting that it could affect Vietnam’s commitments on investment and trade in services as well as the principle of protecting foreign investors’ lawful assets.

In response, the MoC said removing foreign ownership of landed houses was intended to meet stricter requirements for improving the legal framework. The Ministry cited Resolution No. 21-NQ/TW from the Party Central Committee, which sets out the direction for amendments to the Land Law and related legislation. The Resolution calls for preventing the privatization of land and prohibiting foreigners from acquiring land-use rights through any form of transfer. The proposed change would also improve consistency between housing and land legislation.

For apartments, the Land Law 2024 and the draft revised Land Law stipulate that land-use rights associated with apartment buildings are held collectively, while individual apartment owners receive ownership certificates covering their respective units. Under this framework, when an apartment is sold to a foreign organization or individual, the ownership certificate would cover the apartment itself, while the underlying land-use rights would remain collective. If the property is subsequently sold to a Vietnamese buyer, the buyer would hold apartment ownership rights linked to land-use rights in accordance with land legislation.

The draft also sets out eligibility requirements for foreign homeownership. Individuals must be permitted to enter Vietnam, while foreign organizations must be authorized to operate in the country. It also adds provisions governing the disposal of residential property when the ownership period expires. 

The proposed changes would not eliminate foreign homeownership in Vietnam or necessarily tighten the numerical limit on homes sold to foreign buyers. Rather, they would narrow the types of property foreigners can own, from apartments and landed houses to apartments only.

According to the MoC, this change would have a limited impact on the housing segment serving foreign buyers because demand for homeownership among foreigners remains relatively modest and is concentrated primarily in apartments. 

Since the Law on Housing 2023 took effect, foreign organizations and individuals have acquired only 1,519 apartments. Including properties acquired in previous years, the total number of homes owned by foreign organizations and individuals stands at approximately 6,000; a small figure relative to both Vietnam’s foreign resident population and the country’s overall housing supply.