FOREIGNER INVESTOR GUIDE - Cornerstone · The potential for Vietnam real estate appreciation is bolstered by strong economic fundamentals such as rising GDP (6-7% average annually),

FOREIGNERINVESTOR

G U I D E I N V I E T N A M

THE NEW RESIDENTIAL HOUSING LAW

WHAT IS “SPA”?

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CONTENTS

WHY VIETNAM ?

8WHAT IS “PINKBOOK”?

OTHER IMPORTANT TERMS 9

TAX 12

UPON & AFTER HANDOVER 13

RENTAL INCOME & INSURANCE 14

WHY VIETNAM ?

The potential for Vietnam real estate appreciation is bolstered

by strong economic fundamentals such as rising GDP (6-7%

average annually), growing population close to 100 million (Ideal

Population for developing itself), and large- scale infrastructure

improvements. The key cities in Vietnam are Ho Chi Minh City,

Hanoi and Danang. Potential investors can choose to invest for

any of the following reasons:

•As a secondary house or investment

•As a strong source of rental income with high rental yieldpotential

•As a vacation property

•For capital appreciation

THE NEW RESIDENTIALHOUSING LAWSINCE JULY, 2015

INDIVIDUALS

All foreigners who are granted permission to enter

Vietnam (Stamp in Passport) are allowed to buy and

own residential properties within a property

development project in the country (with the exception

of foreigners entitled to diplomatic or consular

immunities and privileges prescribed by law).

ENTITIES

All legal entities like foreign investment funds, banks,

Vietnamese branches, and representative offices of

overseas companies, with investment license, which are

established in Vietnam are eligible to buy with 20%

transfer tax instead of 2%. (20% is tax deductible).

TYPES

The new Residential Housing Law allows the eligible

foreign entity and individual to buy and own all

residential sectors including apartments and landed

properties such as villas and townhouses within the

residential property development projects. Currently

there are three main types : Apartments or

Condominium, Officetele, and Condotel.

PURPOSE OFPURCHASE

The properties owned by foreigners can be sold, sub-

leased, inherited and collateralized (previously only for

owner occupying purpose).

VOLUME

The rule is that foreigners has 30% quota for Condominiums, and 10% cap for

Villas/Townhouses (previously foreign residents with minimum of 1 year working visa

could purchase only one apartment in Vietnam, and no Villas/Townhouses were allowed

to purchase).

Foreign entity and individual ownership of units in an apartment building may not

exceed 30% of total units in the project, market practice is usually per block.

For housing projects with villa or townhouse, foreign ownership quota should not exceed

10% of total number of villas and townhouses.

Foreign owners should not purchase more than 250 units within ward.

TENURE

The tenure allowed to foreign individuals buying homes is 50 years from the date

the authority issues the house ownership certificate to the relevant owner with

renewal possibility upon expiration. Long Term Lease is 50 years from the project

license date. Foreign individuals married to Vietnamese citizens are entitled to

freehold tenure. Eligible foreign entities shall have the tenure of ownership of

apartment/house in accordance with the duration as stated in their business

license/investment certificate.

YEARS

WHAT IS “SPA”,SALES & PURCHASE AGREEMENT?

SALES & PURCHASE AGREEMENT(“SPA”)

The SPA is a legally binding contract between the buyer and developer to prove that a house

or an apartment is sold to the buyer by the developer. The SPA is also used as evidence of

ownership of the house or apartment before the house ownership certificate has been granted

to the owner. It is used for applying for house ownership certificate for the owner. The template

of the SPA is in accordance with the standard template as provided by the Ministry of

Construction and is to be registered with Consumer Protection Bureau under the Ministry of

Industry of Trade. As such, the SPA is a standard template which is not to be changed or

amended.

The owner of apartment/house shall have the following legal rights:

• The right to inviolability of houses under his/her lawful ownership.

• To use houses for residential purposes and other purposes not banned by law.

• To be granted certificates for houses under his/her lawfulownership.

•To sell, transfer sales & purchase contracts, lease, put for lease-purchase gift, exchange,

contribute as capital, lend, or authorize management of his/her houses.

In the case of donation or bequeathal of houses to subjects ineligible to own housesin Vietnam, such subjects are only entitled to the value of such houses

• To use public facilities in the housing area in accordance with Housing laws and

other relevantlaws.

• To maintain, renovate, demolish, or rebuild his/her house as prescribed in Housing

Law and law on construction.

•To receive the compensation as prescribed in regulations of law or payment

according to fair market price when their house is demolished, imposed

compulsory purchase order, or commandeered by the State for national defense

and security purposes; for socio-economic development purposes, or in the state

of war, state of emergency, or disaster situations.

• Rights to file complaints, denunciation, or lawsuits over violations against his/her

lawful ownership and other violations against law on housing.

WHAT IS “PINKBOOK”, HOUSE OWNERSHIP CERTIFICATE?

HOUSE OWNERSHIPCERTIFICATE

The “House Ownership Certificate”, which stands for “Certificate of land use rights or house and land-attached asset ownership” is the certificate granted by the State Authority

to certify/recognize the ownership of an eligible individual/organization over his/her/their land or house. It is commonly referred to as the “ownership certificate” or “pink book”.

The ownership term of foreigners is 50 YEARS from the day on which the ownership certificate is granted.

• If a foreign individual marries a Vietnamese citizen or an overseas Vietnamese (refer to Viet Kieu), he/she qualifies for stable and long-term home ownership and has all rights

of a homeowner similar toVietnamese citizens.

• During the ownership term, the homeowner is entitled to gift or sell their house(s) to individuals/entities eligible for homeownership in Vietnam; if not, upon the expiry of the

ownership term, their house(s) shall belong to the State.

WHAT IS “VAT, MAINTENANCE FEE, MANAGEMENT FEE”?

RED INVOICE / VALUE ADDEDTAX (VAT) INVOICE

“Red invoice” is a legitimate invoice which is legally called “Value Added Tax

Invoice”. It is issued by the seller to state that information on goods/services

are sold/ provided in accordance with laws, for organizations/ individuals to

declare and payValue Added Tax.

Currently, the Value Added Tax (VAT) tariff is 10% of the house/apartment

price.

In comparison, a receipt is a form of invoice showing a payment transaction

has been completed for the amount issued by the seller to the buyer. It is to

help both contractual parties record that a certain amount has been paid by

the buyer to the seller which is lawful and recognized by laws.

*It is very important that buyers keep all the receipts to purchase

apartment for smooth transaction to transfer money back to his/her

country.

MAINTENANCEFEE

The “maintenance fee”, commonly referred to as “sinking fund”, is a fund

contributed by buyers of a development to maintain commonly owned

areas of the development. It is used for maintenance, small repairs,

medium repairs and overhauls of commonly owned areas in order to

preserve quality. Currently the sinking fund is 2% of the house/apartment

price before VAT. It is possible to collect Maintenance Fee if fund is used.

VAT.

MANAGEMENTFEE

The “monthly management fee” is a fee contributed by residents to

managing operations of the development, such as operating the elevator

system, generator and providing services for the building such as security,

pest control, rubbish collection service, etc. Management Fee is calculated

per Net Salable Area(NSA).

HOW IS “NSA & CFA MEASURED IN VIENTMAM”?

NET SALABLEAREA (NSA)

Commonly referred to as “carpet area”, NSA refers to the area for

private use of the purchased apartment, which is measured by a

clearance method and stipulated in the House Ownership

Certificate granted to the Buyer. It shall include the area of room-

dividing walls built inside the apartments and area of balcony,

loggia attached to such apartment (if any); but shall exclude the

area of the external walls, apartment-dividing walls, columns and

service ducts inside the apartment. The apartment selling price and

management fee are based on the NSA as regulated by law. The

NSA shall also be stated in the pink book.

CONSTRUCTION FLOOR AREA(CFA)

This refers to the area which is measured from the center line of

the external walls and apartment-dividing walls, including the

area of columns and services ducts built inside the apartment.

CFA is commonly used for resale properties in Vietnam.

HOW IS PAYMENT SCHEDULE LIKE?

Foreign investors are recommended to set up a local bank account to

transfer payments for their apartment to the Developer’s bank account.

Agencies also take refundable deposits prior to developer officially launch

project. Below are some international banks with branches in Vietnam:

•Citibank

•ANZ

• Standard CharteredBank

• HSBC

• Shinhan bank

Generally, for projects under construction, the payment scheme is

decided by developers and agreed with purchasers.

Housing laws limit the maximum collection before handover to be up to

70% for local Vietnamese developers, and up to 50% for foreign

developers. The law also stipulates that 5% is to be collected upon

issuance of the pink book.

Generally, Developer collects up to 30% prior to sign SPA, 25% upon

handover, and 5% upon receiving pink book. So there is 40% to be paid

from SPA signing till handover of an apartment.

HOW IS PAYMENT PROCESSED?

HOW IS TAX PAID TO BUY APARTMENT IN VIETNAM?

A foreigner may either directly or authorize a third party (by power of

attorney) to declare and pay tax at a District level tax bureau at the District

where the property is located.

VALUE ADDEDTAX (VAT)

10% VAT is taxed on any sale of property by local orforeigners.

ADMINISTRATION FEE

A minimal administration fee is to be granted an ownership certificate at

the currentregulation.

REGISTRATION TAX FOR OWNERSHIP

0.5% registration tax for obtaining the house ownership certificate on the

apartment value.

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TRANSACTION FEE when selling the apartment (2% on the selling price)

If personal income is earned through the assignment or resale of apartments

or houses, a 2% transaction fee has to be paid on the transacted value ( the

selling price) or 25% tax on difference but please note that this is a rare case

in Vietnam as this gets rejected by Tax officer.

If apartment is purchased under 100% foreign company, seller must pay 20%

corporate tax on difference which then will be divided into shareholders as

dividend. Shareholders will have to pay 5% tax on the dividend.

The following taxes apply to property lease transactions:

PERSONAL INCOME TAX(PIT)

If personal income is earned through rental of house/apartment, 5% VAT and

5% PIT has to be paid on revenue.

For rental income exceeding VND 1,500,000 per month, a business license

tax of VND 1,000,000 per yearapplies.

Handover Process What’s after Handover?

WHAT IS HANDOVER PROCESS? AND WHATS AFTER HANDOVER?

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Upon the completion of the building, the developer shall serve a Handover

Notice to the buyer to indicate the date of handover for the units and the

outstanding amount to be paid before taking over theunits.

The buyer pays the outstanding amount as per the Handover Notice.

On the handover date, the buyer will check the unit and take over the units

by signing the Minutes of Handover. The buyer will also sign the application

for a pink book, electricity, water, and telephone contracts with supplier at

the handover date.

Developer will measure the unit once again to confirm the final size of the

unit. If the unit is smaller than the purchasing size, developer must pay for

the difference, usually deducted from the payment. If the unit is bigger

than the purchasing size, buyer must pay the difference.

*There will be a acceptable range depending on the developer for the size.

Before establishing the Committee of Management for the building, the

developer shall act on behalf of the Committee of Management to engage

a qualified company to provide the property management services.

Our Sister Company, Blanket Solution, can assist clients to rent, pay tax,

and manage unit on behalf of owner. In order to do this, Owner should

authorize Blanket Solution for above purposes. Blanket Solution will

prepare Power of Attorney (POA) to be signed by owner. It is

recommended to sign POA with Blanket Solution while owner is in

Vietnam for Handover. Otherwise, owner might have to come back to Ho

Chi Minh City.

How to collect Rental income? Insurance for the apartment?

HOW TO COLLECT RENT? AND WHAT ABOUT INSURANCE?

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The method of collecting rental income is a commercial decision

agreeable by the Landlord and tenant. Typically, the Landlord will

request 2 months of deposit. For more details, we recommend to speak

with Blanket Solution.

Landlord is required to pay tax (5% PIT & 5% VAT) for rental income

according to Vietnam Law. Balnket Solution can also assist to pay tax on

behalf of the client.

By law, the Developer is not obliged to provide insurance for private areas

of the residential house/ apartment. As such, owners of the

house/apartment/ are recommended to buy insurance for their house/

apartment in accor- dance with the law.

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Contact us: Cornerstone Vietnam

L6-SH.07 Vinhomes Golden River, 02 Ton Duc Thang, Ben Nghe Ward, District 1, HCMC, VietnamT: +84 937 836 896E: [email protected]

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FOREIGNERINVESTOR

G U I D E I N V I E T N A M