At a notary's office in Hanoi, an overseas participant receives a certificate granting 50 years of ownership of an apartment and no right to the land beneath it. Many learn of that distinction only at the point of signing.
Vietnam real estate is a land-use rights system that records holders, separates land from buildings, and certifies both to govern who may use property: the land belongs to the people. Freehold title, the default in the UK or Australia, has no equivalent here. "Real estate" in Vietnamese law has two layers: the land-use right, which the State grants or leases, and the house or apartment built on top, which can be owned. A single certificate records both layers, and when either one changes hands, the certificate changes with it. The certificate is the decisive document.
This guide describes Vietnam's legal framework for general information and is not legal advice. Legal references were checked on 6 October 2026, and three of the laws described below are under revision. Confirm current rules with a Vietnam-licensed lawyer before acting.
Key takeaways
- Vietnamese law treats land as owned by the entire people and managed by the State; individuals and companies hold land-use rights, not the land itself.
- Three laws in force since 1 August 2024 set the rules, and revised versions of all three are due before the National Assembly session scheduled to open on 17 October 2026.
- Foreigners may own apartments and houses in approved projects for up to 50 years, extendable once, within caps of 30% of the apartments in a building and 250 houses per ward-sized area; a draft released on 13 September 2026 would limit foreign ownership to apartments.
- Vietnam cut its provinces from 63 to 34 in mid-2025, and by mid-September 2026 its national land database held data on more than 68 million parcels.
Table of contents
- How does Vietnam real estate ownership work?
- Which laws govern Vietnam real estate in 2026?
- What changed when Vietnam redrew its provinces in 2025?
- What can foreigners and overseas Vietnamese hold?
- What does it cost to hold Vietnam real estate?
- How do Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang compare in 2026?
- What is happening in Vietnam's property sector in 2026?
- How is Vietnam putting property records online?
- What are the challenges and limitations of Vietnam real estate?
- How should an overseas participant evaluate a Vietnamese property?
- Our perspective
- Frequently asked questions
How does Vietnam real estate ownership work?
Vietnam has no private ownership of land. Article 12 of the Land Law 2024 states that land is under the ownership of the entire people, with the State acting as the owner's representative, and that the State grants land-use rights to the people and organisations who use it.
Buildings are treated differently. A house or an apartment can be owned and passed on, while the land under it stays with the people and is held through a use right.
The arrangement resembles a long lease on a seat in a theatre operated by the State. The holder may use the seat, lend it, pass it to heirs and, within the rules, assign it to another party. The holder never owns the theatre.
Housing in Vietnam falls into three broad types: apartments in multi-storey buildings, landed houses (townhouses and villas) and bare land plots. Each type carries the same two-layer logic, and each is recorded on the same kind of certificate.
What is a red book or a pink book?
Red book and pink book are the common names for Vietnam's land certificates, named after their cover colours rather than any legal term, as Thinh Tri Law Group explains. The older red book certified land-use rights. From 10 December 2009, a single certificate covering land-use rights and ownership of houses replaced the separate documents, the Vietnam News Agency reported at the time, and its pink cover supplied the newer name. Earlier certificates remain legally valid.
Here is a quick comparison for readers accustomed to freehold systems, setting out what each allows and where it stops.
- What you hold. Under freehold title in the UK, the holder owns the land and the building indefinitely. Under Vietnamese law, a citizen holds a use right to the land and can own the building on it. Neither system exempts the holder from planning rules.
- How long it lasts. Freehold has no end date. Article 171 of the Land Law 2024 lists residential land as land with a long, stable use period, while foreign-owned homes carry a fixed 50-year term. The term stated on the certificate is the one that applies.
- Who keeps the record. Both systems rely on a state register. In Vietnam, that register is moving from paper archives into a national database, a shift covered later in this guide.
Two layers, one certificate.
Which laws govern Vietnam real estate in 2026?
Three laws govern Vietnam real estate in 2026, and all three took effect on 1 August 2024, five months earlier than first planned. Together they rewrote how land is priced and who may hold housing.
All three are now being revised, as the final part of this section explains.
Land Law 2024 (No. 31/2024/QH15)
Vietnam's Land Law sets out land-use rights and how the State prices land. It requires official land prices to follow real-world pricing principles and orders provincial authorities to publish land price lists, with the first lists under the new law applying from 1 January 2026, according to the US Library of Congress. It also widened the rights of overseas Vietnamese, covered below.
Housing Law 2023 (No. 27/2023/QH15)
Vietnam's Housing Law decides who may own housing, including the caps and terms that apply to foreigners. It is the law overseas participants encounter first.
Real Estate Business Law 2023 (No. 29/2023/QH15)
Vietnam's Real Estate Business Law regulates developers and brokers. Under the text of the law, deposits on off-plan housing may not exceed 5% of the contract price, and individual brokers must practise within a licensed brokerage or property services firm rather than under their own names.
What is being amended in late 2026?
Amendments to all three laws are before Vietnam's legislature in the final quarter of 2026.
Resolution 21-NQ/TW, issued on 28 July 2026 at the third plenum of the 14th Party Central Committee, set the orientation for amending the Land Law and related laws. Its directions include studying higher taxes on abandoned land and on homes that are not put into use, Vietnam News reported.
An extraordinary National Assembly session in August 2026 gave initial opinions on the three bills without passing them.
In early October, the Assembly's Standing Committee reviewed the Housing and Real Estate Business drafts and judged them eligible to go to the full Assembly, with possible adoption at its second session. That session is scheduled to open on 17 October and expected to conclude on 20 November 2026.
The draft Land Law is the most far-reaching of the three. It would calculate land levies, lease payments and compensation from annual land price lists and adjustment coefficients set by provincial authorities, and it would require land transactions to be registered through digital platforms, according to Baker McKenzie's summary of the draft. The bill is targeting entry into force on 1 March 2027.
These are bills, not law, until the National Assembly votes.
Pro tip: Check which version of each law a contract cites before signing.
What changed when Vietnam redrew its provinces in 2025?
Vietnam redrew its internal map in mid-2025. Resolution 202/2025/QH15, adopted on 12 June 2025, reduced 63 provinces and cities to 34, and the new local governments began operating on 1 July 2025. A revised Law on Local Government Organisation removed the district level, leaving a two-tier system of provinces and communes or wards. Several property hubs expanded as a result.
Ho Chi Minh City absorbed Binh Duong and Ba Ria-Vung Tau. Hai Phong absorbed Hai Duong. Hanoi was left unchanged.
Da Nang merged with Quang Nam (Hoi An included) into a city of about 11,860 square kilometres and roughly 3.07 million residents under the resolution, and it now comprises 94 commune-level units.
Why does this matter to a participant assessing property? Older certificates, contracts and listings carry addresses with district names that no longer exist. The 250-house cap for foreigners is counted per ward-sized area, and ward boundaries were redrawn as well.
Pro tip: Match every address on a certificate against the post-July-2025 administrative map before relying on it.
What can foreigners and overseas Vietnamese hold?
Foreigners permitted to enter Vietnam can own apartments and houses in commercial housing projects under the Housing Law 2023, but they cannot hold land-use rights in their own name. Three limits apply:
- Building cap. No more than 30% of the apartments in one apartment building.
- Area cap. No more than 250 individual houses in an area with a population equal to that of a ward.
- Term. Up to 50 years from the date the certificate is issued, extendable once for another 50 years if conditions are met.
Projects in areas designated for national defence or security are excluded. A contract signed after a project's foreign quota is full is treated as invalid and no certificate is issued, the official Vietnam Law and Legal Forum magazine notes.
Can Americans own property in Vietnam? Nationality is not the test; lawful entry into Vietnam and the project's eligibility are. One of these rules may narrow. A draft revision of the Housing Law, released by the Ministry of Construction on 13 September 2026, would no longer allow foreigners to own landed houses, Vietnam News reported on 2 October.
Apartments would remain open to foreigners under the draft, with the 30% ceiling per building and the 50-year term with one extension both retained. The report does not say how existing foreign holders of landed houses would be treated, and the draft may change before any vote.
Overseas Vietnamese are a separate case. Under the Land Law 2024, Vietnamese people residing abroad who hold Vietnamese nationality have the same land-use rights and obligations as individuals living in Vietnam, according to Vietnam's Ministry of Agriculture and Environment. People of Vietnamese origin without Vietnamese nationality follow narrower rules.
One caution is warranted. Some foreigners hold property through a Vietnamese associate whose name appears on the certificate. Because the certificate is the legal proof of who holds a property, a side agreement with the named holder offers far weaker protection than the certificate itself.
A dedicated guide to foreign ownership in Vietnam, covering the full process step by step, follows later this year.
What does it cost to hold Vietnam real estate?
Vietnam has no single national price for a house; the only official benchmark is each province's land price list, which sets the base for fees and compensation. Asking prices from developers and listing sites sit above that floor and vary street by street.
Hanoi's list illustrates the scale. The city's People's Council passed it on 26 November 2025, and it applied from 1 January 2026, with a top band above 702 million VND per square metre for prime street frontage in the former Hoan Kiem district. Before the vote, the Vietnam Real Estate Association warned that land price increases could push up housing prices and slow public projects.
The fee structure matters more than any headline price:
- Transfer tax. Article 14 of Law No. 109/2025/QH15, passed on 10 December 2025 and in force from 1 July 2026, sets the tax on a resident individual's property transfer at 2% of the transfer price.
- Off-plan deposits. Capped at 5% of the contract price under the Real Estate Business Law.
- Registration and notary fees. Charged separately; confirm current rates with the local land registration office or your lawyer.
The pricing mechanism may change again. The draft Land Law described above would apply annual price lists with provincial adjustment coefficients to every land levy.
Pro tip: Request the land price list entry for the exact plot before agreeing any figure.
Budget for the paperwork as well as the property.
How do Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang compare in 2026?
Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang anchor Vietnam real estate for overseas participants, and each one is changing for a different reason. The snapshots below use CBRE Vietnam's Q2 2026 figures, published on 12 August 2026. CBRE had not published third-quarter figures when this guide was checked on 6 October 2026.
Hanoi
Hanoi is the capital and the only one of the three unaffected by the 2025 merger. In Q2 2026, more than 5,800 condominium units found takers, equal to 68% of the new supply launched in the quarter, according to CBRE's Hanoi figures. CBRE added that the following quarters would depend largely on interest rate movements and household sentiment. Hanoi real estate remains the policy centre of the country, which matters when the rules are still moving.
Ho Chi Minh City
Ho Chi Minh City real estate now spans a much larger city after the merger with two neighbouring provinces. In Q2 2026, new condominium supply fell 48% quarter on quarter to 850 units, while 1,934 landed units launched, CBRE reported.
Infrastructure is the main driver. Metro Line 1, 19.7 kilometres and 14 stations, began operations on 22 December 2024. Vietnam's Civil Aviation Authority has agreed to put Long Thanh International Airport into commercial operation from 1 December 2026, Dan Tri reported in late September. International flights will move from Tan Son Nhat in three phases, and during the first, which runs to 27 March 2027, airlines are encouraged but not required to use the new airport.
The city's financial profile is also rising. Ho Chi Minh City climbed 17 places to 67th in the 40th edition of the Global Financial Centres Index, the Vietnam News Agency reported.
Da Nang
Da Nang is the coastal city of the three and, since July 2025, includes Quang Nam and Hoi An. Under Resolution 222/2025/QH15, it co-hosts Vietnam's International Financial Centre with Ho Chi Minh City, and it entered the Global Financial Centres Index for the first time in the same edition, at 71st. Da Nang real estate leans on tourism and services more than either of the other two.
Three cities, three different drivers.
What is happening in Vietnam's property sector in 2026?
Vietnam's property sector in 2026 is adjusting to five forces at once: more moderate demand, higher official land price lists, a redrawn administrative map, three laws under revision, and a possible narrowing of what foreigners may own.
CBRE's second-quarter commentary tied the slower pace of activity to interest rates and household sentiment. The land price lists raise the cost base for fees and compensation. The merger has left a backlog of address changes.
The legislative agenda is the newest factor. The draft Housing Law places new emphasis on rental housing, according to the Standing Committee coverage cited above, and the Real Estate Business draft would simplify several business conditions. Both could be adopted before the end of November.
Which of these matters most to an overseas participant? In practice, it is usually the slowest of the five: documentation.
How is Vietnam putting property records online?
Vietnam is building a national land database under a prime ministerial directive issued in February 2026, which ordered land databases to be finalised and integrated into the national system by December. Progress since then has been substantial and incomplete.
By mid-September 2026, data existed for more than 68 million land parcels, and about 47.7 million of them (roughly 70%) met the government's standard for accurate, complete, clean and continuously updated data, a Land Administration Department official told a ministry press conference on 16 September.
The department expects to reach 80% within the year.
Localities have reported about 103 million parcels in total, according to a progress report republished from the daily Nhan Dan in September 2026. That gap has practical consequences.
A record held only in a provincial archive resembles a reference volume that cannot leave the library: a participant in Singapore or Sydney cannot verify it (or the official seals on it) without travelling.
The timetable has been restated to reflect the gap. Under Resolution 21-NQ/TW, the end-2026 goal covers land plots for which data has already been collected, with areas not yet covered to follow by the end of 2027, according to the Vietnam News report cited above.
Two further steps bring the record closer to the holder. The Land Administration Department is preparing electronic land certificates for VNeID, the national digital identity app, with the aim of giving electronic and paper certificates the same legal validity. Since 1 March 2026, provincial construction departments have also assigned a unique electronic identification code to every house, land plot and project unit under Decree No. 357/2025/ND-CP.
Vietnam's crypto-asset pilot runs on a separate track.
Resolution 05/2025/NQ-CP sets a five-year pilot and requires crypto assets to be issued on the basis of real underlying assets, excluding securities and fiat currencies. The resolution does not name real estate. A State Securities Commission official said in June 2026 that issuers must obtain opinions from the relevant sector regulator where the underlying assets involve real estate, commodities or infrastructure projects.
No licence under the pilot had been reported by mid-September.
On 15 September 2026, Deputy Finance Minister Nguyen Duc Chi said Vietnam expects its first crypto-asset service providers to be licensed and operating in 2026.
Our analysis of real estate tokenization in Southeast Asia covers that pilot in more detail. For how digital records fit into wider property technology, see our guide to proptech.
Holding a land certificate and holding participation units in a tokenized property are different things. Here is what each can and cannot do.
Holding a certificate (red or pink book). It is the legal proof of a land-use right or of ownership of a building, enforceable in Vietnamese courts. Most provinces still can't check it remotely, and transferring it requires a notary and the land registration office.
Holding participation units in a tokenized property. It is a record on a shared network that shows who holds which units and tracks each transfer as it happens, as explained in our guide to how real estate tokenization works. It does not place the holder's name on a Vietnamese land certificate, and its protections depend on the legal structure behind it.
On-chain records still answer to off-chain law.
See how the coordination layer handles property verification
What are the challenges and limitations of Vietnam real estate?
Slow implementation is the principal limitation of Vietnam real estate for overseas participants: the rules are clear on paper and slower in practice.
The rules are also in motion.
Three laws are under revision at once, and the draft Housing Law would remove landed houses from what foreigners may own.
The 50-year term for foreign-owned homes raises a question that cannot yet be answered with certainty: what happens at renewal, decades from now? Certificate issuance can lag on some projects, and off-plan projects can stall in legal approvals. Nominee arrangements carry the most serious risk, because the certificate names someone else.
The data gap is also material. By mid-September 2026, roughly a third of the approximately 103 million parcels reported by localities had no data in the national database, on the official figures cited above.
Tokenized access does not resolve these issues on its own. It can make records easier to read and transfers easier to track, while the underlying certificate, and the law behind it, still decide the outcome.
Walk through the participation requirements before you go further
How should an overseas participant evaluate a Vietnamese property?
Evaluate a Vietnamese property by checking the certificate first and everything else second. Here is how it works, in six criteria.
- Certificate status. Confirm that a red or pink book exists and matches the property. Without a certificate, do not proceed.
- Project approvals and foreign quota. Verify that the project is approved, that its 30% foreign quota is not already full, and whether the property type would remain open to foreigners under the draft Housing Law. A full quota rules the project out.
- Post-2025 address. Check the current province and ward names against the certificate. Old names create new delays.
- Total cost. Count every fee in the chain, including who pays the 2% transfer tax and the registration and notary fees. Fees are part of the price.
- Record location. Establish where the record is held: a provincial archive, the national database or a shared network. Readable records reduce risk.
- Exit rules. Read the transfer conditions before you commit, including what happens at the end of the term and which version of the law will apply. Plan the exit before entry.
For tokenized property platforms, our due diligence checklist for tokenized real estate adds the platform-level checks.
Our perspective
We consider Vietnam the jurisdiction where digital property records will matter most, because so much depends on the certificate and so few certificates can be checked from abroad.
Mey Network was built by a team from Meey Group, a Hanoi-based proptech company, which makes Vietnam our home jurisdiction. Mey Real's first listing is a residential land plot in Chuong My, on Hanoi's south-western fringe, divided into 2,000 participation units with each unit set at 50 USDC, as shown on mey.network. It is an example of how tokenized property access can make a Vietnamese property's documents visible to participants anywhere.
One limitation should be stated plainly. Participation units in a tokenized property are not a pink book, and they do not give a foreign participant the rights of a Vietnamese land-use holder.
The notary's office in Hanoi will remain part of the process. What should change is how much a participant knows before arriving there.
This guide describes Vietnam's legal framework for general information and is not legal advice. Confirm current rules with a Vietnam-licensed lawyer before acting.
Explore it as part of your own research process
Frequently asked questions
Can foreigners own property in Vietnam?
Foreigners can own property in Vietnam if they are permitted to enter the country, limited to apartments and houses in commercial housing projects and never land-use rights in their own name. Ownership runs for up to 50 years from certificate issue, extendable once, within caps of 30% of the apartments in a building and 250 houses per ward-sized area.
Are Vietnam's property laws changing again in 2026?
Vietnam's Land Law, Housing Law and Real Estate Business Law are all under revision in late 2026. The National Assembly session scheduled to open on 17 October 2026 is due to consider the bills, and the draft Land Law targets entry into force on 1 March 2027.
Could foreigners lose the right to own houses in Vietnam?
A draft Housing Law released on 13 September 2026 would no longer allow foreigners to own landed houses, while keeping apartments open within the 30% cap per building. It remains a draft, and the reporting to date does not say how existing holders would be treated.
Does Vietnam have private property?
Vietnam has private ownership of buildings but not of land. Land is owned by the entire people and managed by the State, and individuals hold land-use rights recorded on a certificate.
Can people own land in Vietnam?
People cannot own land outright in Vietnam, but Vietnamese citizens can hold long-term land-use rights that can be certified and passed on. Foreigners cannot hold land-use rights in their own name.
How much is a house in Vietnam?
A house in Vietnam has no single national price; the official benchmark is each province's land price list. Hanoi's list, applied from 1 January 2026, tops out above 702 million VND per square metre in the city centre, and real asking prices vary widely by street and project.
What is a pink book in Vietnam?
A pink book is the common name for Vietnam's certificate of land-use rights and ownership of houses and other land-attached assets, issued as a single nationwide document from 10 December 2009. It is the document that proves who holds a property, and older red books remain valid.
How long can a foreigner own an apartment in Vietnam?
A foreigner can own an apartment in Vietnam for up to 50 years from the date the certificate is issued. The term can be extended once for a further 50 years if the legal conditions are met.
What changed in Vietnam's real estate laws in 2024?
Vietnam's Land Law 2024, Housing Law 2023 and Real Estate Business Law 2023 all took effect on 1 August 2024. They introduced new land price lists from 1 January 2026, widened rights for overseas Vietnamese and capped off-plan deposits at 5% of the contract price.
Did Vietnam's 2025 province merger change property addresses?
Vietnam's 2025 province merger changed many property addresses. The country reduced 63 provinces to 34, with the new local governments operating from 1 July 2025, and removed the district level, so older certificates and listings often name places that now sit in a renamed province or ward.
What taxes apply when property is transferred in Vietnam?
A resident individual transferring property in Vietnam pays tax of 2% of the transfer price under Law No. 109/2025/QH15, in force from 1 July 2026. Registration and notary fees are charged separately.
Is Vietnam's land registry digital?
Vietnam's land registry is partly digital. By mid-September 2026, the national land database held data on more than 68 million parcels, about 70% of which met the official quality standard, and electronic land certificates are being prepared for the VNeID app.
Can overseas Vietnamese own land in Vietnam?
Overseas Vietnamese who hold Vietnamese nationality have the same land-use rights as citizens living in Vietnam under the Land Law 2024. People of Vietnamese origin without Vietnamese nationality follow narrower rules.
How does Mey Network relate to Vietnamese real estate?
Mey Network was built by a team from Meey Group, a Hanoi-based proptech company, and Mey Real's first listing is a land plot in Chuong My, Hanoi, divided into 2,000 participation units. Holding participation units is different from holding a Vietnamese land certificate.
