Mini apartments will be granted pink books from the beginning of 2025
Deputy Minister Nguyen Van Sinh said that from January 1, 2025, mini apartments will be granted certificates (pink books) when they meet standards on land, construction projects, and fire prevention and fighting.
At the press conference announcing the revised Housing Law on the morning of December 25, Deputy Minister of Construction Nguyen Van Sinh said that regulations on the development of multi-storey, multi-apartment housing (mini apartments) and the granting of certificates for this type of apartment have been revised to be stricter than before.
Accordingly, the Law further defines mini apartments as houses with 2 floors or more, each floor is designed with apartments for sale, rent, or rent-to-own, or houses with 2 floors with a scale of 20 apartments or more. Individuals who want to build mini apartments for sale or rent must have land use rights and meet the conditions to be investors in housing projects.
"Apartments that meet these conditions will be granted certificates and can be sold, rented, or leased according to regulations," said Mr. Sinh.
Deputy Minister of Construction Nguyen Van Sinh answered at the press conference on the morning of December 25.
For mini apartments with 2 floors or more and a scale of less than 20 apartments, Mr. Sinh said that it is necessary to meet fire prevention and fighting requirements for multi-storey and multi-apartment houses. The building must also meet the conditions of the provincial and municipal People's Committees on traffic routes to ensure vehicles can fight fires at the mini apartment building. In addition, the management and operation of this type of apartment building must also comply with the Regulations on management and use of apartment buildings of the Ministry of Construction.
The conditions, standards, management and operation of mini apartments will be specifically guided by the Ministry of Construction, according to Deputy Minister Nguyen Van Sinh.
The Housing Law (amended) was passed by the National Assembly on November 27, effective from January 1, 2025.
The "mini apartment" type has flourished in big cities like Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City in recent times, but management has been lax and violations have not been handled promptly. Therefore, tightening the conditions for building this type of housing, according to experts, will help overcome current shortcomings, while still ensuring supply for the market as this type of housing solves the housing needs of millions of people.
There are currently no complete statistics on the number of mini apartments nationwide. However, according to data released in September by the electricity industry, Hanoi has about 2,000 mini apartments, mainly in the districts of Bac Tu Liem, Nam Tu Liem, Dong Da, Thanh Xuan, Cau Giay and Tay Ho.
In Ho Chi Minh City, according to the police, there are about 42,000 mini-apartment style boarding houses. This number is 20 times higher than Hanoi, while the population density is less than 2 times higher. This supply has solved the housing needs of about 1.8 million people, nearly 40% of the total workforce in the city.