Family run companies may be allowed to use apartments as offices

While reiterating that using apartments for business offices is illegal, deputy minister of construction Nguyen Tran Nam said small scale family-run companies may be exempt from the ruling.

The decision by the Ministry of Construction (MOC) to prohibit using apartments as offices has faced strong opposition from businesses, especially small ones, who want to save money by leasing apartments.

However, MOC’s deputy minister Nguyen Tran Nam, citing current laws, has confirmed the status saying apartments can only serve as accommodation and they must not be used for other purposes. The Real Estate Trading Law clearly stipulates that the duty of house buyers is to use houses  in accordance with the designed functions.

However, businessmen who are working at apartment-offices, argue that the civil code stipulates that individuals have the right to determine their assets and they have the right to decide what they should do with apartments.

However, Nam has denied this, emphasizing that the leasing, purchasing and trading apartments must follow regulations stipulated in real estate related laws. Nam noted there is a special characteristic in the real estate ownership. Houses are built on land, while land does not belong to any institutions or individuals, it belongs to the whole nation.

Nam said that a 100 square meter apartment can be house several people only. Meanwhile, if the apartment serves as an office, it must serve tens of people. This would put pressure on the infrastructure, power, water, lifts and car park.

Nam, while affirming that apartments must not be used for offices, said that local authorities can consider local conditions to allow family run companies to keep offices at apartment blocks.

Meanwhile, the office rental rate in Hanoi has been increasing dramatically after office owners heard about the decision from MOC banning apartments as offices.

Dan tri newspaper has quoted a real estate broker as saying that the rental rate has increased by five to ten million dong a month.

VietNamNet, DT

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