Pink Book Explained: What Title Document a Foreign Buyer Receives When Buying a Vietnam Apartment

The Pink Book is the common name for Vietnam's Certificate of land use rights and ownership of houses and other assets attached to land (Housing Law 2023, Article 9.1). For a foreign buyer, it records ownership of a completed apartment for a term printed on the certificate itself: up to 50 years from the date of issue, renewable once, on application, for up to 50 more years (Article 20.2(c)). You can resell or lease the home freely, and once it is sold to a Vietnamese national the title becomes permanent ownership. Before you pay, check four things. First, the seller: it must be the developer or another foreign owner. Article 17.2 lists the only ways a foreigner may own a home, and buying from a Vietnamese owner is not one of them; the one exception is a foreigner married to a Vietnamese citizen living in Vietnam, who may own a home on the same terms as a Vietnamese citizen (Article 20.2(c)). From the developer you sign an official Sale and Purchase Agreement (SPA); from a foreign owner, a sale contract with that owner — you then own for the remaining term, can still renew it if it has not been renewed yet, and can still resell to a Vietnamese buyer, after which it becomes long-term (permanent) ownership. Second, the quota: the building must still have room under its 30% foreign quota (Article 19.1). The provincial housing authority publishes the figures for each building, and the seller must check them before signing (Decree 95/2024/ND-CP, Article 7.2(a)); a sale beyond the quota has no legal validity and no certificate is issued for it (Decree 95/2024/ND-CP, Article 7.3). Third, the certificate details: the term, construction floor area, usable area and project name that will be printed on it (Articles 9.3 and 20.2(c)). Fourth, the unit's status: it must have a certificate and must not be in dispute, seized, or under a land-recovery or demolition notice (Article 160.1). As a practical step, also ask for written proof that any mortgage on the unit has been released.

Key facts

• The Pink Book is the common name for the Certificate of land use rights and ownership of houses and other assets attached to land, the document through which the State recognises ownership of a home. It covers only completed housing, so an off-plan buyer receives it after handover. For an apartment, it must state the construction floor area, the usable area and the approved project name; the issuing procedure follows the land law. (Housing Law 2023 (27/2023/QH15), Art. 9.1 and 9.3 (Official Gazette 37+38, 08-01-2024))
• A foreign individual owns the home for the term agreed in the contract, which may not exceed 50 years from the date the certificate is issued. On application, the term can be extended once, for up to 50 more years. The term must be written on the certificate. (Housing Law 2023, Art. 20.2(c))
• To extend, the owner files one set of documents with the provincial People's Committee where the home is located, in person, by post or online, at least 3 months before the term expires: the application (Form 01, Appendix I); a certified copy of the certificate, or a plain copy presented with the original for comparison; and a copy of a valid passport bearing a Vietnam entry stamp, or an equivalent entry document. Within 30 days of receiving a valid file, the Committee approves in writing one extension of up to 50 years, counted from the end of the first term shown on the certificate, if the owner still meets the Housing Law's eligibility requirements and conditions; otherwise it refuses in writing, giving reasons. Within 15 days of the approval, the owner submits it with the required documents to have the new term registered on the certificate under the land law. No extension is granted if, at the end of the first term, the owner has been ordered to leave Vietnam or has been deported. (Decree 95/2024/ND-CP (24-07-2024), Art. 6.1, 6.2 and 6.3 (Official Gazette 907+908, 10-08-2024))
• A foreigner may buy or lease-purchase commercial housing only from the developer of a project outside defence and security areas (or receive such housing as a gift or inheritance), or buy from a foreign organisation or individual that already owns it through that route. These are the only forms of ownership the law lists, so there is no route to buy from a Vietnamese owner. The exception is a foreigner married to a Vietnamese citizen living in Vietnam, who may own housing on the same terms as a Vietnamese citizen. (Housing Law 2023, Art. 17.2(b)-(c), Art. 8.2(c) and Art. 20.2(c))
• Foreign organisations and individuals may own at most 30% of the apartments in one building, counted on the units intended for residential use; where a building has several sections or blocks on a shared podium, the 30% limit applies to each. The provincial housing authority publishes on its portal, for each project and each building, how many units foreigners may own and how many have already been bought, lease-purchased or certified; the developer or seller must check that portal before signing and report the sale within 3 working days. A transaction beyond the quota, or in a project where foreigners may not own, has no legal validity, no certificate is issued for it, and the seller must compensate the buyer. (Housing Law 2023, Art. 19.1; Decree 95/2024/ND-CP, Art. 5.2(a), 7.1, 7.2(a)-(b), 7.3)
• A home may be sold only if it has a certificate; is not the subject of a dispute, complaint or lawsuit over ownership; is still within its ownership term, where the term is limited; has not been seized to enforce a judgment or an administrative decision in force, and is not under an interim or preventive measure ordered by a court or authority; and is not under a land-recovery decision or a clearance or demolition notice. Off-plan sales are exempt from the certificate requirement and from the dispute and term conditions. (Housing Law 2023, Art. 160.1(a)-(e) and 160.2(a) (Official Gazette 39+40, 08-01-2024))
• When you buy from the developer, the developer is responsible for the procedure to obtain your certificate, unless you choose to apply yourself; the certificate for a sold unit is issued to the buyer, not the developer (the developer may hold certificates only for unsold units). Before the term expires, the owner may sell or give the home, directly or through an authorised representative, to anyone eligible to own housing in Vietnam. If the buyer is a domestic individual or organisation or an overseas Vietnamese, that buyer holds a domestic owner's rights under Art. 10.1, with no 50-year term: what the market calls permanent ownership. A home that has not been sold or given away by the time the term expires becomes public property. (Housing Law 2023, Art. 162.2, 9.4, 20.2(dd), 8.1(a)-(b) and 10.1)