Government Issues Decree No. 98/2024/NĐ-CP on Renovation and Reconstruction of Apartment Buildings

On July 25, 2024, the government issued Decree No. 98/2024/NĐ-CP detailing certain provisions of the Housing Law regarding the renovation and reconstruction of apartment buildings. The decree specifies cases in which apartment buildings must be relocated.

Cases for Relocation of Owners and Users of Apartment Buildings

The decree stipulates urgent relocation cases for apartment buildings, including:

• Apartment buildings that are damaged by fire or explosion and are no longer safe for continued use.
• Apartment buildings that are damaged by natural disasters or enemy attacks and are no longer safe for continued use.

Cases for relocation according to compensation and resettlement plans include:

1. Apartment buildings with major structural elements showing overall dangerous conditions, posing a collapse risk, and failing to meet safety conditions for continued use, requiring urgent relocation of owners and users.
2. Apartment buildings severely damaged with localized dangerous conditions in major structural elements and having one of the following issues: firefighting infrastructure, water supply and drainage, wastewater treatment, electricity supply, or internal traffic not meeting current technical standards or posing safety risks in operation, requiring demolition for the safety of owners and users and urban renovation needs.
3. Apartment buildings with damage to one of the main structural elements such as foundations, columns, walls, beams, or trusses that do not meet normal usage requirements, not falling under the mandatory demolition cases outlined in points 1 and 2, but located in areas requiring synchronized renovation and reconstruction according to approved construction plans.

Temporary Housing Arrangements for Owners and Users

The decree outlines temporary housing arrangements, including:

1. Providing temporary housing from available resettlement housing or public housing on the local area, purchasing commercial housing, or investing in resettlement housing using local budget funds or funds from local development investment funds or housing development funds (if available) for temporary housing use.
2. Paying money for owners and users to arrange their own temporary housing.

When investing in resettlement housing for temporary accommodation, it must meet quality, standards, and construction requirements. If the temporary housing is eligible for sale and the owner desires to purchase it, the housing can be sold to the owners as an alternative to resettlement, except for temporary housing from public assets. The sale price and payment of any price difference (if applicable) are determined according to the approved compensation and resettlement plan.

The decree specifies that if temporary housing is an apartment unit, the responsibility for paying management and operation costs is as follows:

• For urgent relocations of owners and users, local government budgets cover the apartment management and operation costs from the local regular expenditure budget until a project investor is selected.
• For relocations according to compensation and resettlement plans, the project investor covers the apartment management and operation costs.