Resolution 21, issued by the Party Central Committee on July 28, 2026, sets out a framework for managing apartment buildings based on their designed lifespan while safeguarding property rights. 

Once a building reaches the end of its service life, owners will be required to fulfill financial obligations under the law to facilitate its reconstruction.

Current Vietnamese law does not impose a time limit on apartment ownership. Instead, it regulates the service life of apartment buildings, which is determined by the original design, actual usage period, and structural inspections when necessary.

Linking apartment-use duration to a building's lifespan is expected to affect both the condominium market and homebuyers' sentiment.

Real estate expert Le Quoc Kien said the immediate impact of Resolution 21 would be psychological. Some homebuyers and investors may delay purchases because they do not fully understand how the new framework works. 

Many still assume that "an apartment can only be owned until the building reaches the end of its lifespan," or even fear that "once the building expires, they lose their home." Such misconceptions could prompt a wait-and-see attitude in the short term.

According to Kien, however, this is largely a reaction to new information rather than a fundamental change to apartment ownership rights.

He stressed the importance of distinguishing a building's service life from ownership right duration. Regulating apartment use based on the building's lifespan does not automatically mean homeowners lose their property rights when the structure reaches the end of its designed service life.

Every building is designed with a finite lifespan, and apartment buildings are no exception. Resolution 21 provides a clearer framework for dealing with buildings that have reached the end of their service life or no longer meet safety standards, instead of leaving local authorities struggling with outdated procedures.

"This is exactly what the market has lacked for many years. If redevelopment depends entirely on unanimous consent from all homeowners, renovating and rebuilding aging apartment buildings can become extremely difficult.

"HCMC offers a clear example. Many apartment buildings constructed before 1975 have seriously deteriorated but have remained untouched for decades because of legal bottlenecks and the inability of homeowners to reach consensus," he said.

Market likely to revalue apartment units

Over the long term, Le Quoc Kien believes Resolution 21 introduces a pivotal shift. The market will evaluate apartments based on land-use rights values rather than assessing building structures alone.

"For years, buyers have focused mainly on floor area, amenities, and location. However, an apartment's long-term value actually lies in the shared land-use rights that each owner holds when a building reaches the end of its lifespan and must either be rebuilt or transferred to another developer," he said.

He emphasized that land-use rights ratios represent a key factor directly affecting residents' benefits during building redevelopment.

This shift will alter project selection criteria. Buyers will pay closer attention to total land fund area, construction density, total unit count, and the land-use rights ratio allocated to each unit. Projects boasting large land funds combined with low construction density will enjoy clear competitive advantages, as each unit holds a larger land-rights fraction, delivering stronger long-term value.

"Developer sales strategies must adapt accordingly. Beyond highlighting architecture, amenities, or construction quality, businesses will need to provide greater transparency regarding land funds, development density, shared land-use rights, and structural end-of-life contingency plans. This will likely emerge as a key competitive criterion in the market," Kien said.

According to the expert, what citizens need most at present is a clear legal mechanism protecting property rights. Laws must clearly outline procedures for various scenarios, including building reconstruction, land-use rights transfers to new developers, compensation, resettlement, or support mechanisms for households lacking financial capacity to participate in new redevelopment projects.

Concurrently, legal frameworks must further clarify criteria for defining expired structures. Design lifespans should not automatically trigger mandatory demolition. If a structure remains safe, decisions regarding continued usage should rely on formal inspection results as prescribed by law.

"For homebuyers, the advice right now is to avoid reacting out of crowd psychology. Evaluation should extend beyond location, sale price, or amenities to include overall land fund scale, development density, individual land rights ratios, and future redevelopment potential. These are the factors that will define the true value of an apartment in the market's new phase," Kien recommended.

Anh Phuong