Can foreigners buy property in Vietnam? The 2026 rules

Can foreigners buy property in Vietnam? The short answer is yes, with conditions. The 2023 Housing Law and Decree 95/2024/ND-CP set out who may buy, which homes, how many and for how long. This guide explains those conditions in plain English, based on the legal texts and published analysis. It is general information, not a substitute for advice from a lawyer licensed in Vietnam.

Can foreigners buy property in Vietnam? Who qualifies

A foreign individual may buy if they hold a valid foreign passport with a valid entry stamp, or equivalent documents, still in force on the day of the transaction, and confirm in writing that they do not enjoy diplomatic or consular privileges and immunities. Foreign organisations legally present in Vietnam may also buy under separate conditions.

Foreigners married to Vietnamese citizens and living in Vietnam have rights equivalent to Vietnamese citizens. People of Vietnamese origin who still hold Vietnamese nationality are treated like domestic citizens; those who have given up Vietnamese nationality fall under separate rules, so ask a lawyer.

Which homes you can buy

• Apartments and houses inside commercial housing projects.
• The project must lie outside areas reserved for national defence and security. Some cities publish lists of projects open to foreign ownership; Hanoi is one of them.
• You can buy or lease-purchase from the developer, buy from an existing foreign owner, or receive a home by inheritance or gift from an eligible person.
• You cannot buy standalone houses in existing residential neighbourhoods outside projects.
• You cannot buy land: in Vietnam land belongs to the people as a whole.

The caps: 30% and 250 houses

A purchase that breaks a cap, or in an ineligible project, will not receive a certificate, and the seller must compensate the buyer. So before paying any deposit, ask the developer to confirm in writing how many units remain available to foreigners.

How long you own it, and extensions

Ownership lasts up to 50 years from the date the certificate is issued and can be extended once for up to another 50 years. You apply to the provincial People's Committee at least three months before expiry. If you do not extend, you can sell or gift the home to an eligible person while your term is still running. The term is printed on the certificate itself, so read it carefully when you receive it.

Renting it out, and what to check first

A foreign owner may rent the home out for purposes the law does not prohibit, must notify the local housing authority before letting it, and pays tax on the rent. Before you buy, check:

• Whether the project is on the city's or province's list of projects open to foreign ownership.
• Whether the building still has room under the 30% cap.
• For homes under construction: the Department of Construction letter confirming off-plan sale eligibility, and the bank guarantee.
• That your passport and entry stamp will be valid on the signing date.

In practice, most problems foreign buyers run into do not come from the law itself but from skipped checks: a unit bought in a block whose foreign quota was already full, a project that never made the provincial list, or a deposit paid on a building that was not yet cleared for off-plan sale. Each of these can be avoided with a written confirmation from the developer and an hour of a lawyer's time before you pay anything.

The practical steps are in how to buy an apartment in Vietnam as a foreigner. For general information on your chosen city, leave your Zalo number on the guidance page. Once you have the keys, browse our picks of apartment furniture and home office gear.