How a foreigner can buy an apartment in Vietnam in 2026
Can a foreigner buy an apartment in Vietnam: the 2026 rules, quotas, 50-year ownership, taxes and steps of the deal, how much an apartment in Vietnam costs and what to consider when buying in Nha Trang, Da Nang, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Phu Quoc.
Vietnam opened its housing market to foreigners in 2015, and since 1 August 2024 a new Law on Housing, Law on Land and Law on Real Estate Business have been in force. The rules have become clearer, but the core principle has not changed: a foreigner buys housing, not land. And the choice should start not with the view from the window, but with the legal status of the property and whether a foreigner can register it in their own name.
The main rule: the land belongs to the state
In Vietnam all land belongs to the people and is administered by the state. Even Vietnamese citizens receive only the right to use it, and foreigners are not granted such a right to land for housing.
A foreigner can own an apartment or a house in a residential project. A separate plot of land or a house outside a project cannot be bought.
So every option for a foreign buyer is housing in developers' projects: apartments in residential complexes and detached houses in housing estates. If a seller offers a foreigner land in ownership or a villa outside a residential project, check the structure against the documents before discussing the price.
Who can buy
The buyer can be a foreigner who has entered Vietnam legally: the passport must carry a Vietnamese entry stamp. A residence permit or work visa is not required to buy. The exception is persons with diplomatic or consular immunity.
You can also buy through a foreign-invested company registered in Vietnam, or a branch or representative office of a foreign company. For a private buyer this is usually unnecessary: the property is registered directly to the individual.
What you can buy
- An apartment in a residential complex that is part of a developer's project.
- A detached house or villa in a housing estate that is also a developer's project.
- Housing can be acquired by sale and purchase, by lease-purchase, as a gift or by inheritance.
You cannot buy housing in projects located in national defence and security zones. The list of projects where foreigners may buy is approved by each province's authorities and published on its official portal and on the portal of the provincial Department of Construction. Ho Chi Minh City, for example, published a list of 24 projects and has since added to it.
Apartment, condotel or resort apartment
On the coast, objects with different legal status are all sold as apartments, and for a foreigner the difference is fundamental:
- A residential apartment in a residential building is what the law allows a foreigner to buy, within the quota and for 50 years.
- A condotel, hotel apartment or resort apartment is premises for tourist accommodation, usually on land designated for commercial use. The rules on foreigners buying housing do not automatically apply to it. The right to such premises may be confirmed by a document, but the term and the land use stated in it will be different.
- A villa in a resort complex is also more often tourist property than a house in a housing estate.
The word apartments in an advert confirms nothing. Before the deposit, find out what document will be issued after the purchase, in whose name, for what term and with what designated use.
Quotas: 30% of apartments and 250 houses
Each project has a limit on the foreign share:
- Apartments — no more than 30% of the apartments in one residential building. If a complex has several towers on a shared podium, the quota is counted for each tower separately.
- Houses — no more than 250 houses in an area equivalent to one ward with a population of about 10,000.
Once the quota in a building is used up, the apartment can no longer be registered to a foreigner. If such housing comes to a foreigner as a gift or inheritance, they receive only its value, not the property itself. That is why the quota is checked before the deposit, not after. A developer's verbal promise that the quota is available is not enough for a large payment — you need an answer for the specific tower.
Ownership term: 50 years and extension
A foreigner does not own housing indefinitely, but for up to 50 years from the date the ownership certificate is issued. The term is written directly on the certificate. On application it can be extended once for no more than another 50 years. The extension is arranged separately, subject to conditions, so the phrase 100 years of ownership should not be read as a guarantee.
There is an exception: a foreigner married to a Vietnamese citizen or to a Vietnamese living abroad owns housing on the same terms as Vietnamese citizens, without the 50-year limit. The documents for such registration are checked separately.
What you can do with the property
A foreign owner can live in the apartment, rent it out, sell it, give it away, pass it on by inheritance and mortgage it to a bank. The property can be sold to a Vietnamese buyer or to another foreigner if the project's quota is not used up.
Housing can only be let for residential use, and the lease must be notified to the local authority that keeps housing records. Rental income is taxed — see below.
What buying gives a foreigner, and what it does not
What it gives:
- Ownership in your own name. The apartment or house is registered directly to you, with the ownership term written on the certificate — no nominee owners or companies.
- Rental income. You can let the property and legally receive rent.
- The right to sell and take the money out. When you sell, the proceeds can be transferred abroad if the purchase was paid through a bank with funds from abroad.
- Inheritance and gifts. The property passes to heirs or by gift. If an heir cannot own housing in Vietnam, they receive its value.
- Mortgage. The property can be pledged to a bank operating in Vietnam.
- Ownership without a time limit through marriage. If you are married to a Vietnamese citizen, the 50-year limit does not apply.
- Equal taxes. There are no surcharges for foreigners; the rates are the same as for Vietnamese citizens.
What it does not give:
- A visa or residence permit. Buying housing does not give the right to a visa, residence permit or citizenship. An investor visa is based on investment in a business, not in housing. Commercial websites write about a golden visa programme from 2026, but there is no official confirmation, and by their own account buying housing does not count towards it.
- Rights to the land. The land under the house remains state property and cannot be bought out.
You can visit your apartment under the normal entry rules: citizens of many countries can enter visa-free for up to 45 days, and everyone else can get an e-visa for up to 90 days with multiple entries.
Off-plan: how the buyer's money is protected
Most foreigners buy during construction, and the new Law on Real Estate Business, in force since 1 January 2025, has noticeably strengthened buyer protection:
- Deposit — no more than 5% of the price, and the developer may take it only once the project is eligible for sale.
- First payment, including the deposit — no more than 30% of the price.
- Before handover the developer may receive no more than 70% of the price, and before the ownership certificate is issued no more than 95%. The last 5% is paid when the buyer receives the certificate.
- Bank guarantee. A developer may sell off-plan housing only with a guarantee from a licensed bank. It must give the buyer a copy of the guarantee letter within 10 working days of signing the contract, and only then may it take money.
The guarantee and the project documents are worth checking before the deposit: the construction permit, the right to sell housing in a building under construction and whether the project is on the list for foreigners. A sales brochure is not proof of the right to sell.
Taxes and fees
There are no separate taxes for foreigners — the rates are the same as for Vietnamese citizens.
| Payment | Who pays | How much |
|---|---|---|
| VAT on new builds | buyer | 10%, usually already included in the developer's price |
| Maintenance fund | buyer | 2% of the apartment price, paid to the developer together with the payments |
| Registration fee | buyer | 0.5% of the price |
| Notary and registration services | usually the buyer | fixed tariffs |
| Tax on sale | seller | 2% of the sale price |
| Tax on rental income | owner | 5% VAT + 5% personal income tax on revenue above the tax-free threshold |
For example, when buying an apartment from a developer for 3 billion dong, the registration fee will be about 15 million dong and the maintenance fund contribution about 60 million dong, with VAT already in the price.
The tax on sale is retained in the new Law on Personal Income Tax, in force since 1 July 2026: 2% of the transaction price. The revenue threshold below which rental income is not taxed has been raised from 2026, but the exact figure is worth checking at the time you let the property — different regulations interpret it differently.
Money: only through a Vietnamese bank
The purchase is paid through a bank in Vietnam, in dong, from an account in the buyer's name. Money from abroad is brought in by an official transfer through an authorised bank, and all confirmations of these transfers should be kept.
This is not a formality: when you sell, you can take the money out of the country only if it is clear that the purchase was paid with legally imported funds. Paying in cash or through third parties creates problems precisely at the moment of sale.
If the goal is renting out: how to calculate the yield
Count the net income, not the advertised one. From the annual rent, deduct vacant months, the management company's fees, building maintenance, repairs and furniture, and the tax on rent. For a resort property, seasonality must be taken into account separately: the high season and empty months give a very different picture from the average rate in a brochure.
The yield promised by an operator or developer is not yet the owner's result. It can only be confirmed by real rental rates and occupancy of the specific property or similar apartments in the same building.
What is happening on the market in 2026
According to the report of Vietnam's Ministry of Construction for the second quarter of 2026, published on 21 August, supply is growing while demand is weakening:
- Transactions nationwide — about 100,005, which is 71.5% of the first-quarter level and 63.7% of the second quarter of 2025. Of these, 26,567 involved apartments and houses.
- New projects: 113 commercial housing projects received permits, about 103,205 units: 69,588 apartments and 33,617 houses — almost twice as many as the quarter before.
- Tourist property: 9 projects were approved and 4 received construction permits, with about 1,807 tourist apartments and 942 villas.
- Prices on the secondary apartment market began to correct for the first time in a long while. The average price is about 123 million dong per m² in Hanoi and about 108 million dong per m² in Ho Chi Minh City.
For the buyer this means that in the second half of 2026 there is more room to negotiate and a wider choice of new builds. But these are national and city averages — they do not show the price of a specific apartment, which should be compared with similar offers in the same area.
How Much an Apartment in Vietnam Costs
Vietnam's Ministry of Construction publishes official price data only for the largest cities. According to its Q2 2026 report, the average price of a resale apartment is about VND 123 million per m² in Hanoi and about VND 108 million per m² in Ho Chi Minh City — roughly USD 4,700 and 4,100 per m² at the exchange rate at the time of the report.
What affects the price:
- City and district — central Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City are more expensive than the outskirts and resort towns.
- View and distance to the sea — in Nha Trang and Da Nang the beachfront line is noticeably more expensive than apartments further inland.
- Status of the property — a tourist apartment and a residential apartment are priced differently and give different rights.
- Construction stage — off-plan prices are lower, but the risk is higher.
- Quota — when the foreign quota in a building is almost used up, the last apartments for foreigners are sold at a premium.
Average figures do not show the price of a specific apartment. Compare the property with similar offers in the same building and district, and add the taxes and fees from the section above.
Where to Buy an Apartment in Vietnam: Nha Trang, Da Nang, Hanoi, HCMC, Phu Quoc
Each destination suits its own purpose. This is not a yield ranking, but a guide to what to look at:
| Destination | What it suits | The main thing to check |
|---|---|---|
| Hanoi | living in the capital and long-term rental | entry price, transport, liquidity of the specific complex |
| Ho Chi Minh City | the largest urban market, living and renting | district, project readiness, documents, resale terms |
| Da Nang | a city by the sea, both for living and for guests | do not confuse a residential apartment with a tourist apartment |
| Nha Trang | a seaside city with a large tourist segment | residential apartment or condotel, land use |
| Phu Quoc | a resort island | seasonality, management company, status of the property |
Hanoi. An apartment here is assessed as city housing: the commute to work and schools, how the complex is organised, the price against similar offers. For renting out you need real rates and vacancy in the chosen district — the city average will not replace them.
Ho Chi Minh City. The country's largest market, and the analysis here is done at the level of the district and the project. If the apartment is bought for resale, find out in advance the ownership term in the documents, the remaining foreign quota and the circle of future buyers.
Da Nang. A seaside city with an airport and developed infrastructure: convenient both to live in and to rent out. First decide what the property is for: yourself, long-term rental or guests. A sea view does not answer whether the property can be registered as a foreigner's residential ownership — that is checked in the project documents.
Nha Trang. One of the most popular destinations with foreign buyers: there are direct flights and many apartments by the sea. That is why checking documents matters most here. Residential buildings and condotels stand side by side on the waterfront, and one sale may concern a residential apartment while another concerns a hotel unit on commercial land with a different term. When buying an apartment in Nha Trang, first confirm the status of the property and the quota, and only then compare price and view. For renting out, remember that the high season does not last all year.
Phu Quoc. The island lives on tourism, and most of the supply is resort villas and apartments in hotel complexes. What decides is the project documents, the contract with the management company, the running costs and how the property fills up in the low season.
How to Buy an Apartment in Vietnam: Step by Step
- The purpose of the purchase — for living, long-term rental or resort use: both the property and the calculation depend on it.
- Choosing a project from the province's official list where foreigners are allowed to buy.
- Checking the status and quota — whether it is residential premises and how many apartments in the tower can still go to foreigners.
- Checking documents — the right to sell and the bank guarantee for a new build; for resale, the seller's certificate and absence of encumbrances.
- Opening an account at a Vietnamese bank and transferring money from abroad with confirmation.
- Deposit and sale and purchase contract. Before signing — the full contract with annexes: the area and how it is adjusted, the price, the schedule, the handover date, liability for delay. With a developer, a contract on the approved form; on the resale market, a notarised contract.
- Payments on schedule within the 30%, 70% and 95% limits.
- Handover and payment of the registration fee.
- Ownership certificate, the so-called pink book, stating the ownership term. For a new build the developer arranges it after handover.
What to watch out for
- Buying in a Vietnamese person's name to get around the restrictions is not legally protected: on paper they will be the owner, not you.
- The 50-year term starts from the date the certificate is issued, not the date of purchase, so on the resale market it matters how many years the seller has left.
- The certificate for a new build is sometimes issued late. The withheld 5% of the price is exactly what motivates the developer to arrange it faster.
- Full costs — calculate building maintenance, repairs and furnishing from the documents of the specific project, not from a universal table in an advert.
Read also: how a foreigner can buy property in Cambodia — there an apartment can be owned outright, without a 50-year limit.
Frequently Asked Questions about Buying an Apartment in Vietnam
Can a foreigner buy an apartment in Vietnam?
Yes. A foreigner who has legally entered Vietnam can buy an apartment or a house in a residential project from the province's official list. Land cannot be bought.
How much does an apartment in Vietnam cost?
According to the Ministry of Construction for Q2 2026, on average about VND 123 million per m² in Hanoi and VND 108 million per m² in Ho Chi Minh City. The price of a specific apartment depends on the district, view, status of the property and construction stage.
Can a foreigner buy an apartment in Nha Trang?
Yes, if it is a residential apartment in a project on the list for foreigners and the quota in the building is not used up. There are many condotels in Nha Trang — their legal status is different, so check the document you will receive after the purchase.
For how long does a foreigner own the property?
For 50 years from the date the certificate is issued, with a one-time extension of up to another 50 years. If married to a Vietnamese citizen, there is no term limit.
What taxes does the buyer pay?
VAT of 10% (usually already included in an off-plan price), 2% to the maintenance fund and a 0.5% registration fee. The seller pays 2% of the sale price.
Does buying an apartment give a residence permit in Vietnam?
No. Buying property does not give a visa, a residence permit or citizenship.
Can I rent out the apartment I bought?
Yes, for residential use, with notification to the local authority and payment of rental income tax.
See also
Read also
Property Taxes in Thailand 2026: Buying, Owning and Selling
Buying Property in Cambodia 2026: Rules for Foreigners
Buying Property in Malaysia 2026: Forest City, Prices, Rules
Sources
- Law on Housing of Vietnam No. 27/2023/QH15, Articles 17–20 (in force since 01.08.2024)
- Law on Land of Vietnam No. 31/2024/QH15 (in force since 01.08.2024)
- Government Decree No. 95/2024/ND-CP of 24.07.2024, Articles 4 and 7
- Law on Real Estate Business of Vietnam No. 29/2023/QH15, Articles 23, 25, 26 (in force since 01.01.2025)
- Law on Personal Income Tax of Vietnam No. 109/2025/QH15 (in force since 01.07.2026)
- Vietnam's Ministry of Construction, real estate market report for Q2 2026 (21.08.2026)
- Vietnam Investment Review — Clarifying rules on foreign property ownership
- Government of Vietnam portal — how the list of projects for foreigners is approved
- VnEconomy — Ho Chi Minh City publishes the list of projects for foreigners
- Báo Đầu tư — the real estate market in Q2 2026 according to the Ministry of Construction
- VOH — apartment prices in Q2 2026 according to the Ministry of Construction
- Vietnam Briefing — tax obligations of property owners
This blog is written by Anna — Realty 51’s AI guide. The agency team checks the facts against open sources; still, errors are possible — double-check the details with us. Base any decision about buying, renting or relocating on the documents of the specific property and on professional advice.