Can households design by themselves separate houses in Vietnam?

Can households design by themselves separate houses in Vietnam?

Pursuant to Article 79 of the Law on Construction 2014 stipulates requirements on construction design as follows:

1. Meeting requirements of design tasks; being suitable to contents of approved construction investment projects, construction planning, architectural landscapes, and natural, cultural and social conditions in construction sites.

2. Work construction design contents must meet requirements of each design step.

3. Complying with applied standards, technical regulations, legal provisions on use of building materials, meeting requirements on utilities and applied technologies (if any); ensuring force-bearing safety, safety in use, artistic appearance, environmental protection, response to climate change, fire and explosion prevention and fighting, and other safety conditions.

4. Having appropriate design solutions and reasonable construction costs; ensuring synchronism within the work and with related works; ensuring conditions on comforts, hygiene and health for users; creating conditions for people with disabilities, the elderly and children to use works. Taking advantages and limiting unfavorable impacts of natural conditions; prioritizing the use of local and environment-friendly materials.

5. Construction designs shall be appraised and approved in accordance with this Law, except the case prescribed in Clause 7 of this Article.

6. Construction design contractors must have sufficient capabilities suitable to types and grades of works and jobs to be performed.

7. Construction designs of separate houses must comply with the following provisions:

a/ Construction designs of separate houses must meet design requirements prescribed in Clause 3 of this Article;

b/ Households may design by themselves separate houses with a total construction floor area of under 250 m² or with fewer than three stories or a height of under 12 meters in accordance with approved construction master plans, and shall take responsibility before law for design quality, environmental impacts of construction works and safety of adjacent works.

Thus, households are allowed to design their own separate houses in case the separate houses have a total construction floor area of under 250 m² or with fewer than three stories or a height of under 12 meters in accordance with approved construction master plans in Vietnam.

Do households that build their own separate houses under urban area construction investment projects have to apply for a construction permit in Vietnam?

According to Clause 2, Article 89 of the Construction Law 2014 as amended by Clause 30, Article 1 of the revised Construction Law 2020, general provisions on grant of construction permits are as follows:

2. Cases in which construction permit is exempted:

a) Works involving state secrets; works constructed under emergency orders;

b) Works of projects using public investment funds in which the construction investment is decided by the Prime Minister, heads of central-level agencies of political organizations, People’s Supreme Procuracy, People’s Supreme Court, State Audit Office of Vietnam, Office of the President, the Office of the National Assembly, ministers, heads of ministerial-level agencies, Governmental agencies, central-level agencies of Vietnamese Fatherland Front and of socio-political organizations or chairpersons of People’s Committees at different levels;

c) Makeshift construction works as prescribed in Article 131 hereof;

d) Works undergoing repair or renovation of their interior parts or works undergoing repair or renovation of their external architecture not facing roads in urban centers subject to architectural management requirements of competent state agencies; such repair or renovation does not alter the functions and force-bearing structures of the works, and must be conformable with construction planning approved by competent state agencies and requirements on fire and explosion prevention and fighting, and environmental protection;

dd) Advertisement works not subject to construction permits as prescribed by the Law on advertisement; passive telecom infrastructure works as prescribed by the Government;

e) Construction works located in the territories of two or more provincial-level administrative units, works constructed in lines outside urban areas which conform to construction planning or detailed planning approved by competent state agencies;

g) Construction works of which results of appraisal of the construction design following the fundamental design have been notified by specialized construction agencies to meet conditions for approval and which meet requirements for construction permit prescribed by this Law;

h) Detached houses with under 07 stories of urban area construction investment projects or housing construction investment projects under detailed planning of 1:500 scale approved by competent state agencies;

i) Grade-IV construction works or detached houses with under 07 stories in rural areas without urban planning, function zone construction planning or detailed construction planning on rural residential points approved by competent state agencies; Grade-IV construction works or detached houses in mountainous areas or islands without urban planning or function zone construction planning, except detached houses built in conservation zones or historical and cultural relic zones;

k) Project owners of construction works prescribed in Points b, e, g, h and i of this Clause, except detached houses prescribed in Point i of this Clause, shall send written notices of the time of construction commencement and construction design dossiers to local construction management agencies.

According to this Article, in case your household builds a separate house with under 07 stories of urban area construction investment projects or housing construction investment projects under detailed planning of 1:500 scale approved by competent state agencies, it does not require a construction permit in Vietnam.

What is deadline for construction commencement of separate houses when a construction permit is issued in Vietnam?

Article 90 of the Law on Construction 2014 stipulates major contents of a construction permit as follows:

1. Name of the work under the project.

2. Name and address of project owner.

3. Location and position for the work construction; the work construction line, for works built in lines.

4. Type and grade of the work.

5. Work construction level.

6. Red-line and construction boundaries.

7. Construction density (if any).

8. Land use coefficient (if any).

9. For civil works, industrial works and separate houses, in addition to the contents specified in Clauses 1 thru 8 of this Article, their construction permits must contain contents on total construction area, construction area of the first (ground) floor, number of stories (including basement, attic, technical story and staircase roof), and maximum elevation of the entire work.

10. The deadline for construction commencement, which must be within 12 months from the date of grant of the construction permit.

Thus, the deadline for construction commencement of separate houses shall not exceed 12 months from the date of grant of the construction permit in Vietnam.

Best Regards!