Buying in Hanoi: Tây Hồ, the lakes and the 50-year rule

About Buying in Hanoi: Tây Hồ, the lakes and the 50-year rule

By the ULTIMATE Hanoi Editorial Team

Editor-in-Chief: Jai Michael

In Vietnam land itself belongs to the people and is administered by the state; owners hold land-use rights. Under the Housing Law 2023, in force since 1 August 2024, a foreign individual may own an apartment or a house in a commercial housing project outside defence and security areas, for up to 50 years from the certificate, renewable once; foreigners may hold no more than 30 per cent of the apartments in a building, and no more than 250 houses in a ward-sized area. A draft revision published in October 2026 proposes limiting foreign ownership to apartments: check the current law before you commit.

Where people buy

Tây Hồ, around West Lake, is the neighbourhood of villas, serviced apartments and many international residents; Ciputra, to its north-west, is a gated township; Ba Đình and the French Quarter have older villas and apartments; the west of the city, around Cầu Giấy and Nam Từ Liêm, has towers; Long Biên and Ecopark lie across the Red River.

What a foreigner may own

An apartment or house in a commercial housing project, for 50 years from the certificate, extendable once; up to 30 per cent of the apartments in a building and up to 250 houses in a ward-sized area (Housing Law 2023, in force 1 August 2024). Land-use rights are not sold to foreign individuals.

We never publish prices; ask your own lawyer.

Our advice: use your own Vietnamese lawyer, buy only in a project that is licensed to sell to foreigners, and never pay before the documents have been checked.

Opening hours, prices and seasonal openings change, so please check with Buying in Hanoi: Tây Hồ, the lakes and the 50-year rule before you go.