Businesses not happy with handing back apartment offices

LookAtVietnam – MOC’s decision not to allow apartments to be used for offices has not been well received by a number of businesses.

In the latest document sent to local authorities, the Ministry of Construction (MOC) wrote that it had found that many apartments have been used as leased offices or production and business bases, and that this must stop.

 

According to MOC, the use of apartments as business premises is illegal and unsafe for offices. In addition, they said that the existence of offices in residential quarters will badly affect daily life of local families.

 

However, that hasn’t been widely welcomed.

 

Nguyen Quoc Hung, head of the Administration and Personnel Division of An Thanh Securities Company, which rents an office at 18T2 bloc of Trung Hoa-Nhan Chinh residential quarter, said a lot of other businesses are using the offices located at apartment buildings.

 

According to Hung, it is popular for businesses to lease offices in this way. Very few companies are financially capable enough to build headquarters of their own. He stressed that if MOC insists in the implementation of the decision, it will cause difficulties to businesses and apartment bloc owners.

 

Director of a big construction firm in Hanoi, who asked to be anonymous, said that his company is using a large area in an apartment block to lease to businesses for offices.

 

The director believes that real estate investors will hit difficulties as a result of loss of revenue.

 

“We may make suggestions to MOC on removing the decision,” he said

 

Meanwhile, MOC deputy minister Nguyen Tran Nam, who Thoi bao Kinh te Vietnam contacted after the decision was released, has stressed the need to implement the decision. He cited the housing law as saying that one must not change the purpose of houses, and that houses can only be used for accommodation.

 

Nam stressed that the apartments in Trung Hoa-Nhan Chinh area have been licensed as the apartments for living in, and if the apartments are being used as offices, this is a violation of laws.

 

However, Nam has promised that MOC will create more favorable conditions for enterprises, who are using apartments as offices. He said that the ministry will release concrete regulations on the process of returning offices to owners.

 

VietNamNet/TBKTVN