Task Force 5013—led by Mr. Nguyen Toan Thang, Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Agriculture and Environment—alongside leaders from various municipal departments and the HCMC Land Registration Office, continued working with real estate developers to address legal bottlenecks preventing the issuance of house ownership certificates, or pink books, to homebuyers of commercial housing projects on June 18.
During the session, the task force heard from investors behind six troubled projects: a high-rise residential project in Tan Thoi Nhat Ward, District 12 (developed by STC JSC); the An Phu Long 1 (D’vela) condominium in Phu Thuan Ward, District 7 (An Phu Long Real Estate JSC); the 12 View apartment complex in Tan Thoi Nhat Ward, District 12 (a joint development by Tin Phong Co., Ltd. and Hung Thinh Group); the K26 apartment complex on Duong Quang Ham Street, Ward 1, Go Vap District (managed by Project Management Unit 98); the Pegasuite I complex in Ward 6, District 8 (Phuong Viet Investment JSC); and the Him Lam residential area in Binh Hung Commune, Binh Chanh District (invested by Him Lam Land Corporation).
Particularly complex is the case of the K26 apartment complex project, for which the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee issued a land allocation decision in 2004, assigning the site to Project Management Unit 98 under the Ministry of National Defense. The project was intended to relocate military families stationed in and around Tan Son Nhat Airport and nearby military compounds. Though 640 apartments were handed over to residents in 2009, none have received ownership certificates to date.
After reviewing reports from Project Management Unit 98 and relevant agencies, Mr. Nguyen Toan Thang instructed the investor to submit a formal explanation detailing current legal obstacles and to propose a course of action. If those issues exceed local jurisdiction, the matter must be escalated to higher authorities. Once the problems are resolved, pink books will be issued to military and civilian families who purchased units.
In the case of the Tin Phong apartment project, in 2004, the city allowed Tin Phong Co., Ltd. to repurpose 19,472 square meters of land it had acquired in Tan Thoi Nhat Ward, District 12, for residential development. In 2009, the Department of Construction approved a plan for a 408-unit housing project, with the investor obligated to allocate 20 percent of the units for the city’s resettlement program.
However, the project was plagued by construction violations, leading to administrative fines. In 2017, Hung Thinh Real Estate Investment JSC acquired 387 units from Tin Phong and has since transferred those apartments to buyers. Despite years of occupancy, residents have filed repeated complaints demanding ownership certificates.
At the meeting, Hung Thinh representatives reported that the company had rectified the construction violations and resolved most remaining disputes. They urged city authorities to proceed with issuing pink books to the residents.
After reviewing the project's legal entanglements, Mr. Nguyen Toan Thang requested that Hung Thinh submit a detailed written account of the outstanding issues and formally commit to fulfilling administrative penalties and other legal obligations.
“We’ll prioritize issuing pink books to the residents first,” Mr. Nguyen Toan Thang stated. “As for the investor’s privately owned units, certification will be considered once all outstanding issues are resolved.”
