Regulations on the term and cases of termination of housing lease contracts according to the latest Housing Law

1. Concept of housing lease contract

A housing lease contract is a civil contract, under which the lessor is obliged to deliver the house to the lessee for use within the agreed term and the lessee is obliged to pay rent as agreed or as prescribed by law.

2. Lease term and rental price

- The lessor and the lessee may agree on the lease term, rental price and the form of periodic or one-time rent payment; in case the State has regulations on housing rental prices, the parties must comply with such regulations.

- In case the housing lease contract has not expired but the lessor renovates the house and the lessee agrees, the lessor has the right to adjust the housing rental price. The new housing rental price is agreed upon by the parties; in case no agreement is reached, the lessor has the right to unilaterally terminate the housing lease contract and must compensate the lessee according to the provisions of law.

- The State protects the legal rights and interests of the lessor and lessee during the process of renting and leasing housing.

(Article 129 of the 2014 Housing Law).

3. Cases of termination of housing lease contracts

(1) In case of renting state-owned housing, the lease contract shall be terminated in one of the following cases:

- Selling, leasing, or leasing-purchasing housing without proper authority, to the wrong subjects, or without meeting the conditions prescribed by the 2014 Housing Law;

- The lease term expires when the lessee no longer wishes to continue renting or when both parties agree to terminate the lease or lease-purchase contract;

- The lessee or hire-purchaser returns the house being rented or hired-purchased;

- The tenant is no longer eligible to rent housing under the provisions of the Housing Law 2014;

- The lessee dies or is declared missing by the Court without anyone living with him/her; in the case of renting public housing, when the lessee dies or is declared missing by the Court;

- The lessee or lessee-purchaser of a house does not pay rent for 3 months or more without a valid reason;

- Houses for rent or hire purchase that must be demolished for renovation or reconstruction according to the decision of a competent state agency;

- The lessee or hire-purchaser uses the house for purposes other than those agreed upon in the house lease contract or arbitrarily converts, sells, sub-leases, lends the house or arbitrarily breaks, expands, renovates, or demolishes the rented or hire-purchased house.

(2) In case of renting non-state-owned housing, the termination of the housing lease contract is carried out when one of the following cases occurs:

- The housing lease contract expires; in case the contract does not specify a term, the contract shall terminate after 90 days from the date the lessor notifies the lessee of the termination of the contract;

- The two parties agree to terminate the contract;

- House for rent is no longer available;

- The tenant dies or is declared missing by the Court and at the time of death or disappearance there is no one living with him/her;

- Rental housing that is severely damaged, at risk of collapse, or located in an area where there is a decision to reclaim land, clear housing, or have a decision to demolish by a competent state agency; rental housing that is subject to compulsory purchase or requisition by the State for other purposes.

The lessor must notify the lessee in writing 30 days in advance of the termination of the housing lease contract as prescribed in Point d, Clause 2, Article 131 of the 2014 Housing Law, unless otherwise agreed by the parties;

- Termination according to the provisions of Article 132 of the Housing Law 2014.

(Article 131 of the 2014 Housing Law)