What Can Be Built Without Permission?

According to the provisions of Clause 1, Article 89 of the Construction Law 2014, the investor must have a construction permit issued by a competent state agency before commencing construction works, except for cases exempted from obtaining a construction permit.

Cases where a construction permit is not required include:

- Works involving state secrets, construction works under urgent orders, and works located within two or more provincial administrative units;- Works belonging to investment projects approved by the Prime Minister of Vietnam, Ministers, Heads of ministerial-level agencies, and Presidents of People’s Committees at various levels;- Temporary construction works serving the construction of the main project;- Construction works along routes outside urban areas but in accordance with construction planning approved by competent state agencies or approved by competent state agencies regarding route direction;- Construction works in industrial zones, export processing zones, high-tech zones with detailed planning of 1/500 approved by competent state agencies and the construction design appraised according to this Law;- Residential houses under urban development projects and housing development projects with a scale of fewer than 7 floors and a total floor area of less than 500 m2, with detailed planning of 1/500 approved by competent state agencies;- Works for repair, renovation, and installation of equipment inside the work that do not change the load-bearing structure, do not change the utility function, and do not affect the environment or work safety;- Works for repair and renovation changing the exterior architecture not adjacent to streets in urban areas requiring architectural management;- Rural technical infrastructure works only requiring an Economic - Technical Report for construction investment in areas without approved rural residential construction planning;- Construction works in rural areas within areas without approved urban development planning and detailed construction planning; individual houses in rural areas, except for individual houses built in conservation areas or historical - cultural relics.

Thus, if not exempted from obtaining a construction permit, one must have a construction permit to commence construction works. Violations of construction without a permit can be subject to administrative fines ranging from VND 3,000,000 to VND 50,000,000 according to the provisions of Article 13 of Decree 121/2013/ND-CP or be subject to criminal prosecution for "Offenses against regulations on housing management" as stipulated in Article 270 of the Penal Code 1999.

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