Article 1.- To promulgate together with this Decision the Provisional Regulation on minimum conditions of dwelling houses leased to laborers for dwelling.

Article 2.- This Decision takes effect 15 days after its publication in "CONG BAO."

Article 3.- Ministries, ministerial-level agencies, Government-attached agencies, provincial-municipal People's Committees and concerned organizations and individuals shall have to implement this Decision.

Article 4.- To assign the Housing Management Department to assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with concerned functional agencies in, guiding and inspecting the implementation of this Decision, detecting problems arising therefrom and reviewing and reporting the situation to the Construction Ministry for promulgation of construction standards of dwelling houses of all kinds for lease according to the provisions of the Housing Law.

Minister of Construction
NGUYEN HONG QUAN

Article 1.- Objectives and requirements

1. To gradually create conditions for laborers to have better dwelling places, redress the situation of building dwelling houses of inferior quality for lease, thus affecting laborers' health, working capacity and quality and causing bad impacts on the construction planning, environmental landscape, social order and safety.

2. To define rights and responsibilities of concerned organizations, individuals and state management agencies in investment in building and management of use of dwelling houses leased to laborers for dwelling.

3. To accelerate the socialization of the business of leasing dwelling houses according to the provisions of the Housing Law.

Article 2.- Governing scope

This Regulation specifies the minimum conditions of dwelling houses leased to laborers working in industrial parks, export processing zones, hi-tech parks; production, business or service establishments; pupils or students of vocational and job-training schools (hereinafter collectively referred to as laborers) for dwelling.

Article 3.- Subjects of application

1. Subjects of application of this Regulation include:

Organizations and individuals that have dwelling houses leased to the subjects defined in Article 2 of this Regulation for dwelling.

This Regulation shall not apply to leased dwelling houses built according to the provisions of the Housing Law and to dwelling houses leased as inns.

2. For other types of dwelling houses for lease not yet governed by any specific regulations, local administrations may apply this Regulation to the management of the lease of such dwelling houses in their respective localities.

Article 4.- Minimum conditions of a dwelling room

1. The use area of a room must be at least 9 m2; its inner width must be at least 2.40 m and its inner height at the lowest place must be at least 2.70 m.

2. The average use area per dweller must be at least 3 m2 (excluding the area of auxiliary works).

3. A dwelling room must have a door and window(s) to ensure natural ventilation and lighting. The proportion of the area of the door and window(s) for lighting to the room's total area must be at least one tenth. The door must be at least 0.75m wide and have a bolt and lock, while window(s) must be mullioned to ensure safety and security for dwellers. Each dweller must be furnished with a bed.

4. There must be lamps for sufficiently lighting the whole room (with a minimum illumination of 50 lux). Each dweller must have at least one electric socket and each room must have a separate automatic circuit-breaker.

5. In a self-contained room, its toilet and bath area must be separated from the sleeping area with a wall and ensure hygienic conditions.

Article 5.- Minimum conditions of a dwelling house

A dwelling house leased to laborers, apart from complying with the provisions of Article 4 this Regulation on dwelling apartments, must also satisfy the following conditions:

1. The foundation must be built with durable materials which are capable of bearing the load of the entire house and cutting off wall permeability.

2. The house floor must be covered with flooring tiles or coated with a cement mortar layer. The house floor must be at least 0.3 m higher than the level of the access road and at least 0.15 m higher than the level of the front yard or pavement.

3. Surrounding walls and partition walls must be built with durable materials, satisfying the fire prevention, soundproof and heat-insulation requirements. The inner surface of partition walls which are of brick masonry must be evenly plastered and triply whitewashed or painted.

4. The house must not be roofed with flammable materials and must be leak-free. Where the house is roofed with iron or fibrocement sheets, it must have a heat- and sound-insulating ceiling.

5. The house must be firmly structured and can stand windstorm.

6. Each dwelling room must have its own door and window(s).

7. Regarding electricity supply: Electricity supply lines must ensure safety conditions prescribed by electricity authorities. There must be exterior lamps for sufficient lighting of entryways.

8. Regarding daily-life water supply: Clean water must be supplied at a minimum norm of 75 liters per person per day. Where water is taken from a drilled well, it must be purified at a filtering basin to satisfy drinking water's hygienic standards specified in the Health Ministry's Decision No. 1329/2002/BYT/QD.

9. Regarding water drainage: There must be water drainage pipelines connected to the area's common drainage system. If drainage gutters and ditches are used, they must be properly covered.

10. Regarding fire and explosion prevention and fighting: There must be a water tank for fire fighting and fire and explosion prevention and fighting devices according to regulations.

11. Regarding environmental sanitation: Each dwelling house for lease must have places for cooking, washing and drying clothes. The place for drying clothes must be at least 0.4 m2 per dweller on average. If there is only one common toilet place in a dwelling house, men's and women's toilet places (toilet and bath) must be separated. Each toilet place should be used by no more than 10 persons. Waste discharged from toilet must go through a detritus pit built according to set specifications.

12. There must be a hygienic place for collecting garbage. Garbage must be collected on a daily basis so as not to pollute the environment.

Article 6.- Minimum conditions of a dwelling quarter

1. The land plot for building dwelling houses to be leased to laborers for dwelling must lie neither in an area where construction is banned nor within the corridor for protection of traffic or irrigation works, dikes, energy projects, historical ' cultural relics and zones for protection of other works specified by law. It must lie neither in an area prone to landslide, flash flood, inundation, pollution caused by industrial waste, garbage dumping site or cemetery nor in public land areas, and must be dispute-free.

2. The arrangement of the ground for building dwelling houses and other construction items in the land plot must ensure convenient passage within the quarter and environmental sanitation and minimize the spread of fire or the domino effect upon the collapse of a house.

3. The construction density must not exceed 70%.

4. Each passage must be at least 3.5 m wide, clear of obstacles and ensure easy operation of fire-fighting equipment upon occurrence of a fire.

5. The distance between the edges of the front roofs of houses of two opposite rows must be at least 2.70 m. The distance between the edge of the front roof of a house and the edge of the back roof of an opposite house or an opposite wall must be at least 2.4 m. The distance between the back sides of two parallel houses must be at least 2.0 m.

6. Within a quarter of dwelling houses for lease consisting of 10 rooms or more or accommodating more than 30 tenants, the area for trees or free space must be at least 2 m2 per person.

7. Each quarter of dwelling houses must have its use rules displayed at an easy-to-spot place.

Article 7.- Responsibilities of organizations and individuals

1. Responsibilities of organizations and individuals having dwelling houses for lease

1.1. As from the effective date of this Regulation, organizations and individuals that invest in building new dwelling houses to be leased to laborers for dwelling must satisfy the minimum conditions specified in this Regulation. For areas where construction permits are required, the building of dwelling houses to be leased to laborers for dwelling shall be conducted only after competent state agencies grant such construction permits.

In areas where construction permit is exempted, if a dwelling house to be built consists of 3 rooms or more or is to be leased to more than 15 tenants or has a flooring area of over 50 m2, its investor shall, before conducting the construction, must have a general site plan of the construction ground satisfying the minimum conditions specified in this Regulation and obtain a written approval of the commune/ward People's Committee concerned.

1.2. Organizations and individuals having dwelling houses leased to laborers for dwelling before the effective date of this Regulation shall have to inspect and compare their conditions against this Regulation. If the minimum conditions specified in this Regulation are not met yet, they must work out plans on repair and renovation of their leased dwelling houses to satisfy such conditions. They must notify current tenants of the repair or renovation at least 30 days in advance and prepare solutions to relocate current tenants to other places.

Where the lesser has 10 rooms or more currently on lease or more than 30 current tenants, the lesser must phase out the repair or renovation in order to ensure the least number of tenants to be relocated and the shortest repair or renovation duration.

1.3. The repair or renovation of dwelling houses to satisfy the conditions specified in this Regulation must be completed no later than December 31, 2007. After such deadline, dwelling houses which fail to satisfy the minimum conditions specified in this Regulation and have not been repaired or renovated shall not be permitted to be leased to laborers for dwelling.

1.4. Organizations and individuals having dwelling houses leased to laborers for dwelling must ensure the regular maintenance and repair of leased dwelling houses in order to keep such houses safe, clean and nice.

1.5. Organizations and individuals having dwelling houses leased to laborers for dwelling must enter into dwelling house lease contracts and notify tenants of the rules on use of dwelling houses before signing such contracts.

2. Responsibilities of tenants

Tenants shall have the following responsibilities:

2.1. To abide by dwelling house lease contracts and use rules.

2.2. To carry out procedures for temporary residence registration and other procedures according to law, and to follow a civilized lifestyle in the dwelling quarter.

3. Responsibilities of provincial-level People's Committees:

3.1. Provincial/municipal People's Committees shall promulgate regulations on management of dwelling houses leased to laborers in their localities for dwelling in compliance with this Regulation and in compatibility with their localities' actual conditions.

3.2. To assign the responsibility for state management of dwelling houses leased to laborers for dwelling to relevant branches and People's Committees of lower levels in their respective localities.

3.3. To direct provincial/municipal Construction Services to coordinate with concerned Services and Departments, district- and commune-level People's Committees in guiding and inspecting the strict observance of regulations on dwelling houses for lease by organizations and individuals having dwelling houses leased to laborers for dwelling as well as by their tenants.

3.4. To formulate programs on housing development, planning and plans on development of dwelling houses for social purposes according to the provisions of the Housing Law; to adopt policies to encourage organizations and individuals to invest in building dwelling houses under projects for lease; to encourage entrepreneurs to invest in building dwelling houses for lease to laborers working in their enterprises for dwelling.

4. Responsibilities of state management agencies in charge of dwelling houses in provinces and centrally-run cities

4.1. Provincial/municipal Construction Services or agencies assigned by provincial/municipal People's Committees the function of performing the state management of dwelling houses in their localities shall base themselves on the provisions of this Regulation and the actual conditions of their localities to study, elaborate and submit to provincial/municipal People's Committees for promulgation regulations on management of dwelling houses leased to laborers for dwelling, ensuring that such regulations are compatible with realities and compliant with the provisions of this Regulation.

4.2. To guide and urge district- and commune-level People's Committees to regularly inspect and handle violations of this Regulation in each geographical area.

4.3. To coordinate with functional bodies in inspecting and handling violations related to the building and use of dwelling houses leased to laborers for dwelling according to the provisions of this Regulation and regulations on management of dwelling houses leased to laborers for dwelling promulgated by provincial-level People's Committees.

5. Responsibilities of district-level People's Committees

5.1. People's Committees of rural districts and urban districts shall guide, disseminate and inspect the implementation of this Regulation and regulations on management of dwelling houses leased to laborers for dwelling promulgated by provincial-level People's Committees, and concurrently direct People's Committees of communes and wards in urging organizations, households and individuals having dwelling houses leased to laborers for dwelling to strictly comply with the provisions of this Regulation.

5.2. To report to provincial-level People's Committees once every six months on the situation of dwelling houses leased to laborers for dwelling in their localities.

5.3. To coordinate with functional Services and Departments and commune-level People's Committees in inspecting and handling violations related to the building and use of dwelling houses leased to laborers for dwelling according to the provisions of this Regulation and local regulations on management of dwelling houses leased to laborers for dwelling.

6. Responsibilities of commune-level People's Committees

6.1. People's Committees of communes and wards shall have to propagate, guide and disseminate this Regulation and regulations on management of dwelling houses leased to laborers for dwelling promulgated by provincial/municipal People's Committees; urge and inspect organizations, households and individuals having dwelling houses leased to laborers for dwelling in their localities in observing state regulations on lease of dwelling houses.

6.2. To report to district-level People's Committees once every six months on the situation of dwelling houses leased to laborers for dwelling in their localities, and at the same time coordinate with functional bodies in inspecting and handling violations according to their competence.

Article 8.- Implementation provisions

1. Local agencies performing the state management of dwelling houses shall organize the implementation of this Regulation. Any difficulties or problems arising in the course of implementation should be promptly reported to the Construction Ministry for settlement or appropriate adjustments or supplements to the Regulation.

2. The Housing Management Department is assigned to assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with relevant functional agencies at the central as well as local levels in, guiding and organizing the implementation of this Regulation; to periodically inspect the implementation, detect newly arising problems so as to promptly propose supplements and/or amendments to this Regulation to make it suitable to realities.