Circular No. 05-BXD/ĐT guiding the method for determining usable area and classifying housing

CIRCULAR

Guidelines for determining usable area and classifying housing.

_________________________________

Implement Decision No. 118-TTg dated November 27, 1992 of the Prime Minister on rental prices for housing and incorporating housing costs into salaries. Following Circular No. 1-LB/TT issued jointly by the Ministry of Construction and the Ministry of Finance on January 19, 1993;

The Ministry of Construction provides specific guidelines for determining usable area and classifying housing as follows:

I. DETERMINING THE USABLE AREA IN HOUSING

1. General principles:

a) To determine the usable area for tenants, housing is classified as follows:

- Single-family houses or villas.

- Multi-unit housing (hotel-style, collective housing, multi-unit combined housing, single-unit housing).

b) The usable area (square meters) of each unit is the total living area and separate auxiliary area. For multi-unit housing, the usable area of each unit is the sum of the separate usable area of each unit plus the shared auxiliary area allocated proportionally to the living area of each unit.

c) The areas of rooms and usage parts are calculated based on clear dimensions (excluding wall thickness, partition thickness, column thickness including plaster layers but not excluding floor covering thickness or wall covering thickness).

d) Traffic area: common stairwell, common hallway for units; entrance to the house's lobby or each floor level are not included in the usable area.

2. Determining the usable area in housing:

The usable area (square meters) is the total living area and auxiliary area calculated according to the following provisions:

a) Living area is the total area of main rooms used for living including:

- Living rooms (dining, sleeping, common activities, living room...) in apartment housing.

- Living rooms, bedrooms in collective housing, hotel-style housing.

- Wall cabinets, built-in cabinets, recessed cabinets with doors opening into living rooms.

- Area under the staircase arranged within living rooms of the apartment (if the height from the floor to the bottom of the staircase is less than 1.60 meters, this area is not counted).

b) Auxiliary area: The area (square meters) is the total area of secondary rooms or parts including:

- Kitchen (cooking, washing, food preparation area) excluding the area occupied by chimneys, garbage chutes, water supply and drainage pipes...

- Bathrooms, laundry, toilets, urinals and internal pathways for centralized sanitary facilities.

- Storage room.

- Half the area of the balcony.

- Half the area of the veranda.

- Hallways and pathways within the unit or living rooms.

- Entrance halls, buffer rooms... used exclusively for one unit or several living rooms.

- Pathways, entrances, buffer rooms of the kitchen or centralized bathroom, laundry, toilet, urinal areas.

- Built-in cabinets, recessed cabinets of the unit with doors opening into secondary parts or rooms.

In multi-unit housing, the shared auxiliary area used for multiple units to allocate rental fees according to the living area ratio of each unit does not include parking rooms, common activity rooms, management or security rooms.

3. Requirements for documentation:

a) Documentation for determining the usable area for each unit includes:

- Floor plans and cross-sections of the unit (house): scale 1/100 - 1/50. For multi-unit housing, there must be floor plans of the entire building, each floor, clearly indicating the shared auxiliary area allocated to each unit, with descriptions of pathways.

- Data:

+ Living area,

+ Separate auxiliary area of each unit,

+ Shared auxiliary area for multiple units (for multi-unit housing) allocated to the unit.

The documentation is prepared by the landlord, including the full name and signature of the preparer, the representative of the tenant named in the lease contract, and confirmed with the seal of the leasing authority.

- Sample form for determining the usable area (see Appendix).

b) The documentation is prepared in two copies:

- One copy retained at the leasing authority.

- One copy given to the tenant.

II. CLASSIFYING HOUSING

1. Multi-unit housing, low-rise or high-rise single-family houses.

Are divided into four levels (see Table 1). Level 1 is the highest level, Level 4 is the lowest level.

2. The usage quality of the house is determined based on the following factors:

- Standards for area, volume, and sequence of rooms.

- Standards for technical hygiene equipment, ventilation, air conditioning, installation systems for electricity, water supply and drainage.

- Degree of interior and exterior completion and decoration.

3. Durability and fire resistance of the house (unit) are determined according to the regulations in standard TCVN 2622-78. Specific details about usage quality and construction quality refer to the Appendix.

4. A villa is a single-family house with a garden (trees, grass, flower garden, water surface), fence, and private entrance. Inside the villa, there are complete living rooms (bedroom, common activities, dining...), secondary rooms (bathroom, kitchen, storage, garage...). Each floor has at least two living rooms facing the garden or yard. Technical hygiene equipment has high or relatively high quality. Architectural and artistic solutions, with high or relatively high quality interior and exterior decoration. The house has load-bearing structure: reinforced concrete columns or load-bearing brick walls, wooden or reinforced concrete floors covered with high-quality materials. Roof made of reinforced concrete or tiled roof with soundproof and heat-insulating ceiling. Consider the villa based on its original condition when constructed.

To calculate rental fees for villas, they are categorized into four classes: Class 1 is the lowest, Class 4 is the highest:

- Class 1: Villa adjacent to a wall.

- Class 2: Twin villa (combined).

- Class 3: Independent villa.

- Class 4: Luxury independent villa.

Classification is based on the size of the garden, quantity of amenities used, architectural quality.

5. Single-family houses with gardens are houses with good or average usage quality; the garden is utilized to generate additional income.

This circular provides guidelines for the main principles of classifying and determining the usable area of housing; localities provide specific guidance for implementation in their respective areas.

In the course of implementation, any difficulties shall be reported promptly to the Ministry of Construction for consideration and resolution.