Decision No. 399-TC/QLCS promulgates the Regulation on the management and use of office buildings for administrative and service agencies.

Article 1. Office housing as defined in these Regulations includes office buildings and residential units of administrative and public service organizations (HCSN).

Office housing of HCSN agencies, which are state-owned assets formed from budget funds or originally from the budget, are assigned by the State to HCSN units for management and use.

Article 2.

Office housing must be registered and managed according to the provisions of these Regulations.

Article 3.

Heads of HCSN agencies entrusted by the State with the management and use of office premises must comply with the provisions of these Regulations.

Article 4.

Office housing of HCSN agencies must be registered with:

- The Ministry of Finance for HCSN agencies under the central government;

- Provincial Departments of Finance and Price Control for HCSN agencies under the central government;

The Bureau of State Asset Management will provide guidance on registration procedures applicable nationwide.

Article 5. The person responsible for registering office housing of HCSN agencies is specified as follows:

- For HCSN agencies under the central government, it is the head of ministries, agencies equivalent to ministries, and government agencies.

- For HCSN agencies under local management, it is the head of provincial departments, agencies directly under the People's Committee of provinces and centrally governed cities (hereinafter referred to as provincial level), and the Chairman of the People's Committee of districts and counties (hereinafter referred to as county level), and the Chairman of communes, wards, and towns (hereinafter referred to as commune level).

If office housing is assigned to multiple agencies for management and use (two or more agencies), each agency managing and using the housing must register (the portion they manage and use).

Article 6.

The boundaries of land belonging to the office housing of HCSN agencies are determined based on the Land Allocation Decision or land use right certificate issued by the competent authority of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, the Provisional Revolutionary Government of South Vietnam, or the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, or property ownership certificates issued by the competent authority of the previous regime.

In cases where there are no valid land documents, the agency entrusted by the State to manage and use the office housing must work with the local land administration to determine the land boundaries before registering the office housing.

If multiple agencies operate within the same high-rise building, the determination of land boundaries for each agency is based on the land allocation documents issued by the competent authorities mentioned above for which agency, that agency registers, or the local land administration determines the land boundaries for the agencies based on the unified proposal of these agencies if there are no valid land allocation documents before registration.

Article 7.

All HCSN agencies permitted by the State to be established will be provided with sufficient office housing area according to the standards set by the Government.

Article 8.

Gradually, the State will ensure sufficient office housing area for each agency as follows:

1- For ministries and agencies (collectively referred to as agencies) reorganized from two to three old agencies, the new agency may choose to retain the office housing location of one of the old agencies according to the standard area ratio. The remaining houses and lands of the old agencies must be transferred to the Ministry of Finance (Bureau of State Asset Management) for central government HCSN agencies or transferred to the Provincial Department of Finance and Price Control (State Asset Management Section) for local HCSN agencies.

In the case of merging two to three old agencies into a new agency, if the area of office housing is still insufficient after reorganization compared to the standard ratio, the new agency may be granted additional space by the Ministry of Finance or the Provincial People's Committee, allowed to lease additional space, or move to a new location.

2- For newly established agencies without office housing, the Ministry of Finance (for central government agencies) or the Provincial People's Committee (for local agencies) will base their decision on the standards, quotas, and organizational structure of the new agency as prescribed by the Government and the application for office housing submitted by the unit to allocate from the unused office housing fund (if available); or request the Government to allow the agency to construct new office housing. Based on the Government's Decision, the Provincial People's Committee, and the unit will proceed with relevant procedures in accordance with the Investment Construction Project Management Regulations.

3\. For agencies currently having office space but still lacking area compared to the standard scale quota, they shall be considered for additional office space from the unused office space fund by the Ministry of Finance and the People's Committee of the province; or they may be permitted to construct additional office space or expand existing office space if approved by the competent authority on construction and must follow the basic construction procedures stipulated in the Regulation on Investment Construction Management.

Additional construction and expansion of office space must ensure the safety of the current building, not exceed the land area already granted by the State, and maintain the landscape of the agency and urban planning.

4\. Newly established agencies without office space and those currently having office space but too cramped compared to the standard quota, while the State does not have the conditions to ensure sufficient office space as prescribed in Points 2 and 3 of this Article, shall be allowed to lease housing from organizations and individuals engaged in housing business as their headquarters according to the standard quotas set by the State. The State budget shall ensure payment for rent according to the lease agreement with the lessor.

Management of office space through leasing will be guided separately.

Article 10.

Office space of administrative and public service agencies must be used for its intended purpose and function.

Agencies entrusted by the State to manage and use office space are absolutely prohibited from:

- Transferring to any organization or individual without permission from the Prime Minister.

- Leasing, converting into commercial service bases, or allocating to staff as residential accommodation.

Article 11.

Agencies entrusted by the State to manage and use office space are not allowed to arbitrarily perform actions such as drilling load-bearing walls, dismantling load-bearing structures, constructing partition walls on floor surfaces, or changing the layout of offices.

Any construction or expansion of office space without the approval of the competent authorities and without the necessary procedures as stipulated in Point 3 of Article 8 of this Regulation or intentionally violating the permitted regulations and procedures for basic construction to encroach on land, affecting the safety and appearance of the office space, shall be halted.

Article 12.

Office space must be maintained and repaired periodically according to the technical management files for each level of the building.

- Heads of administrative and public service agencies entrusted by the State to manage and use office space are responsible for maintaining and repairing office space.

- All maintenance and repair costs for office space shall be covered by the State budget based on annual plans approved by the competent authority.

Article 13.

Heads of administrative and public service agencies entrusted by the State to manage and use office space are tasked with:

- Registering office space with financial agencies at all levels when newly assigned office space by the State or permitted to expand office space;

- Allocating and using office space according to the purpose and standards set by the State;

- Safeguarding records related to land and technical data of office space assigned by the State to prevent damage or loss;

- Carrying out maintenance and repair of office space according to the periodic schedule specified in the technical management files for each level of the building;

- Reporting promptly any changes in the number of buildings and land within the headquarters, as well as regular reports as required by the State;

- Returning buildings and land within the headquarters to the State when no longer needed or as decided by the Government and competent authorities for recovery;

Article 14.

This Regulation shall be uniformly applied nationwide and takes effect from the date of signature.

Article 15. The Director of the State Asset Management Bureau, the heads of asset management departments under the Department of Finance and Price Control shall assist the Minister of Finance and the Directors of the Department of Finance and Price Control in managing the office space of administrative and public service agencies according to this Regulation and guiding inspections of sectors and localities in implementing the provisions of this Regulation.