Design checks

Passed 10/12/2025, in force 01/07/2026 (Art. 43.2–3, 71 and 95.3–5 from 01/01/2026); replaces Law 50/2014/QH13 and its amendments.

Governs here: Whether the house needs a building permit, the permit conditions, and when building may start.

• Permit exemption for individual houses < 7 storeys and < 500 m² (Art. 43.2.g, in force early from 01/01/2026) does NOT apply in functional zones or urban development areas of a city’s general plan, or in an area with an architecture management regulation — an urban lot needs a permit. (research #39, #38)
• Permit conditions (Art. 44.1): fits the land-use purpose and the approved plan, urban design or architecture regulation; safe for the building and its neighbours; meets environmental and fire rules; can connect to infrastructure. (research #40)
• A household’s individual house needs no start-of-construction notice (Art. 43.3, 48.1.đ) and no feasibility study (Art. 23.3); construction supervision is encouraged (Art. 56.1). (research #40)
• Designs must comply with building regulations and the standards applied (Art. 20.2). (research #25)
• Replaces Law 50/2014/QH13 and its amendments from 01/07/2026 (Art. 94). (research #38)

Sources:pccc.vnnhansu.vn

In force 01/07/2025.

Governs here: The fire-safety duties of every household, whether or not a fire code applies to the building.

• Art. 20: install and use electrical equipment safely; place cooking, the ancestral altar and votive-paper burning safely with no combustibles near heat sources; keep fire-fighting means suited to the house; keep an escape route, emergency exit or escape walkway. (research #33)
• Art. 20.5: where the city designates an area as lacking fire-truck access or fire water, extinguishers and an alarm-transmission device linked to the national database are mandatory (roadmap of Decree 105/2025/NĐ-CP, secondary sources). (research #33)
• Art. 24.1.d: EV chargers must meet national technical regulations; indoor charging spots need a fire-safety solution. (research #33)
• If part of the house is used for business, Art. 21 adds signs and fire separation of the business area. corrected (research #34)

Sources:luatvietnam.vnpccc.vn

Governs here: Binding neighbour rules: building safely, windows towards neighbours, canopies, rainwater and wastewater.

• Build per construction law, safely, within legal height and distance limits, without infringing neighbours’ rights (Art. 174); use the space and subsoil vertically within the boundary (Art. 175). (research #13)
• Doors and windows facing the neighbour only as construction law allows; the underside of canopies over doors (and over windows facing a common path) ≥ 2.5 m above ground (Art. 178). (research #13)
• Roof rainwater must not flow onto the adjacent property (Art. 250); wastewater via buried drains to the designated place, not onto neighbours, the road or public places (Art. 251). (research #13)

Sources:hethongphapluat.com

Issued 15/06/2026, in force 01/07/2026 (article numbers not verified).

Governs here: Whether the family may design the house itself or needs a qualified designer; the owner’s duties on site.

• The owner may self-organise the design only if ALL hold at once: < 3 storeys, no basement, total floor area < 250 m², height < 12 m. Otherwise a qualified organisation or individual must design it. (research #41)
• The 12 m figure only decides who may design the house; it is not a height limit. Failing any one condition (for example the floor area) already requires a qualified designer, so the height is then not decisive; the street’s height limit comes from the lot’s planning information. corrected (research #41, #16)
• The owner organises construction and supervision, is responsible for safety of the works, neighbours and environment, and puts a sign at the gate (owner’s name, address, phone, start date, expected completion). (research #41)

Sources:datafiles.chinhphu.vnbaochinhphu.vn

Governs here: Who issues the permit and what goes in the application.

• Commune-level People’s Committees (UBND xã/phường) issue permits for individual houses under the two-tier local government (ND 140/2025/NĐ-CP, in force 01/07/2025), per each province’s decision on authority. (research #42)
• Dossier for a new house: application form (ND 217/2026 Phụ lục II); legal land document (Art. 55); commitment to keep adjacent buildings safe; 2 sets of drawings — site plan with location map; plans of all floors, elevations and main sections; foundation plan and section with the connections to outside water supply, drainage and power. (research #42)
• Decision within 7 working days of a complete dossier. (research #42)

Caveat: Read from an official Hải Phòng commune guidance (medium confidence); the decree text itself was not read. HCMC wards may add local forms.

Sources:cdn.haiphong.gov.vn

Governs here: Fines the family and the builder face for building without, or against, the permit.

• Building an individual house without a required permit: 60–80 million VND (Art. 16.7.a). These are the fines for organisations; an individual pays half (Art. 4.3.c), i.e. 30–40 million. corrected (research #43)
• Building contrary to the permit 30–40 million (16.6.a); permit not displayed on site 5–10 million (16.2.a); no site screening or spilled materials 3–5 million (16.1.a); causing subsidence or cracking risk to neighbours 30–40 million (16.5.a) — organisation rates, halved for individuals. Remedies include demolishing the violating part. corrected (research #43)

Caveat: Still cited as current by official commune guidance in June 2026; a replacement decree under the new Law was not checked.

Sources:apolatlegal.com

Governs here: Where the house’s drains connect to the public sewer.

• The connection box (hộp đấu nối) sits on public land next to the boundary between public and private land; each household builds the pipework inside its lot up to that box (Art. 31.1–2). (research #83)

Sources:cdn.ahit.vn

Effective on adoption 12/06/2025; new local government from 01/07/2025.

Governs here: Which local rules apply if the lot is in former Bình Dương or Bà Rịa – Vũng Tàu.

• Bình Dương and Bà Rịa – Vũng Tàu merged into the new Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh (Điều 1 khoản 16). HCMC QĐ 56/2021 covered only the former HCMC area, so a lot in former Bình Dương may fall under a pre-merger regulation — ask the ward. corrected (research #21, #97)

Sources:luatvietnam.vn

Issued 25/06/2026, in force 01/07/2026; replaces TT 06/2021/TT-BXD (as amended by TT 02/2025/TT-BXD).

Governs here: Whether the stair/altar penthouse (tum) counts as a storey, what counts in the total floor area, and the house’s construction grade.

• A tum (top storey enclosing the stair and equipment, giving roof access) is not counted as a storey when its roof slab ≤ 30 % of the roof slab area (Phụ lục II, Ghi chú mục 2). corrected (research #17)
• One mezzanine ≤ 65 % of the floor below is not counted; full basements are not counted, semi-basements are. corrected (research #17)
• Total floor area includes every floor (incl. tum), each measured including the enclosing walls, loggias, balconies, stairs and shafts. corrected (research #17)
• Grade (Phụ lục II Bảng 2, item 2.1.1): height > 6–28 m → III; 2–7 storeys → III; total floor area < 1,000 m² → IV; span < 15 m → IV; the highest criterion governs. (research #18)

Caveat: The circular does not say whether the roof-slab area is taken gross (including the stair opening) or net of the openings, nor how a tum that also holds an altar room or sits next to a roofed laundry is treated. The design checks both readings; the ward must confirm.

Sources:luatvietnam.vn

Governs here: Brick sizes, mortar joints and the concrete mác ↔ class conversion used in the specification and the bill of quantities.

• Concrete mác → class: 200 → B15, 250 → B20, 300 → B22.5, 350 → B25/B27.5, 400 → B30 (Chương I item I.2). (research #61)
• Average bed joint 12 mm and vertical joint 10 mm; clay hollow bricks include 19 × 8 × 8 cm (the southern gạch ống 8 × 8 × 18); masonry thickness excludes plaster (12.20000 items 1a, 1b, 5). (research #54)
• Gạch ống 8 × 8 × 19, wall ≤ 30 cm: 640 bricks + 210 L mortar per m³ of wall (12.21311). (research #55)
• Wall plaster with ordinary mortar: 23 L/m² at 2 cm, 17 L/m² at 1.5 cm (12.31101–12.31104). (research #56)

Sources:cdn.thuvienphapluat.vntailieuso.tnut.edu.vn

Issued and in force 01/02/2025.

Governs here: The supply the electrical design is based on.

• Nominal frequency 50 Hz ± 0.2 Hz (Art. 4.1); voltage deviation at the customer’s connection ± 5 % (Art. 6.2.d) — a household single-phase supply is 220 V (209–231 V), 50 Hz. (research #44)

Sources:english.luatvietnam.vn

Governs here: A national cross-check for the family’s budget (not a quotation).

• 2–3 storey individual house, RC frame, brick walls, no basement: 8,370 thousand VND per m² of floor, of which construction 7,536 (Bảng 2, code 11120.03); Q4/2025 prices incl. 10 % VAT; excludes equipment and owner-specific finishes; adjust for local prices. (research #92)

Sources:luatvietnam.vn

Issued with TT 01/2021/TT-BXD; in force until QCVN 01:2026/BXD takes effect on 01/01/2027.

Governs here: Building density, what counts in the footprint, how height is measured, setbacks and lot sizes.

• Max net density for individual-house lots (2.6.3, Bảng 2.8): ≤ 90 m² → 100 %; 100 → 90 %; 200 → 70 %; 300 → 60 %; 500 → 50 %; ≥ 1,000 → 40 %; interpolation between the two nearest values allowed; land-use coefficient ≤ 7. A 150 m² lot interpolates to 80 % (max footprint 120 m²). (research #1)
• Footprint exclusions (1.4.20 + note): entrance steps and ramps, sê-nô, ô-văng, mái đua, mái đón, sills — if they meet fire and construction safety rules and are not used otherwise. Balconies are not excluded, so they count. (research #4)
• Height (1.4.25): from the approved ground level to the highest point including the tum; antennas, lightning rods, solar equipment, chimneys, vents and METAL water tanks are excluded — a tank of any other material counts until QCVN 01:2026 (1.4.26) excludes every water tank from 01/01/2027. corrected (research #16)
• Front setback (2.6.2, Bảng 2.7, for lots on area-level roads and above — on narrower local roads the table does not strictly apply): road < 19 m and building < 19 m high → 0 m minimum. In existing areas that cannot meet the table, the detailed plan or urban design sets the setback, keeping the street consistent (2.7.5). corrected (research #15)
• Where the building line is set back from the red line, no part of the building may cross the red line (2.6.7). corrected (research #6)
• Lots ≤ 100 m² in existing areas may reach 100 % density (2.7.7) — does not apply to 150 m². (research #2)
• New-development lots: frontage ≥ 5 m on roads ≥ 19 m wide, ≥ 4 m otherwise (2.6.6). (research #49)

Sources:luatvietnam.vndatafiles.chinhphu.vn

Issued with TT 46/2026/TT-BXD of 30/06/2026; in force 01/01/2027.

Governs here: The planning code that replaces QCVN 01:2021 from 2027.

• Bảng 8 (2.5.3.1) keeps the same density values and the FAR cap of 7. The interpolation note is printed only under Bảng 10 and Bảng 12, not Bảng 8 — whether 150 m² → 80 % still formally applies must be confirmed with the ward. (research #3)
• Footprint (1.4.19): plan projection of the whole building; gates, fences, non-permanent works and escape stairs excluded. (research #4)
• Front setbacks (2.5.2.1, Bảng 7) identical to QCVN 01:2021 Bảng 2.7; existing areas 2.6.4. corrected (research #15)
• Water tanks of any material excluded from the building height (1.4.26). corrected (research #16)
• Plans approved before 01/01/2027 stay valid until they expire (5.4.1–5.4.2); a permit is checked against the approved plan or local rule in force, not automatically against QCVN 01:2026. corrected (research #0)
• Details must not cross the lot boundary where the buildings are on different lots (2.5.8). (research #14)

Sources:datafiles.chinhphu.vndatafiles.chinhphu.vn

Amendment 1 by TT 09/2023/TT-BXD, in force 01/12/2023; still cited by QCVN 01:2026.

Governs here: Shows that the national fire code does not cover this house.

• Covers individual houses only if ≥ 7 storeys (or fire-fighting height ≥ 25 m), OR volume ≥ 5,000 m³, OR more than one basement (1.1.2 a) 2)). Others may apply the fire requirements of the individual-house standard. (research #32)

Sources:apolatlegal.com

Governs here: Guard and handrail heights at the roof terrace, loggia and stairs.

• Guard heights (Bảng 3.2): stair flights and ramps 900 mm; loggias and roof terraces at 9+ storeys 1,400 mm; all other positions 1,100 mm. (research #29)
• Guarding needed where levels differ by ≥ 2 steps (≥ 380 mm) (3.1.2); where children under 5 use the building, no gap passes a 100 mm sphere and railings must not be easy to climb (3.4.1.7, 3.4.3.1 c). (research #29)
• Stairs (3.4.1.1, Bảng 3.1): riser ≤ 190 mm, tread ≥ 250 mm, 2H + B 550–700 mm; headroom ≥ 2 m (3.4.1.3). (research #28)

Caveat: Legal status uncertain: no repeal was found, but it may be superseded by the new QCVN 04-x:2026/BXD series. Values were read verbatim.

Sources:pccc.vnatld.vn

Issued with TT 20/2014/TT-BXD (29/12/2014).

Governs here: Minimum cable sizes, earth-leakage protection and earthing.

• Minimum phase conductors (2.1.5.1): lighting 1.5 mm²; power and mixed circuits 2.5 mm²; signal/control 0.5 mm²; floor board → room board 4 mm²; vertical risers 6 mm². Separate PE conductor ≥ 2.5 mm² if protected, ≥ 4 mm² if not (2.2.5.3). corrected (research #89)
• RCD ≤ 30 mA for circuits supplying hand-held equipment (2.3.3.4) and for all circuits in bath/shower areas (2.10.2.4). corrected (research #89)
• Lightning-protection earthing resistance ≤ 10 Ω (2.8.2.6 a). corrected (research #89)

Caveat: The Ministry set up a review in 2020 (QĐ 422/QĐ-BXD) — check it is still the current edition.

Sources:krongnang.daklak.gov.vn

QCVN 04-3:2026 issued with TT 61/2026/TT-BXD, in force 01/02/2027 (replaces QCVN 09:2017).

Governs here: Shows the energy code does not apply; how rooftop PV would be notified.

• QCVN 04-3:2026 (1.1.1) covers only offices, hotels, hospitals, schools, commercial centres and apartment buildings ≥ 2,500 m² — not an individual house. corrected (research #47)
• Rooftop solar PV for self-consumption: per HCMC guidance and the press, notify the commune-level People’s Committee ≥ 10 working days before installing; up to 50 % of output may be sold as surplus. Confirm the current form with the ward. corrected (research #47)

Sources:datafiles.chinhphu.vn

Governs here: Room sizes, clear heights, stairs, wet floors, septic tank and fire guidance for a single-family house.

• Minimum usable areas (5.10 Bảng 1): single bedroom 9 m²; double bedroom 12 m²; living room 13 m²; kitchen + dining 12 m²; WC/bath 3 m²; storage 3 m²; spaces may be combined. (research #26)
• Clear heights (5.9): ≥ 2.6 m for living spaces and dining; ≥ 2.3 m for kitchen, WC, laundry and storage. Headroom ≥ 2.0 m under any element projecting > 0.1 m into circulation (5.14). (research #27)
• Stairs (5.11): flight ≥ 700 mm; landings no narrower than the flight; headroom ≥ 2,000 mm; tread ≥ 250 mm; riser 50–220 mm (≤ 190 encouraged); 2R + T 550–700 mm; handrails both sides (none on a wall side); guards on open sides ≥ 900 mm with gaps ≤ 100 mm. (research #28, #79)
• Wet floors fall ≥ 2 % to drains; floors and walls against soil block water and damp; uniform ground-floor level along the street (5.13). (research #31)
• Septic tank watertight (7.2.5); rainwater harvesting for irrigation and washing encouraged (7.2.6). (research #48)
• Fire, purely residential house (9.2): exit doors open easily from inside, electric doors also in a power cut (9.2.1.2); an open internal stair is acceptable (9.2.2.1); fire spread to neighbours is controlled by > 1.5 m from the external wall to the boundary, or by envelope construction per 9.1.7 (9.2.3, by reference to 9.1.6–9.1.7); with only one exit, no vertical roller shutter (9.1.5 note 2). corrected (research #35)
• Reference constructions (9.1.7): load-bearing fired-clay brick ≥ 100 mm; non-load-bearing fired-clay brick ≥ 75 mm; doors in fire-separating elements ≥ EI 15. (research #36)
• Emergency exits to an open terrace, balcony or loggia, or windows with escape aids (9.1.9), are an option for a purely residential house. corrected (research #37)
• Fence height is left to local urban design and architecture rules (5.15); underground structures stay within the lot and red line (5.16). (research #24, #11)

Caveat: Read from a partial preview; a few labels and clauses were hidden (medium confidence on two Bảng 1 row labels).

Sources:cdn.ahit.vnpccc.vn

Converted from TCXDVN 353:2005; TCVN 13967 says row houses may refer to it.

Governs here: Townhouse-specific rules: ground-floor height, boundary walls, fences, floor level, water, drainage, AC and electrical.

• Ground-floor clear height ≥ 3.6 m (≥ 2.7 m with a mezzanine) (5.5.6). (research #27, #70)
• No doors, windows or vents in a wall built against the boundary; openings only where the wall is ≥ 2.0 m from it (6.4.3.1, printed twice). corrected (research #10, #86)
• Fences (6.4.6.1): a) nothing, footing included, outside the boundary, and at most 2.6 m high; b) façade > 2.4 m from the red line: open or hedge fences only; c) façade < 2.4 m: only a light open fence ≤ 1.2 m or planters; d) where special security is needed, screened with light material up to 1.8 m; e) fences between two houses open and as high as the front fence, with a solid base ≤ 0.6 m. corrected (research #24, #98)
• Gate leaves must not open beyond the red line or onto a neighbour’s land, and one main gate (6.4.6.2 — stated for row houses that are not street houses). corrected (research #24, #98)
• Garden row house (4.7): front yard ≥ 2.4 m and, if any, rear yard ≥ 2.0 m — with a shallower front yard the house is a street row house behind a fence. (research #24)
• Shared wall ≥ 0.2 m thick with nothing past its centreline; a private wall wholly within one’s own lot (4.6); foundations and underground pipes within the lot (6.4.5.2). (research #11, #69)
• Ground floor ≥ 150 mm above the sidewalk; the sidewalk is ±0.000 for computing height (6.4.1.1); no steps within the sidewalk (6.4.7.2). (research #31, #72)
• Height guidance: ≤ 6 storeys (5.5.1); façade height ≤ street width (45° line, 5.5.3). (research #23)
• Underground water tank in every row house (7.1.4); buried, covered septic tank before the public sewer (7.2.4); wastewater pipes buried (7.2.5); domestic demand 150–180 L/person/day in Type I cities (7.1.2). (research #48, #81, #83)
• Rain via roof drains and downpipes into the house drainage — never onto the sidewalk, street or neighbour (7.2.2, 7.2.3, 7.2.6); no water, condensate, dust or exhaust onto the neighbour (6.4.8.4). (research #12, #77)
• AC condensers and kitchen-hood or fan outlets must not face the lot boundary within 4 m (7.5.4); flues and vents must not point at the street or surrounding houses (6.4.8.1, 7.6.1). (research #12, #85, #87)
• Exhaust ≥ 50 m³/h per WC pan and 100 m³/h for the kitchen (7.6.3); mechanical fans in vertical kitchen/WC shafts (7.6.4). (research #30, #87)
• Electrical: meter box on the façade within the lot (on the front fence for a garden row house) (7.3.6 a); metal, earthed distribution board with automatic disconnection (b); fused supply with earth-leakage protection (c); waterproof sockets in bathrooms and kitchens (d); lightning protection per TCVN 9385:2012 (e); switches at 1.2 m (7.3.5). (research #46, #88)

Sources:cdn.ahit.vnpccc.vncdn.thuvienphapluat.vn

Written for apartment buildings; “may be applied” to private houses in inner-city areas (1.2).

Governs here: Daylight ratio, depth of one-side-lit rooms and natural ventilation.

• Window-to-floor ratio for living rooms and kitchens between 1:8 (minimum) and 1:5 (maximum) (7.3.3). (research #30)
• A room lit from one side ≤ 6.0 m deep and ≤ 2 × its width, + 5 % allowed (6.10). (research #30)
• Living-room ventilation must not pass through kitchen, bath, WC or storage (7.2.1); WCs without direct ventilation need mechanical ventilation (7.2.2). (research #30)
• Entrance floor ≥ 0.15 m above the kerb (6.1). (research #31)
• Reference only: 3–18 steps per flight (6.13); landings ≥ 1.2 m in apartment stairs (8.4 Bảng 3 note 3). (research #28)

Sources:pccc.vncdn.thuvienphapluat.vncdn.ahit.vn

Governs here: Concrete classes, steel strengths, concrete cover and column slenderness for the structural design.

• RC structures need at least B15 (6.1.1.6). Design strengths Rb / Rbt: B20 11.5 / 0.90 MPa; B25 14.5 / 1.05 MPa (Table 7). B22.5 is not a listed class. (research #61)
• Rebar design strength Rs: CB240-T 210, CB300-V 260, CB400-V 350, CB500-V 435 MPa (Table 13). (research #60)
• Minimum cover to main bars (10.3.1.2, Table 19): 20 mm indoors at ≤ 75 % humidity; 25 mm indoors > 75 %; 30 mm outdoors; 40 mm in the ground or in foundations on blinding. (research #62)
• Column slenderness L0/i should not exceed 120 (10.2.2); there is no prescriptive minimum column size. (research #63)

Sources:tailieuso.tnut.edu.vn

Governs here: Rebar grades to specify.

• Ribbed bars (thép thanh vằn): CB300-V, CB400-V, CB500-V, CB600-V; plain bars (thép tròn trơn): CB240-T, CB300-T, CB400-T. The three digits are the characteristic yield strength in MPa. (research #60)

Sources:tailieuso.tnut.edu.vn

Announced by QĐ 4647/QĐ-BKHCN (31/12/2025); replaces TCVN 4085:2011.

Governs here: Brick infill walls, joints and parapets.

• Unless specified otherwise: average bed joint 12 mm, average vertical joint 10 mm, vertical joints staggered ≥ 50 mm (6.3.1.4). The 8–15 mm per-joint range is the 2011 limit (good practice). corrected (research #50)
• Infill walls tied to the frame columns and beams; frame infill ≤ 220 mm thick may be hollow brick; in hollow-brick walls, parapets above the roof, cornices, eaves and fire walls must be solid brick (6.3.3.4–6.3.3.5). corrected (research #52)
• Parapet masonry taller than 3 × its thickness: mortar ≥ M5 (6.3.3.2; M2.5 in the 2011 edition). corrected (research #52)
• AAC blocks must meet TCVN 7959; masonry with thin-bed or polymer mortar is outside its scope (5.2.9, scope). (research #51)

Caveat: The 2025 text was read from a secondary reproduction; check clause numbers against the official text.

Sources:mtu.edu.vnkiemdinhxaydungmiennam.com

Governs here: The gạch ống used in every wall type.

• “Gạch rỗng 80” = 180 × 80 × 80 mm; tolerances 6 / 4 / 3 mm; shells ≥ 10 mm, webs ≥ 8 mm; water absorption ≤ 16 %; grades M35–M125 (3.5–12.5 MPa). (research #59)

Sources:polycons.vn

Governs here: Plaster thickness and coats on brick walls and ceilings.

• Flat wall plaster should not exceed 12 mm (ordinary), 15 mm (high quality) or 20 mm (special quality) (4.2.5, advisory); no single coat thicker than 8 mm (4.2.6, mandatory). (research #53)
• Ceiling plaster 10–12 mm; wet areas in cement–sand mortar ≥ M7.5 or waterproof mortar; mesh over joints between different materials lapping 15–20 cm each side. (research #53)

Sources:mtu.edu.vn

Marked “partly mandatory”; silent on modern membranes.

Governs here: Waterproofing of the WC floors and the roof terraces.

• Waterproof screed on every wet-area floor, turned up the wall ≥ 20 cm, laid after the pipes and fixtures; no tar-paper waterproofing (3.1.3 notes 1–3); tiles only after ≥ 3 days (3.1.4). (research #74)
• Roof: movement joints in the waterproof concrete topping in two directions at ≤ 6–9 m (≤ 18 m with insulation), over walls or beams (2.1.3, 2.1.5); debris grilles on roof outlets (2.1.8). corrected (research #76)

Sources:file.hstatic.net

Governs here: Acceptance of jacked piles if the soil survey calls for piles.

• (Pep)min normally 150–200 % and (Pep)max 200–300 % of the pile design load (3.5–3.6); rig capacity ≥ 1.4 × (Pep)max (7.1); a pile is accepted when its length is between Lmin and Lmax and its final force between (Pep)min and (Pep)max at ≤ 1 cm/s over ≥ 3 pile sizes (7.8). corrected (research #68)

Caveat: No evidence it has been superseded, but its current status is unconfirmed.

Sources:mtu.edu.vn

Governs here: Socket specification.

• Vietnam has no single mandated socket shape and many sockets are unearthed — specify earthed sockets for appliances. corrected (research #45)

Sources:worldstandards.eu

Issued 28/12/2021, in force 07/01/2022; row houses in Phụ lục 18. A replacement for the merged city was being drafted (not confirmed issued by October 2026).

Governs here: HCMC rear setback, equipment placement and drainage onto sidewalks (if the lot is in former HCMC).

• Rear setback for lots > 50 m² (Phụ lục 18), D = depth from the road-reserve line: D ≥ 16 m → ≥ 2 m; 9 ≤ D < 16 m → ≥ 1 m; D < 9 m → open space encouraged. (research #20)
• AC units, solar collectors, water tanks and antennas stay within the lot boundary. (research #9)
• No pipes or channels discharging rain, yard-washing or wastewater onto sidewalks (Quy chế Điều 11.3.c). (research #48)
• Density table Bảng 1 with an interpolation formula on the lot area outside the road reserve (80 % for 150 m²) — reported by secondary sources only; the tables are images and were not read from a primary copy. An older HCMC table may give about 75 % for 150 m² (unverified recollection) — read the official Bảng 1 before relying on 80 %. unverified (research #5)
• Covers only the former HCMC area; it replaced QĐ 135/2007 and others (Điều 2). (research #19, #97)

Sources:xinphepxd.comcaselaw.vntuoitre.vncdn.ahit.vnluatvietnam.vn

Reported in force 10/01/2025 (secondary source).

Governs here: Only if the lot turns out to be in Hanoi.

• Hanoi’s city-wide architecture rule; QĐ 56/2026/QĐ-UBND (Hà Nội, issued 11/05/2026) repealed several older decisions. Hanoi row-house setback and height numbers were not verified. corrected (research #22)

Caveat: Low confidence overall.

Sources:luatvietnam.vn

Governs here: Sanity check of the placeholder column and beam sizes; foundation options before the soil survey.

• 2-storey townhouse with 4–5 m spans: 220 × 220 is the standard main column (200 × 200 for ≤ 4 m, 250 × 250 for 5–6 m) — reference only, the engineer must calculate. corrected (research #64)
• Preliminary sizing: main beam h = L/10–L/15, secondary h = L/15–L/20, b = 0.3–0.5 h; slab hb = (D/m)·L1. corrected (research #65)
• Ground beams (đà kiềng): h = L/10–L/8, width at least the wall above (often 220); ribbed bars Ø18–Ø20 CB300-V/CB400-V; cover 30–50 mm. (research #66)
• HCMC soft soils: anchor-jacked precast piles (ép neo, ≈ 40–45 t per pile head) for small houses under 3 storeys; load-jacked (ép tải, 60–100 t) for 4–6 storeys; bored piles for > 6 storeys or basements; 2–3 boreholes per lot; jacking can crack neighbouring walls. corrected (research #67)
• Typical storey heights: ground floor 3.6–4.2 m, second floor 3.2–3.6 m. (research #71)

Sources:vinhtuong.comxaydunghungnghiepphu.comvinhtuong.comductinconstruction.vn

Governs here: Pump package and the first sizing of the septic tank.

• HCMC contractor packages include a transfer pump (underground tank → rooftop tank) and a booster pump (máy bơm tăng áp); a tank on the penthouse roof gives only about 0.5 bar static at a second-floor shower. (research #82)
• Septic tank (TCXD 51-84 method): settling volume a·N·T/1000 (a ≈ 100 L/person/day, T = 1–2 days) + sludge volume; compartment 1 = ½ of the volume, compartments 2 and 3 = ¼ each. The current external drainage standard is TCVN 7957:2023 — size to current standards. (research #84)

Sources:kientrucnhatlam.comwesterntechvn.com.vn

Governs here: Detailing of the sunken bathroom slabs.

• “Sàn âm” WC floors (> 200 mm below the outside floor) suit low-rise townhouses; falls 1–1.5 % to the drain (practice — TCVN 13967 asks ≥ 2 %); ponding test 8–10 cm deep for about a week. No TCVN gives the drop depth — the structural engineer confirms it. corrected (research #75)

Sources:thongcaucongdanang.vn

Governs here: Choices the family may want to make; none of these is a rule.

• Stair steps counted in the Sinh – Lão – Bệnh – Tử cycle (landing counts as one step): ending on “Sinh” needs 4n + 1 steps (17, 21, 25). (research #80)
• Altar room often on the top floor; avoid a WC directly above or below; a solid wall behind the altar; space in front for incense and cleaning. corrected (research #96)
• Lỗ Ban 52.2 cm ruler measures clear door and window openings; suggested clear main-door sizes, e.g. four leaves 2300–2500 × 2150–2300 mm (values differ between schools). (research #95)

Sources:vnexpress.nettostemvietnam.comphunutoday.vn