HÀ NỘI – Facing a severe shortage of parking space, Hà Nội recently issued a regulation that high-rise building projects and trade centres must have at least three basement floors for parking.

The regulation has made property developers unhappy.

In a recent move, the Vieät Nam Real Estate Association (VNREA) proposed the regulation be put on hold. The association felt the order needed careful consideration as the requirement for three basement floors could cause a lot of difficulties for property developers and threaten to block property investment and development.

According to the president of VNREA, Nguyễn Trần Nam, the requirement was raised by the Department of Planning and Architecture in April under Announcement 1823/TB-QHKT as part of efforts by the municipal authorities to tackle the shortage of parking space in the capital city.

"There are, however, unreasonable points," Nam said.

The document did not specify the scale or position of the projects that had to comply with the directive, which would certainly cause confusion and hinder property development in the city, the association said. In addition, this requirement would push up investment costs.

Nam said in the downtown area where there was critical shortage of parking space, the regulation for a building to have at least three basement floors was understandable, but in areas on the outskirts it could be unnecessary.

Nguyễn Quốc Hiệp, chairman of GP Invest, said the minimum number of basement floors for parking in a building should not be fixed. Instead, there should be a regulation on the minimum percentage of space in a building designated for parking.

According to Trần Chung, former director of the State Authority for Construction Quality Inspection, the requirement for basement floors for parking could not be executed for all projects. He said detailed instructions were needed, if there was a requirement.

The association said the document of the Department of Planning and Architecture must be revised with reference to other relevant legal documents. In addition, the document should be put on hold until there was a final decision from the municipal authorities.

Previously, the Department of Housing and Real Estate Management had said since the property market was anticipated to post solid growth until 2017, the property market management policies must be stable to promote the sector’s growth. – VNS