HÀ NỘI — The Ministry of Construction (MoC) has recommended the Ministry of Public Security, in co-ordination with relevant agencies, to investigate and prosecute investors who have committed serious violations relating to the management of high rise buildings.

In a report to the Prime Minister outlining residents’ complaints against investors in real estate projects, the MoC also said that investors who seriously misused building maintenance funds should be prosecuted, datviet.vn reported.

The investors often receive the apartment management/maintenance fee as part of the total sale price of an apartment and are supposed to transfer the money to the building’s management board, but often they fail to do so in a timely manner, leading to conflicts.

About 215 real estate projects in 43 localities across the country were found to have ongoing disputes, according to MoC.

They included conflicts between the building’s investors and their management boards, or investors and apartment residents, as well as some related to land recovery and compensation for land clearance, and building quality.

The MoC also requested the People’s Committee of provinces and cities to resolutely recover funds for building maintenance in accordance with the law on management and use of houses, and to strictly handle management board members who used maintenance funds in contravention of the law.

Commenting on the causes of disputes in the high rise projects, the MoC pointed out a number of unclear issues in the legal regulations on management and the use of buildings such as the calculation of the apartment area, balcony area, the technical box, and general and private areas.

Some unqualified investors deliberately violated regulations on construction investment, housing, real estate business and fire prevention.

In addition, apartment buyers did not carefully consider all contents that they agreed in the signed contracts, in particular the agreements on rights and obligations of the parties in the management and use of the house.

The inspections, resolving of disputes and handling of violations in the use and management of buildings have not been seriously considered by local authorities and related agencies, leading to prolong disputes, the MoC said.

According to the Ministry of Construction, the conflicts between parties over the past time mainly arise during the implementation of legal documents on the management and use of buildings in localities.

In June 2017 the ministry directed the local authorities to strengthen inspections, and strictly handle any violations of housing law such as not handing over maintenance fees or apartment files to the management board.

But disputes are still common in many high rise buildings.

Examples included a high building in Phố Vọng Street of Hà Nội’s Hai Bà Trưng District. People here are living in danger due to damaged elevators and fire prevention systems not being repaired.

At Hồ Gươm Plaza in Hà Đông District, the investor did not hand over maintenance funds worth VNĐ20 billion (nearly US$890,000) as regulated.

Many residents living in high-rise buildings such as Keangnam, Sky City or Thăng Long Garden were also upset when investors tried to appropriate the maintenance fee, the newspaper reported. — VNS