Do Prefabricated Houses Require Permits?

Phu Nguyen Steel has published a variety of articles related to the concepts, costs, and processes of building prefabricated houses. However, many customers have questions regarding the “legal aspects”: Do prefabricated houses require permits? Is the process the same as for traditional houses?

Do Prefabricated Houses Require Permits?

When constructing residential buildings or any other types of structures, the first issue to consider is whether a building permit is required for that project.

According to Clause 30 of Article 1 of the amended Construction Law 2020, it is specified that:

Construction projects must have a building permit issued by the competent state authority to the investor in accordance with this law, except for the cases specified in Clause 2 of this Article.

Thus, for prefabricated construction, the law still requires a building permit, except for the cases specified in Clause 30 of Article 1 of the amended Construction Law 2020, which include:

• State secret projects; emergency construction projects.
• Projects funded by public investment decided by the Prime Minister, heads of central agencies of political organizations, the Supreme People’s Procuracy, the Supreme People’s Court, the State Audit Office, the Office of the President, the Office of the National Assembly, ministries, and central agencies of the Government, as well as the central agencies of the Vietnam Fatherland Front and socio-political organizations.
• Temporary constructions.
• Internal renovations or improvements to a building, or external renovations that do not directly border roads in urban areas, which require architectural management as specified by the competent authority. The renovations must not change the intended use, affect the structural safety of the building, and must comply with the approved construction planning and safety regulations regarding fire prevention, explosion, and environmental protection.
• Advertising structures that do not require a building permit according to advertising regulations; passive telecommunications infrastructure as per government regulations.
• Construction projects located in two or more provincial administrative units, or linear projects outside urban areas that comply with the approved construction planning or technical and specialized planning.
• Construction projects that have been approved by the competent authority following the review of the detailed design and that meet the conditions for obtaining a building permit as per this law.
• Individual houses under seven stories that are part of an urban development investment project or residential construction project with a detailed plan of 1/500 approved by the competent authority.
• Level IV construction projects, individual houses in rural areas under seven stories that are in areas without urban planning, functional area construction planning, or detailed rural population planning approved by the competent authority. Level IV construction projects, individual houses in mountainous and island areas that are in areas without urban planning or functional area construction planning (except for projects or individual houses built in conservation areas or historical-cultural sites).
• Investors constructing projects specified in items 2, 5, 7, 8, and 9, except for individual houses mentioned in item i, are responsible for notifying the local construction management authority of the construction start date and submitting the design documents as per regulations.

Therefore, if the project falls under one of the above categories, a building permit is not required for prefabricated houses.

For example, constructing a prefabricated house for a housestay business does not fall under the exempted categories, so a building permit must be obtained before building the prefabricated house.

What documents are required to apply for a building permit for a prefabricated house

Depending on the purpose of building the prefabricated house, the application for a building permit will vary, such as:

For a building permit application for individual houses, the documents required include:

• Application form for the building permit.
• One of the documents proving land use rights.
• Two sets of construction design drawings along with the Fire Safety Design Approval Certificate and the approval drawings if required by fire safety laws.

A report on the results of the construction design verification if required by construction laws, including:

• Site layout plan of the project with the location diagram.
• Floor plans, elevations, and main cross-sections of the building.
• Foundation layout and cross-section drawings along with connection diagrams for external technical infrastructure systems, including water supply, drainage, and electricity supply.

For construction projects adjacent to other buildings, a commitment to ensure safety for adjacent structures is required.

For other types of prefabricated house constructions, specific requirements may apply, but the following documents must still be provided:

• Application form for the building permit.
• One of the documents proving land use rights as per land laws.
• Project approval decision, fire safety certificate, environmental protection certificate, etc.

Two sets of construction design drawings as required.