The Secret’s Out: Bình Dương Exposes Over 1,000 Off-the-Books Apartment Sales

The Binh Duong authorities have taken action by forming a task force to address the long-standing irregularities surrounding the Roxana Plaza condominium project. Over the years, this project has been shrouded in controversy, with aggrieved customers repeatedly staging protests and banner campaigns to seek redress, resulting in disruptions to peace and order in the area.

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Illegal Sale of Over 1,000 Apartments in Binh Duong Province, Vietnam

On August 1st, representatives from the Binh Duong Province Department of Construction revealed that the Contentment Plaza commercial and residential project (also known as Roxana Plaza), developed by Real Estate Investment Trading Service Company Limited, had undergone a provincial inspection. The inspection concluded that the project had numerous violations, including the illegal sale of over 1,000 apartments.

On June 15th, Mr. Nguyen Van Loi, Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, chaired a regular meeting with citizens and instructed the Department of Construction and the People’s Committee of Thuan An City to establish a special task force. This task force is responsible for monitoring, urging, and guiding the resolution of issues surrounding the project, with a deadline of the end of August to report the results to the Provincial Party Committee.

According to the inspection conclusions, the Roxana Plaza project, located in Vinh Phu Ward, Thuan An City, spans an area of 8,423 square meters. The project includes a commercial center, office space for lease, and luxury apartments.

Real Estate Investment Trading Service Company Limited (referred to as “Tuong Phong Company”) entered into a cooperation agreement with Mr. Nguyen Anh Dao for joint investment and profit sharing. Subsequently, Tuong Phong Company signed a contract with Naviland Joint Stock Company (holding 51% of Tuong Phong Company’s shares). Per this contract, Naviland was authorized to invest in and distribute products of the Roxana Plaza project through real estate distribution and brokerage companies to mobilize capital as regulated. This authorization remains valid until the completion of the transfer procedure from Tuong Phong Company to Naviland.

The project, with two high-rise towers under construction, has been dormant for years.

However, inspections revealed that since 2017, Naviland had signed contracts for the transfer of 1,082 apartments to customers in the form of apartment sale and purchase agreements, even though Tuong Phong Company had not been granted a certificate of eligibility for selling future homes. To date, Naviland has not paid the fines for these violations.

At the end of 2021, Tuong Phong Company requested eligibility for selling future homes at the Roxana Plaza project, but the Department of Construction has not granted it due to ongoing complaints from citizens regarding their contracts with Naviland. The Department of Construction has mandated that the three parties involved—Tuong Phong Company, Naviland, and the citizens who purchased apartments—must resolve all complaints and disputes before considering granting Tuong Phong Company permission to mobilize capital as per regulations.

A Series of Violations Remain Unresolved

The authorities have pointed out that Tuong Phong Company has committed violations in the implementation of this real estate project. The Provincial People’s Committee has issued an administrative violation decision, fining the company VND 275 million for project delays.

Despite the suspension of construction, the company continued to mobilize capital without meeting the necessary conditions, leading to customer dissatisfaction and complaints to the authorities. This situation even resulted in gatherings and protests, causing public security and order issues in the area.

The two apartment towers seen from above.

The inspection also concluded that the authorization given to Naviland to sign apartment sale and purchase agreements before obtaining the necessary approvals from authorized agencies was inappropriate.

Given that the project is about 80% complete, the inspection agency recommended that the Provincial People’s Committee direct the investor to continue the project as per the approved plan and honor the apartment sale contracts signed by Naviland with customers based on the authorization from Tuong Phong Company.

Regarding the handling measures, Tuong Phong Company must resume the project according to the approved schedule and fulfill the contracts signed by Naviland with customers. Naviland must also comply with the law in its real estate business activities and pay the fine of VND 275 million as per the Provincial People’s Committee’s decision.

This project has been dormant for years, and the investor has not seriously implemented the inspection conclusions.