Bank guarantees for off-plan homes: how do they protect you?

Legal basis: Law on Real Estate Business No. 29/2023/QH15 (effective 1 August 2024), Articles 25, 26 · Circular 61/2024/TT-NHNN of 31 December 2024 on bank guarantees (effective 1 April 2025, replacing Circular 11/2022/TT-NHNN), Article 13 · Updated 20 October 2026.

A bank guarantee protects the money you pay before receiving the home, which can be up to 70% of the contract value (50% if the seller is a foreign-invested enterprise in the cases the law specifies): if the developer does not hand over as committed, the bank refunds you in the developer's place under the guarantee letter. The guarantee does not ensure construction quality or that the project will certainly be completed; it secures the obligation to return your money.

1. What a guarantee is, and when it is mandatory

• Before selling off-plan homes, the developer must be approved for a guarantee by a domestic commercial bank or a foreign bank branch in Vietnam (Article 26, clause 1). This rule does not apply to social housing.
• The bank only considers issuing a guarantee once the project has a document from the provincial real estate business authority confirming the homes are eligible for sale (Circular 61/2024, Article 13).
• Scope: the advance payments the developer has received from you and any other amounts stated in the contract. The guaranteed amount for each buyer is at most the advance the developer is allowed to collect plus the other amounts under the contract.

2. The three documents you will see

Document	Issued by	When you receive it
Commitment to issue guarantee letters (many projects call it a "guarantee approval notice")	The bank, sent to the developer	A copy, when you sign the sale and purchase agreement
Guarantee letter in your name	The bank	Within 10 working days of signing the contract, or the period stated in the contract
Sale and purchase agreement (SPA)	The developer and you	The bank issues the letter based on this contract

The developer may only receive payments after providing the guarantee letter and after you have received it (Article 26, clause 6). If you are asked to transfer the first instalment without a letter, ask for the reason in writing.

3. Can you decline the guarantee?

Yes. The law lets you choose to buy with or without a guarantee; if you decline it, this must be agreed in writing when you sign the contract (Article 26, clause 3). The guarantee fee is agreed between the parties, so some developers give a discount to buyers who decline the guarantee. Before trading the guarantee for a discount, work out how much the discount is worth, and how much you will pay before receiving the home and over how long.

4. How long the guarantee letter is valid

The guarantee letter must state its validity period and remain valid at least until 30 days after the deadline for the developer to refund you if it does not hand over as committed (Circular 61/2024, Article 13). The guaranteed balance falls as the obligation to each buyer ends, usually when the home has been handed over.

5. How to check a guarantee letter

• Bank name, branch, letter number, issue date — contact the bank branch directly (look up the phone number on the bank's website yourself, do not use a number printed on the seller's paperwork) to confirm the letter is genuine.
• Right person, right unit: your full name, unit code, and SPA number and date match the contract you signed.
• Maximum guaranteed amount and how it is calculated (based on the amount you have actually paid).
• Validity period — compare it with the expected handover date in the contract.
• Conditions and documents for claiming payment from the bank — what papers you must present, where to send them, and by when.
• Cross-check against the Department of Construction's eligibility-for-sale document for the exact tower / block you are buying.

6. Examples at projects HPR distributes

• Monrei Saigon: MB – Saigon Branch issued guarantee approval notice No. 499/MB-SGO dated 5 June 2025 for the sale of off-plan homes (tower A1) — see the Monrei Saigon legal section.
• Green Skyline: Vietcombank is the bank issuing guarantees to buyers (document 11100/HCM-KHDN1 dated 4 November 2025) — see Green Skyline.
• Alora Nha Trang (condotel units in tower CT01, Libera Nha Trang): VietinBank – Khanh Hoa Branch issues a guarantee on the handover schedule; buyers who decline the guarantee receive a discount under the developer's policy — see Alora Nha Trang.

A payment guarantee (where a bank guarantees to the developer the part you pay after handover, such as the OCB package at Izumi City) is a different product — it does not replace the guarantee of the handover obligation.

The guarantee is only one of five groups of documents to check before paying — read more on checking a project's legal status.

This article is for reference only and does not replace legal or financial advice for your specific case.

Sources in Vietnamese; titles kept in the original, with a short English translation in brackets.

• Luật Kinh doanh bất động sản số 29/2023/QH15 (Law on Real Estate Business No. 29/2023/QH15) of 28 November 2023 (effective 1 August 2024) — Articles 25, 26: full text on caselaw.vn, 28 November 2023.
• Thông tư 61/2024/TT-NHNN (Circular 61/2024/TT-NHNN on bank guarantees) of 31 December 2024 (effective 1 April 2025) — Articles 13, 35: full text on caselaw.vn, 31 December 2024.
• Banking Review (Tạp chí Ngân hàng) — Quyền lợi của người mua nhà ở hình thành trong tương lai thông qua bảo lãnh ngân hàng (Off-plan home buyers' rights through bank guarantees), 23 December 2024.
• Files of projects HPR distributes: guarantee approval notice 499/MB-SGO dated 5 June 2025 (Monrei Saigon), document 11100/HCM-KHDN1 dated 4 November 2025 (Green Skyline), VietinBank – Khanh Hoa Branch notice of 9 July 2026 (Alora Nha Trang) — project pages on the HPR website, 20 October 2026.