Apartment title transfer, procedure and costs: who pays what?

Legal basis: 2025 Law on Personal Income Tax (effective 1 July 2026), Article 14; Decree 253/2026/NĐ-CP · Decree 10/2022/NĐ-CP on registration fees, amended by Decree 175/2025/NĐ-CP · Circular 257/2016/TT-BTC on notary fees, amended by Circular 111/2017/TT-BTC · Resolution 02/2023/NQ-HĐND of HCMC on file appraisal fees · 2023 Law on Housing, Article 164; 2024 Land Law, Article 133 · Updated 20 October 2026.

Transferring the title of an apartment that already has a pink book involves 4 steps — notarising the contract, declaring and paying taxes and fees, registering the change, receiving the new pink book — and costs about 2.6% of the price in taxes and fees. This article is for when you have chosen a unit and finished the legal checks; for the checks before paying a deposit, see buying an apartment with a pink book.

1. Notarising the sale contract

• A home sale contract must be notarised or certified and takes effect from that point (2023 Law on Housing, Article 164). The notary checks for any transaction-blocking data before signing.
• Bring: the original pink book, the parties' ID papers, marital status papers, and the bank's written consent if the unit is mortgaged.
• The amended Law on Notarisation (Law No. 04/2026/QH16), effective 1 January 2027, changes how transactions requiring notarisation are defined — if signing from 2027, check again with the notary office.

2. Declaring taxes and fees

• Submit the personal income tax declaration (seller) and the registration fee declaration (buyer) with the title transfer file at the one-stop desk; the tax authority issues a notice, and the parties pay as stated in it.
• Personal income tax: 2% of the transfer price (2025 Law on Personal Income Tax, Article 14). A seller who owns only one home in Vietnam, has owned it for at least 183 days from the date the certificate was issued and sells the whole unit is exempt (Decree 253/2026/NĐ-CP).
• Registration fee: 0.5% of the assessed value (Decree 10/2022/NĐ-CP, Article 8). The value used is the contract price if it is higher than the price set by the provincial / city People's Committee.
• Write the true price in the contract. Understating the price to reduce tax is a risk for both parties: back taxes, fines, and it is hard for you to prove how much you paid if there is a dispute.

3. Registering the change (title transfer)

• The change registration file must be submitted within 30 days of notarising the contract (2024 Land Law, Article 133). Since 1 July 2025, it can be submitted at any receiving point in the same province or city, or online.
• File: the change registration form, the notarised contract, the original pink book, and the tax and fee declarations.
• The date for the result is written on the appointment slip; keep the slip and payment receipts until you receive the new pink book.

4. Example cost table — a 3 billion dong apartment

Reference example (assumptions: an apartment in HCMC, contract price 3 billion dong, higher than the People's Committee price; the seller is not tax-exempt; an individual buying from an individual):

Item	Rate	Who pays (usually)	Amount
Personal income tax	2% of the transfer price	Seller	60 million dong
Registration fee	0.5% of the assessed value	Buyer	15 million dong
Contract notary fee	1 million + 0.06% of the amount above 1 billion (1–3 billion bracket)	As agreed	2.2 million dong
File appraisal fee (individual, transfer)	Per the People's Council resolution	As agreed	about 1.01–1.4 million dong
Total taxes and fees			about 78–79 million dong

Not included: drafting fees, notarisation away from the office, certified copies (per the notary office's price list), service fees if you hire someone to handle the file, mortgage release costs if the unit is mortgaged, any unpaid 2% maintenance fund (if the previous owner has not paid it), unpaid management fees.

5. Who pays what

The law sets who is liable for the tax (the seller, who has the income) and the registration fee (the party registering ownership), but the parties may agree who bears the cost. Common arrangements: "price includes taxes and fees" (the seller bears everything), "each party pays its own share", or the buyer bears everything in exchange for a lower price. Whichever you choose, write it clearly in the deposit contract and the sale contract: each item, who pays it, and whether it is paid before or after receiving the pink book.

6. Buying with a loan

The disbursement date is set in the loan agreement — many banks disburse after the contract has been notarised and the title transfer and mortgage registration files have been submitted. Schedule payments to the seller to match the disbursement date and write them into the contract. Estimate your monthly payments with the home-buying cash-flow calculator.

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

1. Agree in writing in the deposit contract: the true price, who pays the 2% tax, the 0.5% registration fee, the notary fee and the appraisal fee; the notarisation deadline.
2. If the unit is mortgaged: release the mortgage before notarisation (see buying an apartment mortgaged to a bank).
3. Notarise the sale contract at a notary office; receive the notarised contract.
4. Within 30 days of notarisation: submit the change registration file with the personal income tax and registration fee declarations at the one-stop desk or online.
5. Receive the tax authority's notice; the seller pays the tax, the buyer pays the registration fee (or as agreed); keep the receipts.
6. Pay the file appraisal fee; receive the appointment slip for the result.
7. Receive the pink book updated with your name; check the name, unit number and area again.
8. Tell the building management to update the owner details, take over cards and keys, and record the electricity and water readings.

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

• VCCI — Chuyển nhượng bất động sản nộp thuế TNCN như thế nào? (How is personal income tax paid on real estate transfers? — 2025 Law on Personal Income Tax, Article 14), 2 February 2026.
• Tuoi Tre — Muốn miễn thuế khi bán nhà đất duy nhất: Phải sở hữu đủ 183 ngày (Tax exemption when selling your only home requires 183 days of ownership — Decree 253/2026/NĐ-CP), 5 July 2026.
• Thư viện Nhà đất — Mức thu lệ phí trước bạ nhà đất năm 2026 là bao nhiêu? (What is the registration fee for houses and land in 2026? — Decree 10/2022/NĐ-CP, amended by Decree 175/2025/NĐ-CP), 19 December 2025.
• Consolidated document 61/VBHN-BTC dated 6 December 2019 — Thông tư quy định mức thu phí công chứng (Circular on notary fees: Circular 257/2016/TT-BTC, amended by Circular 111/2017/TT-BTC), Article 4: caselaw.vn, 6 December 2019.
• Saigon Times (Tuoi Tre) — TPHCM tăng mức phí làm hồ sơ nhà đất (HCMC raises fees for property files — Resolution 02/2023/NQ-HĐND), 31 May 2023.
• Luật Nhà ở số 27/2023/QH15 (Law on Housing No. 27/2023/QH15) — Article 164: full text on caselaw.vn, 27 November 2023.
• Can Tho City legal education portal — Trường hợp nào phải đăng ký biến động đất đai trong thời hạn 30 ngày? (Which changes must be registered within 30 days? — Article 133 of the 2024 Land Law), accessed 20 October 2026.
• VnExpress — Những thay đổi về thủ tục nhà đất từ 1/7 (Changes to property procedures from 1 July), 30 June 2025.
• Ministry of Justice — Từ ngày 01/01/2027, bỏ bắt buộc công chứng với 6 loại giao dịch (From 1 January 2027, notarisation no longer mandatory for 6 types of transaction — Law No. 04/2026/QH16), accessed 20 October 2026.