Vietnamese law sets no minimum age for ownership: a ten-year-old may own houses, land, deposits or shares where the assets come from inheritance, a gift or another lawful source. What is restricted is not ownership but the power to transact personally — exercised instead by the parents or guardian under the Civil Code 91/2015/QH13.
Can a ten-year-old be named on a land or house title?
Yes. The Civil Code 91/2015/QH13 recognises that minors hold their own property rights, and registration of land use rights and house ownership for a child is performed with the parents or guardian acting as legal representatives. In practice children become owners through inheriting from grandparents or parents, or through deliberate gifts earmarking assets for the child. Registration offices do not refuse because of the owner’s age; they verify the representative’s authority and the asset’s origin.
How far does parental management of the child’s property reach?
Parents are the legal representatives of a minor child and manage the child’s separate property under the Civil Code 91/2015/QH13 on the principle of managing for the child’s benefit. Parents may lease or exploit the child’s property and use its yields for the child’s needs, but may not dispose of the child’s major assets for their own purposes. From age 15, some of the child’s transactions need the representative’s consent, and a child of that age may personally make transactions serving daily essential needs under the age-graded civil capacity rules.
Selling a house titled to the child: whose consent is needed?
Selling or transferring a minor’s major property must be done by the legal representative for the child’s benefit, and for real estate the notarisation and registration steps scrutinise the representative authority and the transaction’s purpose. Where parents are divorced or disputing the child’s property, one parent cannot unilaterally sell the child’s asset without the concurrence required by the custody decision and representation rules. When the child turns 18, full disposal power returns to the child and everything previously transacted by representatives must be handed over and reconciled clearly.
Practical steps: when placing property in a child’s name, keep the complete origin file and representation basis; every later disposal must be demonstrably for the child’s benefit — the standard notaries, registries and courts all apply.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a 10-year-old hold a land title?
Yes. The Civil Code 91/2015/QH13 recognises a minor’s own property rights; registration of land and housing for a child is carried out by the parents or guardian as legal representatives, usually following an inheritance or a gift.
How do parents manage a child’s property?
Parents manage the child’s separate property as legal representatives under the Civil Code 91/2015/QH13, strictly for the child’s benefit: they may exploit or lease it and use yields for the child’s needs, but may not dispose of the child’s major assets for their own purposes.
Whose consent is needed to sell the child’s house?
The child’s legal representative conducts the sale for the child’s benefit through notarisation and registration; where parents dispute, neither may sell unilaterally. At 18, full disposal rights return to the child.
