New policy framework creates momentum for social housing for low-income people

The National Assembly's passing of the law amending and supplementing 4 laws, which will take effect soon, is creating a positive effect in the development of this type of housing.

Mr. Hoang Van Cuong, member of the National Assembly's Finance and Budget Committee, said: "Social housing policies have changed a lot compared to before. I think the current policy is removing obstacles.

Previously, there were things that we could not do, but now we have solved them. We expect that resources, access conditions and opportunities to develop social housing will be opened up. Social housing projects in the future will be more accessible and the time will also be faster."

According to experts, the new regulations of Decree 100/2024 are considered "reasonable", in line with the expectations of businesses and people, especially people with average incomes.

Mr. Nguyen Chi Thanh, Vice President of the Vietnam Real Estate Brokers Association, stated: "Decree 100 recognizes the adjustment of a number of issues compared to previous problems, creating conditions to avoid the situation where people who want to buy cannot buy and people who can afford to buy do not have money. This is also a quite positive adjustment, at the same time creating conditions and encouraging investors to participate in building social housing. And especially the demand for rental is very large, because people who can afford to buy social housing are also limited compared to current income."

The newly issued Decree No. 100/2024 of the Government has devoted a whole chapter to regulating the order and procedures related to the investment stages of social housing projects, providing relatively detailed instructions on the steps, from construction, policy proposal to planning approval, investment policy approval, investor selection to the final stage.

This is the first time such a detailed procedure has been provided. The Decree also assigns responsibility to the Provincial People’s Committee in the process of implementing, establishing, and approving urban planning, construction planning, etc. to reserve enough land to develop social housing according to demand.

Mr. Ha Quang Hung, Deputy Director of the Department of Housing and Real Estate Market Development, Ministry of Construction said: "Decree 100 has specific instructions to shorten procedures and the steps will be implemented very clearly. We assess this as a regulation that has a positive impact on the development of social housing. This will help localities guide investors to follow a unified process, ensuring transparency and consistency with relevant laws."

In addition to removing procedural bottlenecks, the issue of credit sources for social housing development has also been resolved. This is also one of the advantages for businesses investing in this field as well as creating favorable conditions for people to access social housing.

Mr. Le Van Tuan, Deputy Head of Credit Policy Department, Vietnam Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Agribank) informed: "Up to now, Vietnam Bank for Agriculture is still a pioneer in implementing social housing projects. We have approved 13 social housing projects with an approved amount of over 3,000 billion VND. There will be 5 projects to be implemented in the coming time with a total loan amount of over 1,500 billion VND. There are up to 12 projects that we are approaching with an expected loan amount of over 5,200 billion VND".

In a recent meeting, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh assigned the Ministry of Construction to preside over research and develop a new credit package worth VND30,000 billion for this segment, and assigned the Vietnam Bank for Social Policies to implement it.

The capital source of the 30,000 billion VND package will come from the state budget, unlike the 120,000 billion VND package currently being implemented from commercial banks. If implemented soon, this credit package will contribute significantly to helping businesses have more resources to develop projects, and people have more opportunities to have a place to live.