According to the Ministry of Finance, based on the summary from 63 provinces and cities regarding the management, usage, and exploitation of the fund of housing and land assigned to organizations with the function of managing and doing business with houses, currently, out of 63 localities, there are 31/63 places that have housing and land fund assigned to organizations for management and business.
Outrage due to wastefulness
Organizations managing and doing business with houses operate under various models such as enterprises, public non-business units, and state agencies. These organizations are currently managing a total of 87,664 housing and land facilities with a total area of 23.7 million m2 and a total floor area of more than 5.2 million m2.
Waste of state-owned houses and land has been going on for a long time and has been repeatedly addressed and questioned by National Assembly deputies on the national forums.
Deputy Nguyen Tao (Lam Dong delegation) stated that land wastage is a very big problem that is easy to recognize and sensitive. This issue not only affects resources for development but also causes many related consequences such as corruption, negativity, wastage, waste, group interests, and policy abuse.
Quoting the report of the supervision delegation of the National Assembly on the practice of thrift and anti-wastefulness in the period 2016 – 2021, Mr. Tao said that there are more than 900 land-use projects that have been abandoned or delayed in their utilization leading to waste, with an area of over 28,000 ha.
According to Deputy Vu Thi Luu Mai (Hanoi), solving problems related to land is not only the responsibility of localities but also the responsibility of many related ministries and branches. However, when there are problems, localities send letters to solicit opinions from ministries and departments, the answer is to implement according to the provisions of the law. Even when the law does not have regulations or has different regulations, the answer in many cases is still “implement according to the provisions of the law” then the problems cannot be solved, which also causes resentment and disappointment for many localities.
At the recent 6th session of the 15th National Assembly, Minister of Finance Ho Duc Phoc said that the responsibilities of units in the management of state assets are clearly assigned according to each level and industry. For state-owned assets managed by ministries and sectors, the responsibility belongs to the Government and the advisory body is the Ministry of Finance. As for the majority of state-owned assets under the jurisdiction of provincial People’s Committees when organizing districts and communes, the province will be responsible for managing them.
The Unfinished project of Phan Dinh Phung Stadium with 4 fronts in prime location of Ho Chi Minh City but has not been completed for many years, causing waste Photo: HOANG TRIEU
Minister of Finance Ho Duc Phoc affirmed that after rearranging district-level and provincial-level units under the jurisdiction of provincial People’s Committees, about 90% of state assets have been handled, there are still 10% with nearly 1,000 state assets that have not been handled, of which about 500 state assets are being abandoned, causing waste.
According to the Ministry of Finance, although specialized legislation has provisions on general management principles for state-owned houses and land, there is no separate regulation for the management, usage, and exploitation of specialized housing and land funds, so in practice, localities are still confused in the management, operation, exploitation, and handling of these housing and land funds.
In addition, many housing and land facilities after being recovered or transferred to localities for management and handling cannot be immediately handled due to the need for adjustment of planning, if not put into operation, they will be left idle, wasted, while the demand for leasing is very large. Therefore, it is very necessary to establish mechanisms to adjust these types of houses and land.
Determined to auction for lease
In recent years, the Hanoi People’s Council has organized specific supervisions and inquiries on the implementation of legal provisions on the management and use of state-owned assets such as houses and land owned by the city.
Through supervision and inquiries, many shortcomings in the management, operation, and use of the city’s state-owned assets have been pointed out, causing these state assets to not achieve their full potential for development.
Specifically, the figures presented at the questioning session at the 7th session of the 16th Hanoi People’s Council (July 2022) showed that out of a total of 803 specialized housing facilities, there are 357 violated locations, such as subleasing, joint ventures, affiliations, redevelopment, expansion, and additional construction without the authorization of competent authorities. In 199 resettlement apartment buildings, with a total area of the business service floor fund managed by the city is more than 85,000 m2, more than 35,000 m2 are still unallocated for lease usage or being used illegally, for the wrong purpose, accounting for a rate of 41%…
Regarding land, in Hanoi, there are 9 projects funded by non-budget sources that have received decisions to revoke land or revoke land allocation, lease by violating the land law, with a total area of about 337 ha. In 2023, the Hanoi People’s Council has approved the plan “Efficient Management, Use, and Exploitation of Hanoi’s State Assets for the 2022-2025 period, with orientations for the 2026-2030 period.”
Mr. Nguyen Xuan Luu, Director of the Hanoi Department of Finance, assessed that this is an important framework plan, with a clear scope, wide coverage, and affects many objects in the area.
“The Hanoi People’s Committee is determined to end the use of state assets for renting, lending, joint ventures, and links in violation of regulations. 100% of state assets in public non-business units are used for business purposes, renting, joint ventures, links approved by competent authorities. The city also handles, completely eliminates violations, and problems in the management and use of the state-owned housing fund assigned to agencies, units, and businesses for management and exploitation,” affirmed a representative of the Hanoi People’s Committee.
Auction for leasing
The leaders of the State Property Management Department (Ministry of Finance) said that they are coordinating with ministries, sectors, and the Government Office to finalize and submit to the Government for signing and promulgating the decree regulating the management, usage, and exploitation of state assets. In which, there is a draft decree on regulating the management, usage, and exploitation of specialized housing, land not used for residential purposes assigned to organizations with the function of managing and doing business with houses at the local level.
In the draft, the Ministry of Finance proposes 3 forms of management and operation of houses and land, including: leasing houses; temporary arrangements for the use of agencies, organizations, and units; manage according to the current status while waiting for the implementation of the handling of houses and land in accordance with the provisions of the law. Depending on the type of houses, land, and management requirements in each stage, the localities will decide the specific forms to manage tightly, and exploit the most efficiently.
According to the Ministry of Finance, every year, organizations with the function of managing and operating houses must make plans to manage and exploit houses and land to submit to provincial People’s Committees for consideration and approval. The rental of houses (attached to land use rights) must be auctioned, except in cases where the application of listed prices is allowed. The maximum lease term is 5 years. In case the state has a demand to use houses and land for lease for other purposes or allocate to agencies, organizations, and units or handle according to the provisions of the law, there will be no lease term extension.
Strictly deal with sluggish projects
In Dong Hoi City, Quang Binh Province, there is a series of projects taking up “gold” land but still in a state of abandonment, causing waste, while some construction projects have been left unfinished for many years, causing public anger because it damages the urban appearance.
According to Mr. Nguyen Hue, Director of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment of Quang Binh Province, with projects that are delayed or delayed due to unforeseen reasons, it is necessary to speed up the progress of construction, and build them soon to put them into operation and force commitments to complete the schedule if an extension is granted. For projects that are slow and sluggish, not implemented, there will be strong measures, establishing dossiers to report to the provincial People’s Committee to resolutely revoke investment licenses and recover land.
H.Phuc
Need to supplement regulations
Mr. Huynh Thanh Khiet, Deputy Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Construction, said that currently, the Center for Housing Management and Construction Appraisal (under the Department of Construction of Ho Chi Minh City) is managing 44 state-owned addresses according to Government Decree 167.
There are more than 1,800 addresses of this kind in reality. The Department of Construction will accept this huge housing fund, but the next management issues need to be supplemented with regulations for convenient management and exploitation. Accordingly, the Department of Construction proposes that the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee have opinions with the Government on amending and supplementing the Law on Auctioning Assets, in which adding provisions on auctioning assets for lease.
In addition, at present, there is no legal basis or process for appraising and determining rental prices for state-owned housing funds. Therefore, the Department of Construction proposes that the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee have opinions with the Government on amending, supplementing, and promulgating new decrees on the management of specialized housing, land not used for residential purposes assigned to organizations with the function of managing and operating housing businesses at the local level, to facilitate management and exploitation.
Q.Anh
