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Streamlining Administrative Procedures: Unblocking the Path to Efficient Social Housing Development

25 February, 2025

Social housing projects have yet to attract many investors. (Photo: Tuan Anh/VNA)

Practical experience in Ho Chi Minh City shows that the “biggest bottleneck” is law enforcement in implementing administrative procedures for social housing projects, especially the uncoordinated and evasive coordination between departments, sectors, districts, and counties. This leads to slow and time-consuming administrative procedures for social housing projects, discouraging businesses.

This is the reality faced by the Ho Chi Minh City Real Estate Association in implementing social housing projects today.

As an example, the Le Thanh-Tan Kien social housing project in Binh Chanh district has an area of 1.9ha in line with the planning. The project has been approved by the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee for adjustment of the 1/2,000 division planning and investment policy approval simultaneously with the investor approval from the first quarter of 2024.

However, the project has not yet started construction as it has not been approved by the People’s Committee of Binh Chanh district for the detailed planning at the scale of 1/500, so land has not been allocated, and the construction permit has not been granted.

Also, in this project, the investor proposed to establish a detailed construction planning according to the shortened procedure (called the procedure for making the general plan) as stipulated in Clause 5a to Clause 5d of Article 2 of Decree 35/2023/ND-CP. Still, the People’s Committee of the district required the investor to establish a detailed planning at the scale of 1/500 in two steps. When submitting the dossier to the Department of Planning and Architecture, they were guided to implement the “procedure for making the general plan,” wasting three months in vain.

Therefore, based on the current legal provisions on social housing, the Association proposes that the People’s Committees of localities direct a strong resolution of difficulties in the coordination of departments, sectors, districts, and counties to shorten the time for implementing administrative procedures for investment in the construction of social housing projects.

First of all, there is a procedure for approving the investment policy simultaneously with the approval of the investor and the approval and adjustment of the planning division at the scale of 1/2,000 and detailed planning at the scale of 1/500.

Many social housing projects have not been disbursed because social housing investors have not met the criteria and conditions for loans under the law on credit. (Photo: Tuan Anh/VNA)

Based on this reality, the Ho Chi Minh City Real Estate Association proposes that the Ministry of Planning and Investment consider amending the “criteria” on the “capacity and experience” of investors participating in the bidding to select investors to implement social housing projects. Currently, some localities have “rejected” and not approved enterprises with a long experience as investors in commercial housing projects and urban areas to participate in bidding for social housing projects.

This regulation unreasonably disqualifies enterprises with no experience in social housing right from the start.

The real estate market in 2024 has passed the most difficult period and has entered a period of recovery and regrowth, with a tendency to improve month after month, quarter after quarter, and year after year. Still, it is not solid, as the housing market is still lacking in project supply, resulting in a shortage of housing products.

Since 2020, the luxury housing segment has dominated the market but lacks affordable commercial housing (below VND 3 billion/unit) and social housing. This has led to continuous price increases and “high price anchoring,” exceeding the financial capacity of most middle-income and low-income urban citizens, making it increasingly difficult to own a home.

Mr. Le Hoang Chau, Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City Real Estate Association, remarked that there is now a Steering Committee for reviewing and removing difficulties and obstacles related to projects, with Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Hoa Binh as the Head of the Committee, and a Working Group comprising leaders of ministries and sectors.

Ho Chi Minh City has a task force for resolving stagnant and suspended construction projects, headed by the Chairman of the City People’s Committee. This task force has been making efforts to focus on removing difficulties and obstacles to “restart” projects, soon deploying, completing, and putting them into use to prevent waste and loss.

Blocks of apartments on Vo Van Kiet Street, Binh Tan District, Ho Chi Minh City. (Photo: Hong Dat/VNA)

To bring the real estate market into a “new era” of safe, healthy, and sustainable development, the Ho Chi Minh City Real Estate Association believes that two breakthroughs are needed: developing affordable commercial housing and social housing to achieve the goal of building at least 1 million social housing units in the period of 2021-2030 and the period after 2030.

Along with this, according to the Ho Chi Minh City Real Estate Association, competent authorities need to resolutely and focus on removing obstacles and difficulties to restart hundreds of real estate projects, commercial housing, and social housing, which are old and ready-made, to increase the housing supply to the market as soon as possible.

On the other hand, localities need to identify the key task of implementing laws and legal documents recently issued by the National Assembly and the Government and focus on administrative reform to shorten the time for implementing procedures to soon approve new real estate projects, commercial housing, and social housing to increase the housing supply to the market.

At the same time, localities need to allocate enough land and implement multiple methods to create land funds for social housing development, especially creating conditions for investors to agree on receiving land use rights or having land use rights suitable for planning and the method of bidding to select investors for social housing projects.

Regarding enterprises, the Ho Chi Minh City Real Estate Association believes that they must strive to restructure, effectively handle bad debts, mature corporate bonds, shift investment orientation to affordable commercial housing, and participate in the program of 1 million social housing units launched by the Government.

The current mechanism and policy are not lacking, but the key to bringing the law to life is law enforcement in localities, along with continuing to improve the legal system to match the practical situation and ensure consistency, emphasized Mr. Le Hoang Chau.

Anh Tuan

– 10:44 23/02/2025