“Government Agency Leases Social Housing for Officials and Employees”

Expanding the Beneficiary Group of the Support Policy

On May 29th, with the majority of delegates in agreement, the National Assembly voted to pass a resolution on experimental mechanisms and special policies for social housing development.

In his report presented before the National Assembly’s passage of the resolution, Minister of Construction Tran Hong Minh stated that, taking into account the delegates’ opinions, the government has adjusted the regulation regarding the National Housing Fund, which is a non-budgetary state financial fund.

This fund has a legal personality , operates on a non-profit basis, and consists of the Central Housing Fund established by the government and local housing funds established by the Provincial People’s Committees.

Notably, regarding social housing support policies, the government has proposed adding conditions for eligibility, targeting those affected by the reorganization of administrative units.

Simultaneously, local authorities are empowered to consider and assess factors such as travel time, infrastructure, and regional characteristics to determine eligibility for social housing support, thereby providing convenient and accessible accommodation near the workplace.

Consequently, the resolution expands the beneficiary group to include enterprises, state agencies, political organizations, and socio-political organizations that can rent social housing to allocate to their officials, public employees, and workers. This initiative aims to provide stable housing solutions and peace of mind for these individuals in their careers.

Reducing 200 Days of Administrative Procedures

Another noteworthy aspect, as highlighted by the Minister, is the resolution’s introduction of policies aimed at reducing and reforming administrative procedures in social housing development.

Specifically, from the resolution’s effective date, the procedures for investor selection through bidding and approval of investment proposals as per investment laws will be eliminated, saving approximately 200 days, or 70% of the time, compared to current regulations.

Additionally, the requirement for establishing, evaluating, and approving planning tasks has been removed, resulting in a 65-day reduction (100%) compared to existing practices.

Furthermore, the resolution proposes to omit the procedure for appraising the feasibility study report for construction investment at construction specialized agencies, reducing 15-35 days depending on the project’s scale (100%)…

Moreover, the draft resolution has added the government’s responsibility to prevent loopholes, corruption, wastefulness, and policy exploitation. It also mandates solutions for controlling, inspecting, and verifying the quality of social housing.

This resolution, passed by the National Assembly, will come into effect on June 1, 2025, except for provisions delegating detailed guidelines to the government, which will take effect on July 1, 2025.