The Ever-Delayed Social Housing Project: A Decade of Broken Promises

Continuous Delays in Handover

The Tan Binh Apartment – Social Housing Complex project, invested by Tan Binh Real Estate Investment Co., Ltd., has encountered significant delays. The project, which comprises two 16-story blocks with 168 apartments ranging from 58 to 83 square meters, has completed its structural work.

Initially, this project was positioned as a commercial housing development, but it later transitioned into social housing and benefited from a VND 30 trillion package. In 2015, the investor started selling apartments, and homebuyers were approved by the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Construction to purchase these social housing units with subsidized loans.

Many homebuyers have made payments according to their contract values. The investor committed to handing over the apartments by October 2016. However, nearly ten years have passed, and homebuyers are still waiting. The delays are attributed to various violations committed by the investor during the project’s execution.

Mr. L.V.T., a resident of Go Vap district, Ho Chi Minh City, shared that in 2021, he signed a contract with the investor to purchase a shophouse worth over VND 3.5 billion. The contract specified that the actual handover and occupancy would be in June 2021. Unfortunately, the investor failed to fulfill this commitment.

In July 2022, Tan Binh Real Estate Investment Co., Ltd. issued Document No. 52/Tb-TB, pledging to expedite the handover of shophouses. According to this document, the end of October 2022 was set as the deadline for handing over houses to four customers, and the end of November 2022 for another five customers who had purchased shophouses. The document also clearly stated that the investor would be subject to penalties as per the sales contract if they failed to meet these deadlines.

Whose Fault is it Really?

In 2018, the People’s Committee of Ho Chi Minh City issued an administrative penalty decision against the investor for 19 violations related to investment construction, real estate business, housing development, and management and use of houses and offices. The total fine amounted to over VND 1.6 billion. The investor was also required to dismantle two floors (15th and 16th) and other items that violated the permitted construction design.

However, during the process of dismantling the violations, management agencies proposed allowing Tan Binh Real Estate Investment Co., Ltd. to retain the violating area on the mezzanine floor (332 square meters) and the violating area at the four corners of the building. The rationale was that dismantling these areas would affect the building’s load-bearing structure, and this additional area would be offset against the planning criteria of Block 1 (not yet constructed) to ensure compliance with the overall planning criteria for the entire project. This proposal was approved by the People’s Committee of Ho Chi Minh City.

On May 20, 2020, Tan Binh Real Estate Investment Co., Ltd. sent Document No. 145/CV-TB to the People’s Committee of Ho Chi Minh City, requesting to restore the original planning criteria of 18 floors for the project.

On July 8, 2020, the Department of Planning and Architecture issued Document No. 2342/QHKT-QHKTV2, reporting to the People’s Committee of Ho Chi Minh City about the direction to adjust the detailed planning at a scale of 1/2000. In case of approval, the Department of Planning and Architecture would guide the People’s Committee of Tan Binh district to organize consultations with the community (including customers who have rented or purchased apartments) and summarize them for the People’s Committee of Ho Chi Minh City for consideration and decision.

According to homebuyers at the Tan Binh Apartment – Social Housing Complex project, Ho Chi Minh City authorities have repeatedly requested the investor to expedite the dismantling of violating items and complete the project to hand over the houses to the people. The final deadline for handing over the houses was set for April 30, 2021. However, as of now, homebuyers are still waiting.

Speaking to Tien Phong newspaper, a representative of Tan Binh Real Estate Investment Co., Ltd. stated that they had invited homebuyers to receive the apartments, but they had not come to pick them up. Currently, only 60 customers have agreed to receive the apartments. “The project has been inspected and approved for fire protection and construction quality,” the representative asserted.

Regarding the shophouses on the ground floor, the representative of Tan Binh Real Estate Investment Co., Ltd. stated that they have not yet been dealt with.