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The Prime Minister Approves Proposal to Raise Income Threshold for Social Housing Eligibility

17 August, 2025

A busy second half of the year lies ahead

The Prime Minister stated that, according to Decision No. 444/QD-TTg dated February 27, 2025, the government set a target of 995,445 housing units to be completed by local authorities during the 2025-2030 period, with 100,275 units to be finished by the end of 2025. So far, the government has issued two resolutions, twelve directives, decisions, and telegraphs, and organized two conferences to promote social housing development. They also submitted a resolution to the National Assembly to address bottlenecks in social housing development policies and issued a resolution detailing the implementation of the National Assembly’s resolution.

According to the Ministry of Construction, there are 692 social housing projects across the country with a scale of 633,559 units. These include 146 completed projects with 103,717 units, 144 projects that have started construction with 127,261 units, and 402 approved projects with a scale of 402,581 units.

The number of completed, started, and approved projects by 2025 accounts for 59.6% of the target set in the proposal (with a total investment in construction of about 1,062,200 units). In the first seven months of 2025, 36,962 out of 100,275 units were completed (achieving 37%). By the end of 2025, it is expected that an additional 36,700 units will be finished, totaling 73,671 out of 100,275 units (achieving 73%), while the set goal is to complete at least 63,000 units.

The Prime Minister acknowledged these achievements, commended the efforts, and highly appreciated the results of the ministries, branches, and localities. However, the demand for social housing in localities is very high, especially in large cities like Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Haiphong, Bac Ninh, Dong Nai, and Lam Dong…

There are still many limitations, difficulties, and obstacles in the implementation of the program. Specifically, the results in many localities are slow; the disbursement of the VND 120,000 billion preferential credit package for social housing is slow and difficult; enterprises investing in social housing are still facing obstacles and difficulties in accessing land, investment procedures, bidding, credit, and preferential policies…

The Prime Minister emphasized that there is a lot to be done in the remaining months of the year to achieve the goals set out in the proposal. He reiterated that the target of completing at least 100,000 social housing units by the end of 2025 remains unchanged, and the social housing development targets for 2025 assigned to localities by the Prime Minister at the beginning of the year remain the same.

The Prime Minister requested that the ministries, branches, and localities continue to focus on and direct several key tasks – “things that need to be done immediately.”

The Prime Minister emphasized the unwavering target of completing at least 100,000 social housing units by the end of 2025 – Photo: VGP/Nhat Bac

Agreed to propose an increase in the income threshold for social housing purchases

At the conference, the topic of income levels for social housing purchases was repeatedly discussed. Specifically, the leader of the People’s Committee of Haiphong City proposed adjusting the regulation on the maximum income for purchasing social housing (currently VND 15 million/month for single people and VND 30 million/month for families) to better suit the reality.

This income level currently makes it difficult for many workers and experts with slightly higher incomes to access commercial housing, yet they do not qualify for social housing support. Haiphong suggested increasing the maximum income levels for social housing purchases or allowing localities to decide on these income levels, similar to the mechanism applied to housing conditions.

Similarly, Vu Van Dien, Vice Chairman of the People’s Committee of Quang Ninh Province, stated that the cost of living in the locality is higher than the average, so allowing the province to adjust the income criteria would resolve many practical difficulties.

From the perspective of the State Bank, Vice Governor Pham Quoc Dung shared that the regulation is relatively strict, and many localities are facing challenges because the income levels vary across regions, yet the regulation is applied uniformly.

Meanwhile, according to Wang Wenming, Deputy General Manager of the Policy Bank, during the implementation process, there was a group of low-income earners in urban areas. However, after the merger and the implementation of the two-tier government, some towns that used to be urban areas are now considered communes. As a result, there is an issue with the definition of urban and rural areas, and when a town becomes a commune, there will be additional beneficiaries for low-income earners.

Additionally, verifying the income of workers without employment contracts remains a bottleneck. Pham Van Thinh, Vice Chairman of the People’s Committee of Bac Ninh Province, proposed that the government assign the police to confirm within seven days instead of having the commune-level authorities handle the procedure as currently practiced.

In its summary report, the Ministry of Construction put forward three notable proposals. First, amend the regulation on income conditions for purchasing or renting social housing, as stipulated in Clause 1, Article 30 of Decree No. 100/2024/ND-CP, to increase the income threshold for single people from VND 15 million to VND 20 million per month. For married couples, the total income should be raised from VND 30 million to VND 40 million per month, calculated according to the salary and wage table.

Second, amend the regulation on income confirmation for purchasing or renting social housing for cases without employment contracts, as stipulated in Clause 2, Article 30 of Decree 100, to assign the commune-level police to confirm.

Third, amend the regulation on interest rates for social housing loans through the Policy Bank, as stipulated in Clause 4, Article 48 of Decree 100, to consider reducing the interest rate for preferential loans for purchasing or renting social housing.

In his concluding remarks, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh basically agreed with the proposals and recommendations, including the Ministry of Construction’s proposal to raise the income threshold for social housing purchases to make it more suitable. He assigned the Ministry of Construction to propose amendments to Decree 100 through an expedited process.

Huy Khai

– 15:41 16/08/2025