During the discussion on the draft resolution on piloting special policies for social housing development on May 24, Deputy Ta Van Ha, Vice Chairman of the Committee for Culture, Education, Youth, and Children, predicted that after the completion of the province-city merger, the demand for social housing would increase. However, due to limited supply, housing prices remain too high compared to the income of those eligible to purchase social housing.
“25 million VND per square meter is very difficult for low-income earners of 15 million VND or less. Similarly, the current rental price of 200,000 VND per square meter means a 30-square-meter house costs 6 million VND per month,” said Deputy Ta Van Ha.
According to Deputy Ha, those in need of social housing are mainly young workers who have just graduated. With low incomes and unstable jobs, they face challenges in accessing housing. Therefore, there is a need to increase the construction of social housing projects for rent. The government should implement supportive policies to help these workers actually access rental housing at affordable prices.
The selling price of social housing in large cities is tending to increase, far exceeding the average income of most workers. Illustration.
Sharing this view, Deputy Nguyen Hoang Bao Tran, Vice President of the Labor Confederation of Binh Duong province, said that all workers dream of owning a small house to settle down and work peacefully.
However, looking at the real estate market and the continuously rising consumption and income levels, the hope of owning social housing seems out of reach for them.
“The Housing Law has issued policies, but with a monthly income of around 10 million VND, along with expenses for food, children’s education, hospital fees, utilities, and rent, accessing social housing is beyond reach,” said Ms. Tran.
In addition, the criteria, procedures, and approval processes are not designed for low-income earners. Many people want to register but have to give up because they do not meet the requirements or are afraid of adding more debt to their already struggling lives, according to Ms. Tran.
Therefore, Deputy Nguyen Hoang Bao Tran proposed that the National Assembly consider supplementing practical support mechanisms such as price subsidies or price support from the state budget or the national housing fund to ensure that the selling and rental prices are commensurate with the actual income of workers. The drafting agency should also supplement regulations on the price ceiling or floor for social housing according to each region.
The female deputy also proposed a mechanism to differentiate between regions with varying demands for social housing. The draft should classify localities into groups with high, medium, and low demand based on population density to allocate appropriate fund sources and avoid spreading resources too thin.
Deputy Thach Phuoc Binh, from Tra Vinh province, said that the selling and rental prices of social housing are not really reasonable. Although the law stipulates that land use fees should not be included in the selling price of social housing, in reality, the selling price is still high and unaffordable for many workers. The reason, according to the deputy, is the ineffective mechanism for controlling the selling price.
Mr. Binh cited an example of a social housing project in some major cities, where the price is nearly 25 million VND per square meter, which is higher than the payment capacity of most workers. There is a lack of control over the transfer of social housing, and some loopholes in the conditions and period of transfer have led to the emergence of policy exploitation and sophisticated speculation in social housing. In addition, the report of the State Audit Office in 2022 also pointed out signs of inflated costs in social housing prices in some localities.
Therefore, Deputy Thach Phuoc Binh suggested that the draft supplement a mechanism to transparentize the process of determining the selling price, strengthen independent supervision to ensure that the investment cost and beneficiaries are accurate. Specifically, it is necessary to mandatorily publish the selling and rental price plans for social housing on the provincial portal, and get feedback from the community and workers before approval.
According to the plan, the National Assembly will approve the Resolution on piloting a number of mechanisms and policies for social housing development on June 29, the last day of the session.
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