"Development of social housing must ensure stable people's lives"

Recently, Binh Duong has become an example of building social housing for low-income workers. To promote the achieved results, Binh Duong continues improving quality and developing social housing construction; at the same time, contributing to stabilizing the real estate market, improving people's living conditions, and ensuring social security. Huynh Pham Tuan Anh, Deputy Director of Provincial Department of Construction, made an interview with Binh Duong Newspaper about the province's social housing development program in the future.

Dinh Hoa social housing area.

- Sir, what are orientation, goals and solutions of Binh Duong in improving the quality of housing in the province?

Regarding the province's goals, according to the housing development program in Binh Duong province for 2021-2030 period approved by the Provincial People's Committee, by 2025, the province strives to raise the quality of permanent and semi-permanent housing to 99.9% (in which the urban area reaches 100% and the rural area reaches 99.8%). By 2030, strive to raise the quality of permanent and semi-permanent houses to 100%, no more simple houses. By 2045, strive to maintain the quality of housing at 100% permanent and semi-permanent, without creating simple temporary houses.

For policy families, people with meritorious services to the revolution, the province has implemented housing support policy for this target group, including their family with a support level of 80 million VND/unit and repair cost of 40 million VND/unit, the difference in funding comes from mobilization of resources, contributing to improving living conditions, realizing the goal: “Take better care of policy families and people with meritorious services, ensuring that all policy families have a life equal to or better than the average living standard”.

Up to now, there have been 635 cases (building new houses for 96 households; repairing and renovating houses for 539 households) with a total cost of 14,620,000,000 VND disbursed to this program. In 2021-2025, there are still about 384 cases of people with meritorious services and their family that are in need of housing building, repair, and renovation. The province will continue to deal with these cases.

For poor and near-poor households (migrants from other areas, unstable housing), to achieve the goal of improving housing quality, the province will integrate many loan support programs to repair and renovate houses funded by the Central and local budgets through Provincial Bank for Social Policies. In addition, the province has boosted calling for more socialization capital, especially to help poor, near-poor households, policy families build houses; and has done very well, speeding up the eradication of rudimentary houses in the province.

- In 2023, the target of building new social housing approved by Provincial People's Council is 8,000 - 10,000 units. To achieve this target, what are the implementation plans of the province, sir?

The Department is developing a project of social housing and workers' housing in Binh Duong province in 2021-2025 period, with an orientation towards 2030. With solutions and resources to be deployed, the progress of social housing development in the province in the coming time will have more good changes.

In 2023, the Department will implement some plans. Namely, to implement planning for quick and effective implementation of solutions in approved projects; review the residential land fund for social housing development in commercial housing projects with arrangement, to urge and promote investors to invest in construction and create social housing fund for the province; in case the investor fails or is slow to implement according to the approved schedule, recover, and assign capable investors to carry out construction investment, avoid waste of land fund; review and convert production facilities in urban areas, especially southern urban areas, to embellish urban areas and create land funds for social housing development in projects to adjust general urban planning in the south. 

The steering group of Provincial People's Committee will study and solve difficulties for social housing projects that are being implemented in order to shorten administrative procedures related to the project.

- Recently, the housing development program implemented by the province has achieved many good results. In order to continue promoting those results, how will the construction branch continue to advise Provincial People's Committee on the orientation of housing development in the coming time, sir?

In order to continue developing the achieved results, to meet housing needs of the people, especially the workforce from other localities in Binh Duong, to help workers settle down, Provincial People's Committee approved the housing development program in Binh Duong province 2021-2030. Accordingly, in the development orientation of social housing, housing for workers 2021-2025 will increase by 1,890,000m2 of social housing floor, equivalent to about 42,000 apartments. In 2026-2030, housing for workers will increase by 2,100,000m2 of social housing floor, equivalent to about 42,000 newly built houses.

The Provincial People's Committee also assigned Department of Construction to study and develop a project to develop social housing and housing for workers in Binh Duong province in 2021-2025, with an orientation towards 2030. In the project, there will be solutions (in terms of land fund, capital sources, mechanisms and policies...) to accelerate the development of social housing funds in the province in accordance with the target of the housing development program and strives to build more than 100,000 social houses and workers' houses, contributing to solving the housing needs for workers in industrial parks and low-income people.

- Who and what criteria can buy social housing and on which channels can people find information about social housing projects?

Regarding groups allowed to buy, rent, lease social housing, as defined in Article 49 of Law on Housing 2014, there are 10 groups: poor and near-poor households in rural areas; low-income people, poor and near-poor households in urban areas; employees who are working at enterprises inside and outside industrial parks; military; officials and civil servants; students; organizations and individuals whose land is recovered.

Regarding the criteria for buying, renting, and leasing social housing, are specified in Article 51 of Law on Housing 2014, specifically: The first case, a person who has not had a house (buy or rent); not yet enjoying the policy of housing support, residential land in any form at the place where they live, study, or have a house under their ownership, but the housing area per capita in the household is lower than the area the minimum housing prescribed by the Government in each period and region; must have permanent residence registration in the locality to buy/rent where social housing is located; in case there is no permanent residence registration, there must be a temporary residence registration for one year or more; for some cases, they are not required to pay regular income tax according to the provisions of the law on personal income tax; in the case of poor or near-poor households, they must be classified as poor or near-poor according to central regulations.

The second case, satisfying the conditions specified in the decision approving the corresponding target housing program of the competent State agency; third case, must meet the conditions for housing and residence such as having residential land but not having a house / having a house but the house is damaged or dilapidated; have registered permanent residence in the locality where residential land or houses need to be newly built or renovated or repaired.

The Department of Construction regularly updates information on social housing projects, the list of entities eligible to sign a contract to buy, rent, and lease-purchase social housing in accordance with Law on housing on the website of Department of Construction at www.sxd.binhduong.gov.vn.

- Thank you, Sir!

In order to continue to promote the achieved results, to meet housing needs of the people, especially the workforce from other localities in Binh Duong, to help the workers settle down, Provincial People's Committee approved the housing development program in Binh Duong province 2021-2030 in December 2022. Accordingly, the development orientation of social housing, housing for workers in the 2021-2025 period will increase by 1,890,000m2 of social housing floor, equivalent to about 42,000 apartments. In 2026-2030, this will add 2,100,000m2 of social housing floor, equivalent to about 42,000 newly built houses.

Reported by Phuong Le - Translated by Ngoc Huynh