Will conditions for buying social housing be loosen from January 1, 2025 in Vietnam?

Will conditions for buying social housing be loosen from January 1, 2025 in Vietnam?

Article 51 of the 2014 Housing Law stipulates requirements for eligibility for incentive policies on social housing as follows:

Requirements for eligibility for incentive policies on social housing

1. The entities eligible for the policies as prescribed in Clause 1 Article 50 of this Law shall satisfy the requirements pertaining to housing, residence, and income as follow:

a) They have not had any house under their homeownership, have not concluded any agreements on social housing purchase, lease, or lease purchase, have not benefited from any policy on housing or residential land support in any shape or form at the places where they live, study, or have houses under their homeownership, but the floor space per capita in the household is lower than the minimum space standard regulated by the Government in every period and every area;

b) They are required to register permanent residence in the province where the social housing is located; if not, they are required to register temporary residence in that province for at least one year, except for cases prescribed in Clause 9 Article 49 of this Law;

c) With respect to entities prescribed in Clause 4, 5, 6 and 7 Article 49 of this Law, they are required to be not subject to regular income tax as prescribed in law on personal income tax; with respect to households living in poverty and near poverty, they must be subject to the households living in poverty and near poverty as prescribed in regulations of the Prime Minister. With respect to entities prescribed in Clause 1, 8, 9 and 10 Article 49 of this Law, they are not required to satisfy requirements pertaining to income as prescribed in this Point.

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In Article 78 of the Housing Law 2023 (effective from January 1, 2025), there are regulations on requirements for eligibility for incentive policies on social housing as follows:

Requirements for eligibility for incentive policies on social housing

1. Subjects specified in Clauses 1, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10, Article 76 of this Law purchasing, renting and purchasing social housing must fully meet the following conditions:

a) Housing conditions: Subjects specified in Clauses 1, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10, Article 76 of this Law, to buy or rent-purchase social housing, must not have owned property in the province or centrally run city where that social housing investment project is located, have not purchased or leased social housing, and have not enjoyed the housing support policies in the province or centrally run city where there is an investment project to build social housing or own a house in the province or centrally run city where the social housing project is located but the average housing area per capita is lower than the minimum housing area; Those who fall under the provisions of Points b, c, d, dd, e and g, Clause 1, Article 45 of this Law must not be living in official housing.

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Thus, according to current regulations in Vietnam, social housing buyers must have permanent residence registration in the province or centrally run city where social housing is located; If you do not have permanent residence registration, you must have temporary residence registration for one year or more in the province or city, except for students of academies, universities, colleges, and vocational schools; Public ethnic boarding school students can use housing during their studies.

However, from January 1, 2025 when the Housing Law 2023 takes effect in Vietnam, this condition will no longer be required.

Will conditions for buying social housing be loosen from January 1, 2025 in Vietnam? (Image from the Internet)

Who can buy social housing in Vietnam?

Article 76 of the Housing Law 2023 (effective from January 1, 2025) stipulates that subjects eligible to buy social housing include:

- People with meritorious services to the revolution and relatives of martyrs are eligible for housing improvement support according to the provisions of the Ordinance on Preferential treatment for people with meritorious services to the revolution 2020.

- Poor and near-poor households in rural areas.

- Poor and near-poor households in rural areas frequently affected by natural disasters and climate change.

- Poor and near-poor households in urban areas.

- Low-income people in urban areas.

- Workers and laborers working in enterprises, cooperatives, and cooperative unions inside and outside industrial parks.

- Officers, professional soldiers, non-commissioned officers of the people's armed forces, police workers, civil servants, workers and defense officials serving on active duty; People doing cipher work and other people working in cipher organizations receive salaries from the state budget while working.

- Cadres, civil servants and public employees according to the provisions of law on cadres, civil servants and public employees.

- The subject has returned the official housing according to the provisions of Clause 4, Article 125 of the Housing Law 2023, except in cases where the official housing is revoked due to violating the provisions of the Housing Law 2023.

- Households and individuals are subject to land recovery and must clear and demolish houses according to the provisions of law but have not been compensated by the State with housing or residential land.

- Students, university students, academies, universities, colleges, vocational schools, and specialized schools according to the provisions of law; students at public ethnic boarding schools.

- Enterprises, cooperatives, cooperative unions in industrial parks.

What are conditions for selling, leasing and purchasing social housing to be formed in the future in Vietnam?

In Clause 3, Article 88 of the Housing Law 2023, there are regulations on sale and lease purchase of off-the-plan social housing that must meet the following conditions:

- Have a housing construction investment project dossier, have an approved housing technical design and have a construction permit if a construction permit is required;

- Completed the construction of the foundation of the house according to the provisions of law on construction and completed the investment in the construction of the road system, water supply, drainage, domestic electricity, and public lighting of housing areas sold, leased and purchased according to detailed construction planning, design documents and approved project progress;

The mortgage has been released in cases where the investor of a social housing construction investment project has mortgaged this house, unless the buyer, lease-purchaser and mortgagee agree that the mortgage is not released;

- There has been a written notification from the provincial housing management agency that housing is eligible for sale, lease-purchase, except for social housing built with public investment capital.

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