Currently, the central region is significantly affected by storms, heavy rains, and strong winds, leading to the loss of many roofs and causing damages amounting to hundreds of billions of VND. The State has implemented policies to support the construction of housing to avoid and mitigate the impact of storms and floods for the residents of the central provinces of Vietnam.
Article table of contents
Policy to support housing construction to avoid storms and floods in the Central Region in Vietnam in 2020 (Illustrative image)
1. Who is eligible for housing support to avoid storms and floods in Vietnam?
According to Article 1 of Circular 16/2014/TT-BXD of the Ministry of Construction guiding the implementation of Decision 48/2014/QD-TTg of the Prime Minister on policies to support poor households in building storm- and flood-proof housing in the central region, it is stipulated that functional agencies will organize the implementation of support for poor households in building storm- and flood-proof housing in rural areas or residing in hamlets, villages, buons, bon, hamlets, neighborhoods, phum soc directly under wards, commune-level towns; communes under district-level towns, city belong to 14 provinces, cities: Thanh Hoa, Nghe An, Ha Tinh, Quang Binh, Quang Tri, Thua Thien - Hue, Da Nang, Quang Nam, Quang Ngai, Binh Dinh, Phu Yen, Khanh Hoa, Ninh Thuan, Binh Thuan.
Specifically, in Article 3 of Circular 16/2014/TT-BXD, the following conditions must be met to be eligible for storm- and flood-proof housing support:
- Be a poor household according to the poverty standard, included in the list of poor households managed by the commune-level People's Committee from October 15, 2014, and be an independent household separated for at least 2 years by October 15, 2014.
- Households that do not have solid housing or have solid housing but do not have a floor that is higher than the regular flood level in the housing area. The minimum flood level is 1.5 meters, measured from the house foundation to the highest flood level at the construction site. Areas with regular floods are those with a flood frequency of at least 2 consecutive years or 3 non-consecutive years within the past 5 years. Flood levels and areas with regular floods are determined by specialized agencies authorized by the provincial People's Committee.
- In cases where a household is classified as poor according to the poverty standard and already listed in the commune-level People's Committee's records, if it hasn't received house support from other state, local, organizational, or social programs, and does not have a flood-resistant floor, it is eligible for support, except for households provided with support due to revolutionary contributors, martyrs' relatives residing, and having permanent residence registration in the house before June 15, 2013.
Households residing in storm-affected areas but not flooded as per the regulations are not eligible for support.
Thus, the households in the provinces of Ha Tinh, Quang Binh, Quang Tri, Thua Thien - Hue, Da Nang, Quang Nam, Quang Ngai, Binh Dinh, Phu Yen affected by storms, if they meet the above conditions, will be supported by the State in building storm- and flood-proof housing.
2. Levels of support for building storm- and flood-proof housing in the central region in Vietnam
According to Clause 3, Article 4 of Circular 18/2015/TT-BTC guiding the preparation of estimates, management, disbursement, payment, and settlement of funds to support poor households in building storm- and flood-proof housing in the central region, the level of housing support from the state budget (central and local budget) for building such housing (including new construction or floor upgrading) is as follows:
- 16 million VND/household residing in particularly difficult hamlets;- 14 million VND/household residing in administrative units in difficult areas;- 12 million VND/household residing in other areas.
3. Procedure for preparing and approving the list of poor households eligible for storm- and flood-proof housing support in Vietnam
According to Article 4 of Circular 18/2015/TT-BTC, the procedure for preparing and approving the list of poor households eligible for storm- and flood-proof housing support in Vietnam is as follows:
- The hamlet organizes a review of poor households requesting support for storm- and flood-proof housing construction. The hamlet head holds a meeting to disseminate the main content of the policy supporting poor households in building storm- and flood-proof housing to residents; conducts the review of poor households requesting housing support based on the list of poor households managed by the commune-level People's Committee.
Note: The meeting must have at least 60% of household representatives in the hamlet and the participation of commune-level authorities, representatives of the commune-level Fatherland Front, and the hamlet head. Households included in the support request list must be approved by over 50% of the attendees (by hand vote or secret ballot). The hamlets guide the households whose names are on the approved list to apply for housing construction support. The list of poor households requesting storm- and flood-proof housing support from the hamlet is prioritized and publicized in the hamlet. Depending on the specific circumstances, the locality may provide support first to households that meet the conditions and are ready for housing construction to ensure timely progress.
- The commune-level People's Committee is responsible for reviewing, compiling the hamlet's needs (the list of households, number of households, capital for building storm- and flood-proof housing), and submitting it to the district-level People's Committee for approval.- The district-level People's Committee consolidates and approves the list of poor households eligible for storm- and flood-proof housing construction; reports to the provincial People's Committee.- Based on the district-level People's Committee's report, the provincial People’s Committee assigns the Department of Construction to coordinate with related departments and sectors to prepare and submit the scheme to the provincial People's Committee for approval. The scheme supports poor households in building storm- and flood-proof housing within the province or centrally regulated city according to the Ministry of Construction’s guidance. After approval, the provincial People’s Committee sends the scheme to the Ministry of Construction, the Ministry of Planning and Investment, the Ministry of Finance, and the Bank for Social Policies for consolidation, reporting to the Prime Minister.
Additional support through loans for building storm- and flood-proof housing in the central region in Vietnam
According to Articles 5 – 8 of Circular 41/2014/TT-NHNN guiding the Social Policy Bank's lending to poor households for building storm- and flood-proof housing in the central region, the following applies:
- Loan interest rate: 3% per annum.- Loan term: 10 years, with a 5-year grace period from the date of first disbursement.
- Principal and interest repayment:- The Social Policy Bank and the borrowing household agree on the repayment amount and schedule for the principal and interest.- Borrowing households repay the principal and interest from the sixth year, with a minimum annual repayment equal to 20% of the borrowed amount.- Borrowers can repay principal and interest ahead of schedule.
Households in the central provinces severely affected by storms should pay attention to the above regulations to benefit from policies for building storm- and flood-proof housing during this challenging period.
Le Vy
