Procedures for purchase, lease, or lease purchase of social housing in Vietnam

Order and procedures for buying, renting, and renting social housing
Order and procedures for buying, renting, and lease-purchasing social housing (Image from the internet)

Regarding this issue, LawNet answers as follows:

Procedures for purchase, lease, or lease purchase of social housing in Vietnam

Procedures for purchase, lease, or lease purchase of social housing in Vietnam are prescribed as follows:

(1)  With regard to social housing projects invested by sources of capital other than state budget

- After the construction is commenced, the investor in the social housing project shall publicly post information about the project (project’s name, investor, location, mailing address, schedule, scale, quantity of apartments including apartments for sale, for lease, and for lease purchase;

Areas of apartments, selling prices, rents (temporary) for each type of apartments; beginning and ending time for receiving applications, and relevant information) on the web portal of the Department of Construction of the province where the project is located;

Post such information on at least one issue of an official local newspaper, and publish it at the investor’s real estate exchange in order for interested people to submit applications and monitor the project.

- Before starting to put up the houses for sale, lease, or lease purchase, the investor in the social housing project shall submit a written report to the Department of Construction on the total quantity of apartments to be sold, leased, or lease-purchased, and starting time. 

Such information must be posted on the web portal of the Department of Construction of the province where the project is located for at least 30 days from the first day on which applications for purchase, lease, or lease purchase houses of the project may be received.

- According to the information mentioned in Point a of Clause 1 of Article 20 of Decree 100/2015/ND-CP, households and individuals who wish to buy, lease, or lease purchase social houses shall submit their applications to the investor in accordance with Article 22 of Decree 100/2015/ND-CP and instructions of the Ministry of Construction;

- After collecting adequate applications, the investor shall consider each of them, compare them with the conditions and eligible entities specified in Article 49 and Article 51 of the Law on Housing, Decree 100/2015/ND-CP, and guidance of the Ministry of Construction in order to compile a list of entities eligible to buy, lease, lease purchase social houses of the investor’s project.

If the applicant has submitted a satisfactory application as set out in Article 22 of Decree 100/2015/ND-CP to the investor, but the investor does not have enough houses, then the investor has to provide explanation and return the application (including documents proving the eligibility for purchase, lease, or lease purchase of social housing submitted by the applicant).

When receiving an application, the recipient must issue a note of receipt. If the application is not satisfactory according to Article 22 of Decree 100/2015/ND-CP, the recipient must write the explanation and return it to the applicant for completion;

- The investor of the social housing project shall send the list of entities eligible for purchase, lease, or lease purchase of social housing in order of priority (according to the rules in Article 23 of Decree 100/2015/ND-CP) to the Department of Construction of the province where the project is located in order to ensure that no one receives social housing assistance more than once or no one having housing or residential land;

Or having received state assistance for housing or residential land; or having taxable income receives social housing assistance. Issuers of land use rights certificates and certificates of ownership of housing and other property on land, district-level People's Committees and local tax authorities shall cooperate with Departments of Construction in verifying information within their competence and take responsibility for verification results.

Where an entity on the aforementioned list has received assistance from the State in the form of housing or residential land, has taxable income or has bought, leased, or lease purchased a social house of another project, the Department of Construction shall send a written notification to the investor in order to remove that entity from the list.

If the Department of Construction does not respond after 15 working days from the receipt of the list, the investor shall request the eligible applicants to meet, discuss, and conclude the contracts. The Department of Construction shall update the list on its web portal and the web portal of the Ministry of Construction.

If a satisfactory applicant on the list no longer wishes to buy, lease, or lease purchase the social house, the investor shall return the application (including documents proving the eligibility for purchase, lease, or lease purchase of social housing) to the applicant.

- Each household or individual that wishes to buy, lease, or lease-purchase a social house may submit an application for a project. If the project does not have enough houses for sale, lease, or lease purchase, the investor shall provide explanation and return the application to the applicant.

The buyer, tenant, or tenant/buyer of the social house shall pay the investor directly or via a bank agreed upon by the investor and the buyer, tenant, or tenant/buyer.

- After signing contracts for purchase, lease, or lease purchase of social houses, the investor shall compile a list of entities (including household members) that have bought, leased, lease-purchased social houses, and send it to the Department of Construction of the province where the project is located in order to be published within 30 working days from the day on which the list is received and retained to serve later management and inspection).

The investor shall concurrently put up the list at the investor’s headquarters and real estate exchange or social housing website (if any).

(2) With regard to social houses invested by a household or individual

- The household or individual who invests in social housing shall submit a written report on the project’s location, schedule, scale, quantity of apartments including quantity of apartments including apartments for sale, for lease, and for lease purchase; beginning time for receiving applications to the People’s Committee of the commune where the houses are built in order to be published at the People’s Committee’s office building to serve the peoples’ supervision;

- According to the information published, people who wish to buy, lease, or lease purchase social houses shall submit their applications to the investor in accordance with Article 22 of Decree 100/2015/ND-CP;

- After collecting adequate applications, the investor shall send a list of entities eligible to buy, lease, lease purchase social houses to the People’s Committee of the commune for consideration and certification before the investor and the buyers, tenants, tenants/buyers conclude contracts for purchase, lease, or lease purchase of social housing;

- The People’s Committee of the commune shall send copies of the applications and the list of entities eligible to buy, lease, lease purchase social houses to the Department of Construction for inspection and ensuring that an entities does not receive social housing assistance more than once.

(Article 20 of Decree 100/2015/ND-CP amended in Decree 49/2021/ND-CP)

Ho Quoc Tuan

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