Tricks to suggest "bribes" to buy social housing

As the supply of social housing increases, many people are eager to learn about the procedures for registering to buy an apartment. Taking advantage of this, many "brokers" are demanding "bribes" of hundreds of millions, or even billions of dong, to secure a chance to buy an apartment through a lottery.

As the supply of social housing increases, many people are eager to learn about the procedures for registering to buy an apartment. Taking advantage of this, many "brokers" are demanding "bribes" of hundreds of millions, or even billions of dong, to secure a chance to buy an apartment through a lottery.

A unit offering application processing services is set up right in front of the N01 Ha Dinh social housing project (Photo: Truong Thanh)

Enough tricks to deceive people.

As a bill collector earning 12 million VND per month, Ms. Thu Ha was delighted to hear that a number of social housing projects in Hanoi were going on sale. However, her joy quickly turned into disappointment.

“When researching online about the procedures for buying social housing at Project N01 Ha Dinh (Tan Trieu commune, Thanh Tri district), some real estate agents said that the application consultation fee is 3-5 million VND. In addition, due to the large number of people interested in the project, customers will have to participate in a lottery to secure a purchase slot. To increase my chances of winning, they told me I needed to pay an additional fee of 700 million to 1 billion VND,” Ms. Ha shared.

Acting as prospective buyers of social housing, we were assured by a consultant that they would help us secure a guaranteed purchase slot. In return, customers would have to pay an additional amount called a "slot reservation fee."

“We offer two options for securing a unit at the N01 Ha Dinh social housing project. One is a random lottery for a fee of 200 million VND. The other is choosing your preferred unit location and floor level, costing 500-600 million VND. Whichever method you choose, I guarantee you'll win a social housing unit,” the consultant confidently stated.

In addition to the "apartment reservation" service, many individuals and organizations also offer consultation and assistance in preparing application documents for purchasing social housing at the N01 Ha Dinh project, with fees ranging from 3 to 10 million VND.

Customers should be wary of information promising a chance to win a social housing unit through a lottery. Project developers all affirm that they comply with the rule of publicly disclosing sales information, and there are no "bribes" involved.

"We will prepare a complete set of documents for the buyer to submit to the developer. You just need to provide the information and obtain the required confirmation stamps. The processing fee is 10 million VND. However, we only guarantee that you meet the eligibility requirements to participate in the lottery; whether you will actually win a purchase is not guaranteed," another real estate agent said.

Not only were people shocked by the exorbitant "bribe" fees, but many were also overwhelmed by the flood of fake information. When searching for keywords related to the Rice City Long Châu project (Thuong Thanh ward, Long Bien district), the results returned numerous websites claiming to belong to the developer. From domain names and interfaces to project information, everything was almost entirely copied from the original website. Even before the developer officially announced the selling price, these sites confidently offered an estimated price of around 20-25 million VND/m2.

"Currently, the developer hasn't accepted registration applications, so customers can't buy yet. However, I've still created this website to gather customers in advance," said the person behind the contact number on the website.

On Facebook, many accounts claim to own apartments allocated through " diplomatic channels" at the Rice City Long Châu project. When purchasing these apartments, customers don't have to worry about the lottery system. However, they will have to pay a fee labeled as a "consultation service," ranging from 500 to 700 million VND.

"When buying an apartment through a diplomatic allocation, the lottery is just a formality, because you're guaranteed to win," the consultant confidently stated.

Notably, on Facebook there are also self-proclaimed real estate experts with thousands of followers. They advertise "guaranteed" social housing purchase opportunities and claim to have connections with businesses, thus possessing such advantages.

"Every social housing project has a markup of a few hundred million dong. For example, at N01 Ha Dinh, the markup will be from 800 million to 1 billion dong. The Rice City Long Chau project will have a markup of about 200-300 million dong. If the buyer meets the eligibility criteria for social housing, I will receive 50 million dong upfront to reserve the purchase. I will write a guarantee letter for the customer; if they don't win the lottery, the money will be refunded," a real estate "expert" on Facebook said.

The developer speaks out.

Speaking with reporters, Mr. Vu Trung Kien, Deputy Head of the Legal and Communications Department (Urban Infrastructure Development Investment Corporation - UDIC), affirmed that the N01 Ha Dinh social housing project does not charge any consultation fees for social housing purchase applications. Furthermore, the investor has not colluded with any individuals or organizations to increase the chances of winning an apartment through the lottery.

"We have repeatedly warned the public about this issue. All information about the project is published by the company on the Hanoi Department of Construction's website," said Mr. Vu Trung Kien.

UDIC declares that any actions by any organization or individual acting on behalf of the joint venture of investors (UDIC Company, Haweicco and DAC Hanoi) in receiving registration applications, providing consultation, accepting deposits, making reservations, or conducting sales transactions for apartments at the N01 Ha Dinh social housing project are fraudulent and violate the law.

Speaking to reporters, Mr. Bui Duy Thanh, Head of Sales Department of BIC Vietnam JSC, also stated that during the implementation of the Rice City Long Chau Project, many brokers and trading floors falsely claimed affiliation with the company to exploit policies for personal gain. This seriously affects the company's brand image and could cause many people to lose money and suffer consequences.

It is expected that in the second quarter of 2025, the joint venture of investors (Him Lam Thu Do Company and BIC Vietnam) will organize consultation sessions to guide customers in completing the application process and registering to purchase social housing at the Rice City Long Chau Project. These activities will be provided free of charge by the company.

"Our consortium of investors affirms that we have not signed any contracts or authorizations for consulting, depositing, or distributing housing units at the Rice City Long Châu social housing project with any real estate company or brokerage," emphasized BIC Vietnam.

Source: https://baodautu.vn/batdongsan/chieu-tro-goi-y-lot-tay-de-mua-nha-o-xa-hoi-d250405.html