The dream of social housing and the problem of realizing it

Enterprises are ready to participate in social housing

With the increasingly rapid economic growth and the increasing demand for housing and living in Binh Duong province, the construction and development of social housing is one of the urgent issues, not only to solve the housing situation in this province but also to solve the aspirations of the people.

Recently, at the Workshop to provide comments on the Draft "Project on developing social housing and workers' housing in Binh Duong province for the period 2021-2025, with a vision to 2030", data published by Binh Duong province showed that the total number of people in need of social housing by 2030 is about 130,000 people.

Binh Duong province plans to invest in about 173,000 apartments from 2021 to 2030, with a floor area of over 10 million square meters; the total land area is 612 hectares, serving more than 678,000 people. The total investment is about 92,660 billion VND, higher than the target assigned by the Government.

Real estate - The 'dream' of social housing and the problem of making it a reality - Part 2: Solving the legal problem of social housing, the story of settling down is no longer far away — A social housing project has been built, developed and put into operation by Binh Duong province for many years now.

Despite such plans, the development and construction of social housing in the country in general and in Binh Duong province in particular have encountered many difficulties in recent times. Among them, the resolution of land issues, legal procedures and project capital have been some of the “rocks” that have not been thoroughly resolved.

The director of a business in Di An City, Binh Duong Province said: “Building social housing does not require much thought, just thinking about submitting and requesting legal procedures is already very difficult. In particular, if it can be built, the process of reaching the people is also complicated and has to go through many steps… so the authorities really need to create conditions for workers to have the easiest access.”

Mr. Le Nhu Thach, Chairman of the Board of Directors of BCons Group, said that currently, legal procedures are facing many difficulties. According to Mr. Thach, within the next 3 years, if the procedures are favorable, his company can build and put into use about 4,000 social housing units.

“Project construction must comply with the provisions of the law, however, it is necessary to establish a specialized agency to be in charge of and promote investment. These agencies must have enough authority to connect departments, districts and towns to speed up procedures. Localities should also issue a list of people who need to buy social housing and have been verified as eligible to buy. When they buy, they will not have to wait for approval," Mr. Thach suggested.

Sharing with Nguoi Dua Tin , Mr. Ngo Quang Phuc - General Director of Phu Dong Group said: "Currently, the issue of social housing is being focused on building and developing by provinces and cities. However, the project's legal status and accessible subjects are also issues that many people are concerned about."

“Private enterprises, if given legal conditions, will certainly be willing to participate in social housing. For example, state agencies can complete the creation of a clean land fund, with a mechanism for clear legal documents... then publicly call for enterprises to bid and participate in social housing... when the transparency of the process is clearly demonstrated, then social housing will reach the people,” Mr. Phuc shared.

Right target audience to buy social housing

Regarding the construction of social housing, in Binh Duong province, there are currently some investors focusing on developing this segment such as Becamex IDC Company, Le Phong Company... However, the development is still at a low level, supply cannot meet demand... even some social housing projects have broken ground but have not started construction.

Mr. Vo Hoang Ngan, Director of the Department of Construction of Binh Duong province said: "For many years, the People's Committee of Binh Duong province, the Department of Construction as well as the provincial agencies have always paid attention to the development of social housing construction and wished for people to settle down and start a business."

Mr. Ngan said that the Department has also proposed to research and include it in the "Project on developing social housing and workers' housing in Binh Duong province for the period 2021-2025, with a vision to 2030".

When the project is issued, there will be solutions to remove difficulties for investors, as well as transparency and publicity for workers to access and buy social housing to avoid speculation. When planning, the province also prioritizes land near urban areas and industrial parks to build social housing.

Real estate - The 'dream' of social housing and the problem of realizing it - Part 2: Solving the legal problem of social housing, the story of settling down is no longer far away (Image 3). — A corner of a beautiful and spacious social housing project located in Thuan An City, Binh Duong.

Regarding the issue of people who want to buy social housing but have difficulty accessing it and information about buying and selling social housing is not easy to access. Mr. Vo Hoang Ngan shared that the Department of Construction has also worked to establish a database to screen social housing buyers and create conditions for low-income people and workers to access this product.

In addition, Binh Duong Department of Construction will coordinate with the Department of Natural Resources and Environment and agencies managing household registration records to determine that any case where the name is on the land title will not be approved for social housing purchase.

“The database of workers is already included in the draft law. In the near future, there will be a nationwide database of workers who own social housing and those in need, making it easier to access and buy houses,” Mr. Ngan informed.

According to Nguoi Dua Tin 's research, the development of social housing in recent years has encountered many obstacles. Among them, the 20% land fund for building social housing in commercial areas has encountered the most congestion. Many businesses have proposed solutions to abandon 20% of land for social housing in commercial housing projects; remove overlapping regulations so that the social housing market can be "untied".

Binh Duong is one of the provinces that has been making the dream of social housing come true for its people very well by building and developing thousands of apartments. Up to now, this province is still trying to achieve its set goals.

Readers are invited to read article 3: Realizing the dream of social housing

See more: The "dream" of social housing and the problem of realizing it - Part 1: Life in rented houses and the dream of social housing

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