Hundreds of old apartment buildings in Ho Chi Minh City are in a state of serious degradation, posing a potential risk to the safety of residents. Although the city government has issued many policies to promote the renovation and reconstruction of apartments, the implementation process is still slow due to some difficulties.
In that situation, people in long-standing apartment buildings hope to have a clear and specific roadmap for compensation, relocation and support for temporary housing to feel secure in living.
According to Lao Dong, at Vinh Hoi apartment building (formerly District 4) - a level D apartment building has degraded, especially dangerous, the rows of old houses with peeling walls, rotten ceilings, and waterproof floors.
Ms. Ty - a resident who has lived here for many years - shared that the deterioration is becoming increasingly obvious.
"The ceiling is cracked, everyone is worried, especially in the rainy season. Hopefully the government will have a plan to renovate so that we can feel more secure," said Ms. Ty.
Not far away, at Pham The Hien apartment building (formerly Chanh Hung ward, District 8), many blocks of houses are in a similar situation. The hallway is damp, the walls are peeling, and the infrastructure is no longer guaranteed.
Ms. Nguyen Thi Thu Thuy - a resident here - said that the peeling walls are very much a concern for people.
"Although apartments are often replenished with peeling locations, they are still temporary and uncertain. Here, everyone is worried every day," Ms. Thuy added.
Ngo Gia Tu apartment building (formerly District 10) is also seriously deteriorating. According to Ms. Vo Thi Yen Linh - a resident here, the incident of falling walls has happened before.
"If the apartment building is degraded, everyone agrees to renovate it, but the biggest concern is the issue of compensation and resettlement. I just hope the policy is clear and public, so that the people do not suffer," Ms. Linh expressed her wish.
To remove difficulties and speed up progress, Ho Chi Minh City has issued Resolution 17/2025/NQ-HDND, which stipulates many preferential mechanisms for investors, such as supporting 50% of infrastructure costs (maximum 10 billion VND/project) and 50% of relocation and enforcement costs.
Ho Chi Minh City currently has 474 old apartment buildings built before 1975, of which 16 Grade D apartments are assessed to be severely damaged and need urgent renovation. By 2030, the city will have completed basic preparations; in the period of 2030 - 2035, all dangerous and severely degraded apartment buildings will be renovated.
With existing policies, people expect concrete actions so that old blocks of houses can be quickly replaced with new, safer, and more civilized residential areas.
