Hanoi City People's Committee has just issued Decision 51/2026/QD-UBND dated April 28, 2026, allowing people with legal housing to still be considered for buying or renting social housing if their place of residence is 20km or more from their workplace, provided that they meet the criteria according to regulations.
The distance is determined according to the shortest road route on Google Maps (car mode) at the time of receiving and reviewing the application.
Mr. Nguyen Van Tuan (35 years old, working in Thanh Xuan ward, Hanoi) said that he agrees with the city's new regulations on expanding the subjects eligible to buy social housing for people who already have a house but live far from their workplace.
According to Mr. Tuan, his family is living in a small house in the suburbs, more than 20km from his workplace. Every day, he has to spend nearly 2 hours commuting both ways, not to mention the traffic jams during peak hours, making travel very difficult.
Although I already have a house, moving too far has greatly affected my family's life. I often come home late, have little time for my children and travel expenses have also increased significantly. Therefore, I think the new policy is reasonable and close to the actual needs of many workers today" - Mr. Tuan shared.
Talking to Lao Dong Newspaper, Lawyer Pham Thanh Tuan - Hanoi Bar Association - said that the current social housing policy has had a significant expansion in the beneficiaries. Previously, the conditions to buy social housing mainly applied to people who did not have a house or had a house but the area did not meet the minimum level according to regulations, and at the same time must meet income conditions, specifically under 25 million VND/month for individuals and under 50 million VND/month for households.
According to the new regulations of Hanoi city, the subjects eligible to access social housing have been expanded. Not only people who do not have housing, but also those who already have housing but the place of residence is 20 km or more from the workplace can also be considered for social housing purchase. The condition is that the social housing expected to be purchased must help shorten the travel distance to the workplace by at least one-third. Along with that, buyers must still meet the income conditions according to regulations.
According to Lawyer Tuan, the new regulation aims to expand the coverage of social security policies, creating conditions for more people to access social housing. The policy not only supports groups without housing but also aims at cases where they already have a house but the accommodation is not really suitable or not convenient for work and living.
He believes that this orientation aims to promote the goal of housing for people, while expanding social housing development policies not only for low-income people but also for those facing certain housing difficulties.
According to him, in the past time, the Central Government and localities have issued many mechanisms and policies to promote the development of social housing. In addition to Resolution No. 201/2025/QH15 of the National Assembly piloting a number of specific mechanisms and policies for social housing development, Hanoi has also implemented many separate policies to promote this segment.
In the period 2021-2025, Hanoi has completed more than 1.2 million m2 of social housing floor space. Further, the city sets a target to complete about 120,000 apartments by 2030. According to the assessment of Lawyer Pham Thanh Tuan, this shows that social housing policy is aiming to expand coverage for groups with real needs.
However, in the initial implementation phase, the policy may have a certain delay. In the long term, especially from around 2027 onwards, when mechanisms and policies become reality and many projects complete legal procedures to meet the conditions for opening for sale, people will have the opportunity to access social housing more easily than now.
