More housing opportunities for young people
The Ministry of Construction has just submitted a dossier to appraise the Decree amending and supplementing a number of articles of Decree No. 100/2024/ND-CP dated July 26, 2024 of the Government, detailing the development and management of social housing.
One of the notable points of the draft is the increase in income criteria for buying and renting social housing. Accordingly, the income level is adjusted to 20 million VND/month for single people, 40 million VND/month for couples and 30 million VND/month for single individuals raising children under the age of majority. The determination of income is based on the salary table and public service table confirmed by the agency, unit, or enterprise; for freelance workers, it will be confirmed by the police agency at the commune level where they are permanent or temporarily residing.
Mr. Nguyen Hai Nam (28 years old) - an employee of a technology company in Hanoi - has a salary of 17 million VND/month. After many years of working, he has accumulated about 1 billion VND. However, with this amount of money, even if he borrows more, it is still difficult for him to buy a commercial apartment in Hanoi when many projects cost from 6 - 8 billion VND, even projects in the suburbs range from 4 - 5 billion VND.
Not having a place to settle down in the capital, he had to put aside his plan to get married. Recently, he was very excited to hear that the income conditions for single people will be increased to 20 million VND/month.
"I am very happy that people with a salary of less than 20 million VND/month are about to buy social housing. This is a breakthrough reform, because not only me but many other young people will also have the opportunity to realize their dream of settling down" - Mr. Nam shared.
Similarly, Mr. Nguyen Van Khanh and his wife - an employee of a food company in Hanoi with a total income of about 36 million VND/month - also expect the policy to be applied soon. He said that during the months with Tet bonuses, his family's income will exceed the threshold of 30 million VND/month according to the old regulations, causing the opportunity to buy social housing to be closed.
" Raising the income threshold to buy social housing is necessary. With the current price level, even if I work all my life, it will be difficult for me and my wife to buy a commercial house, social housing is almost the only opportunity" - Mr. Khanh expressed.
Need for more support policies to make it easier for people to access housing
Mr. Nguyen The Diep - Vice President of Hanoi Real Estate Club - said that raising the income requirement from 15 million to 20 million VND/month to be considered for social housing in Hanoi and large cities is necessary, creating conditions for more people to access social housing.
In addition, Mr. Diep emphasized that loan packages should be designed with a term of 20 - 30 years, corresponding to the entire labor cycle of borrowers. This helps young people reduce the burden of debt repayment and have more conditions to access housing.
Along with that, social housing should not be considered a low-income housing, but should aim for the same quality. Social housing needs to ensure technical infrastructure, accompanying social infrastructure, and a civilized living space, not to repeat the situation of old, poor quality apartment buildings.
Associate Professor, Dr. Dinh Trong Thinh - senior lecturer at the Academy of Finance, economic expert - said that expanding income conditions to buy social housing is a necessary step, creating favorable conditions for people to access housing.
According to him, when the regulation is expanded, people can mobilize more resources from friends, relatives or borrow to complete the remaining financial resources, thereby increasing the opportunity to own social housing. This is an important factor, because in reality, many people have real needs but find it difficult to meet the income requirements according to the old regulations.
In addition to loosening income conditions, Associate Professor, Dr. Dinh Trong Thinh emphasized that there should be more synchronous support policies to improve access to housing. Preferential credit packages need to be implemented more clearly and flexibly, helping people to borrow capital with reasonable interest rates to buy social housing.
He stated that creating a favorable and accessible environment will not only help people realize their dream of settling down but also contribute to ensuring social security, in line with the goal that the social housing policy is aiming for.
