From a 72m2 house, there are only 2m2 left to live in
On alley 146 Vu Tung street (Gia Dinh ward), Mr. Ly Hoang's family used to live in a house about 72m2 (4 x 18m). After the Xuyen Tam canal renovation project recovered land, the remaining area was only about 2m2, less than 0.5m long.
In that super-thin house, all activities must be minimized to the maximum. The sleeping space is only enough for one person to lie down along the length of the house. The rice cooker and gas stove are placed on the attic, taken down for use at mealtime and then put away to take a walkway. Clothes and household items are hung tightly against the walls and doors.
Without a land use right certificate, Mr. Hoang's family received about 900 million VND in compensation. The family has 7 people, but because the house is no longer well-suited for living, most of them have moved to Tay Ninh, leaving only Mr. Hoang. In the near future, the two children will return to Ho Chi Minh City to continue studying, meaning that the house of about 2m2 will have three people living together.
Mr. Hoang's family is one of 41 households with houses under 9m2 that still exist after the clearance of the Xuyen Tam canal project in Gia Dinh ward. These works not only tarnish the urban appearance but also make it difficult to meet the requirements for structure, fire prevention, fire fighting, ventilation, lighting, and at the same time pose potential safety risks and affect the quality of living space.
Legal loopholes, causing super-thin houses to exist
Talking to Lao Dong Newspaper, Gia Dinh Ward People's Committee said that it has repeatedly mobilized people to hand over the entire remaining land to consider resettlement arrangements. However, most households do not agree, wanting to keep the house outside the land clearance boundary.
According to Gia Dinh Ward People's Committee, the law does not have a mandatory recovery mechanism for land plots that are too small. The locality has repeatedly proposed to the Department of Construction and the Department of Planning and Architecture to guide handling, but so far there are no specific regulations.
Mr. Tran Huu Tin - Deputy Head of Construction Quality Management Department (Ho Chi Minh City Department of Construction) - said that to limit the emergence of super-thin houses after urban embellishment and canal renovation projects, localities need to proactively compensate for the remaining land or encourage people to combine plots to be eligible for construction.
Doctor of Science, Architect Ngo Viet Nam Son said that 41 houses under 9m2 in Gia Dinh ward are just "the tip of the iceberg". According to him, super-thin houses not only appear in Xuyen Tam canal but also exist along many major roads such as Vo Van Kiet, Pham Van Dong, reducing urban aesthetics even though infrastructure has been invested with trillions of VND.
Mr. Son said that the core reason is that new infrastructure projects focus on solving traffic problems, not yet linked to urban development planning on both sides of the road. In addition, site clearance only reaches the edge of the road boundary, leaving many plots of land that are too small, not meeting construction conditions but still existing.
To handle it thoroughly, he proposed expanding the scope of land recovery to 30-50m deep instead of just following the road boundary. This approach will eliminate micro-land plots, create land funds for synchronous planning, and build modern works according to the plan.
According to Mr. Son, this solution also ensures fairness among households, avoiding the situation where people are completely cleared, and people in alleys become front houses after opening roads. At the same time, the value of the land fund increased after infrastructure investment can be auctioned to recover capital, supplement resources for the budget and invest in projects.
However, he believes that it is necessary to complete the legal corridor for synchronous implementation. While waiting for amendments to regulations, Ho Chi Minh City should take advantage of specific mechanisms to proactively expand the scope of land recovery. "Solutions are available, the issue is determination to implement them. If done methodically, Ho Chi Minh City will not only eliminate super-thin houses but also form civilized, modern and sustainable urban spaces" - Mr. Son emphasized.
