According to the current regulations of the 2023 Housing Law, social housing buyers are allowed to transfer after 5 years from the date of full payment and issuance of the certificate. The purchase and sale after this time is carried out according to the market mechanism, without limiting the transferee.
However, in the draft amendment of the law being consulted, the Ministry of Construction proposed changes in the direction of stricter control. After 5 years of use, social housing owners when wanting to sell will no longer be able to transact freely, but only be transferred to people who are eligible to enjoy social housing policies.
This proposal stems from the fact that many social housing apartments, after a limited transaction period, have been bought and sold as commercial housing, with prices increasing sharply, even approaching commercial housing.
Surveys in Hanoi show that many social housing projects used to have opening prices of about 11 - 18 million VND/m2, but after 5-10 years they have increased 4 - 7 times, to 60 - 80 million VND/m2. Some apartments are traded around 5 billion VND, no longer much different from commercial housing in the same area. This development makes social housing, which is originally for low-income people, difficult to access after a period of use.
Commenting on this issue, lawyer, Master Pham Thanh Tuan (Hanoi Bar Association) said that social housing is formed from the State's preferential policies on land, credit, taxes... so setting limits on the right to decide is necessary to ensure social security goals, avoiding transforming public interests into private interests.
In fact, this is a legal logic continuation from the initial transaction establishment. Social housing does not operate entirely according to the market mechanism, but is distributed according to policies with specific subjects. Therefore, continuing to control transfer recipients in the secondary market is appropriate, ensuring the consistency of policies.
Reality shows that allowing free transfer after a period of time has led to the trend of "commercialization" of social housing, reducing the initial meaning of the policy. An asset formed from preferential mechanisms can quickly become a profit-generating tool according to the market, leading to the risk of speculation, profiteering and narrowing the opportunity to access housing for vulnerable groups.
Lawyer Pham Thanh Tuan said that, in terms of both legal and policy objectives, limiting the subjects receiving the transfer is reasonable, necessary and does not contradict the right to dispose of assets. This is also a way to ensure that social housing retains its true nature throughout the entire transaction life cycle, instead of being "commercialized" after a period of time.
From another perspective, lawyer Nguyen Van Dinh (Hanoi Bar Association) said that it is necessary to consider feasibility in implementing regulations. Currently, when investors sell social housing, the subject approval is carried out strictly with the participation of investors and management agencies, including the Department of Construction.
However, in the secondary market, when people have a need to resell, verifying the buyer will generate many obstacles. "Who will be responsible for verifying? The seller, the buyer or the management agency? Will the investor return to implement this after many years or not?" - he raised the issue. According to him, without a clear enforcement mechanism, regulations may be difficult to apply, reduce legal effectiveness and affect people's compliance awareness.
The proposal of the Ministry of Construction shows efforts to bring social housing back to the right social security goals. However, policies need to balance between preventing profiteering and ensuring the legitimate rights of people. In the context of promoting the development of social housing to 2030, the legal framework not only needs to be strict but also flexible enough for the market to develop sustainably.
