29 over-year-old houses could collapse at any time
Talking to reporters of Lao Dong Newspaper, Mr. Thieu Ngoc Hao - Head of the Department of Housing and Real Estate Market Management (under the Department of Construction of Ninh Binh province) said that currently in the province, there are 29 collective housing areas that have expired and have seriously degraded. Of which, 27 areas are assessed as level C danger (must be demolished and rebuilt according to regulations). Particularly for the residential area at 181 and 207 Hoang Van Thu Street, Nam Dinh Ward, the danger level is assessed as level D (the highest danger level).
For the house number 181, built in 1954, the land use area is 579.9m2. The house was built on 2 floors, with a load-bearing wall structure, wooden floors, tiled roofs and a house number 207 built in the 1940s, with a land use area of 522.4m2. The house is built with 3 floors, with a load-bearing wall structure, brick floor, and tiled roof.
According to Mr. Hao, since 2001, Nam Dinh Housing Development and Trading Company (old) - the management unit at that time, has drawn up a record of suspension of use and stopped signing house rental contracts with households.
In 2012, Nam Dinh Urban Construction Company Limited (now Nam Dinh Urban Construction Joint Stock Company) coordinated with the People's Committee of Nguyen Du Ward (old) to organize a mobilization for people to relocate, and at the same time, households signed a commitment to relocate themselves and take responsibility if they continue to reside here.
However, because most of the residents are elderly, have low incomes, and are in difficult circumstances, many households are still forced to continue living here.
People hope for resettlement support
Currently, in the house number 181, there are 21 households with 43 people living, including 1 poor household, 3 near-poor households and 1 household under mental protection. Regarding the rental contract, there are 17 households with rental contracts, including 2 households with main owner contracts and 15 households with rental contracts under the names of others that have not been transferred.
In the area of house number 207, there are currently 19 households with 52 people living, including 3 poor households. Regarding rental contracts, there are 11 households with rental contracts, of which only 1 household has a main owner's contract, 10 households have a rental contract under the name of others that have not been transferred, the remaining households do not have a rental contract.
Survey data and report data from Nam Dinh Ward People's Committee in document No. 240/BC-UBND dated October 1, 2025, in the above two housing areas, there are 36 households with 80 people in need of housing support, 4 households with 13 people in need of financial support to rent other houses, 6 households have arranged their own accommodation outside, 1 household has lost their house and 2 households have not chosen the option.
Mr. Tran Anh Dung - Vice Chairman of Ninh Binh Provincial People's Committee - said that currently, most households in the above two housing areas want on-site resettlement support, a few have proposed support for house rental. However, according to regulations, these cases are not eligible for resettlement support or support for new housing rental. Because these houses are not owned by the people but are just rented houses.
"Currently, the province is assigning the Department of Construction to preside over and coordinate with relevant units to advise the province on the handling plan," said Mr. Dung.
