Dreaming of a minimalist place of residence
Stepping into the more than ten-m2 room of Mr. Tran Xuan Danh's family rented in Ha Lam ward, Quang Ninh province in these hot sunny days, it feels like stepping into a furnace.
Hot air billowed out, sweat poured out like bathing. Only at night did he dare to use the air conditioner because he was afraid of spending money, but as soon as he turned off the air conditioner, the air became suffocating because the house was low, small, and with a corrugated iron roof.
In the apartments next door, there is no air conditioning, fans run at full capacity but it's also useless. Hot until morning.
For many workers and laborers from other provinces like Mr. Danh, the housing story has always been a long-standing concern for many years.
Most workers and laborers are still renting boarding houses with limited living conditions, fire safety and fire prevention, and social infrastructure.
Renting an apartment or a more spacious house means having to pay a large amount of money, while income is low and there are still many expenses to spend.
My husband and I work for a whole month, spending very sparingly to make ends meet. If the rent increases by a few million VND per month, we can't manage it," Mr. Danh shared.
Many people have thought about buying social housing to stabilize their lives. However, for low-income workers, this is still a very difficult goal to achieve.
Many workers said that current income is only enough to cover living expenses if they spend sparingly. Saving a few hundred million VND as counterpart funds to buy a house is almost beyond their ability, while house prices, including social housing, are also increasing day by day. Currently, social housing prices in Quang Ninh range from 19 million VND/m2 or more.
Therefore, the information that the General Secretary, President and Prime Minister have repeatedly emphasized the requirement to develop housing for workers, including researching long-term apartment rental models at reasonable prices, has received special attention from a large number of workers and laborers.
Renting quality housing is already difficult, let alone the social housing season. Therefore, we need in the immediate future a stable, safe, and clean place with a cost suitable for our income" - Ms. Le Thi Thu - a worker in Cai Lan Industrial Park, Bai Chay ward confided.
Apartments for long-term rent, with rents lower than market prices, and well-managed, will help workers feel secure in sticking with businesses and localities where they work.
For industrial and service provinces like Quang Ninh, this need becomes even more urgent.
Many workers believe that if there are apartments for long-term rent at reasonable prices, only equal to or slightly higher than current rents but with better living conditions, they are willing to choose.
Housing is not only a place to shelter from the sun and rain, but also a foundation for workers to feel secure in working, raising children and long-term attachment to the business.
Rented housing must become a strategic segment
At a working session with leaders of Hai Phong, Quang Ninh, Bac Ninh, Hung Yen, Ninh Binh yesterday (June 1), Prime Minister Le Minh Hung assigned the above provinces and cities to quickly deploy the construction of rental housing to serve workers and laborers.
According to Quang Ninh Provincial People's Committee, Quang Ninh does not have rental housing belonging to public assets, while rental housing invested by businesses is about 3,300 rooms/unit, including: social housing for rent 803 units; worker dormitory 2,497 rooms. In the near future, there will be a number of new worker dormitory projects going into operation.
Currently, Quang Ninh Provincial People's Committee is completing a project to establish the Provincial Housing Fund, which is expected to allocate existing financial funds to implement the goals and functions of the local housing fund.
According to Mr. Vu Van Dien - Standing Vice Chairman of Quang Ninh Provincial People's Committee, Quang Ninh province is accelerating social housing projects, researching models for building rental housing, especially after the Prime Minister's direction at the meeting on June 1 in Hai Phong.
Based on reviewing locations with high demand for social housing and rental housing, Quang Ninh province plans to prioritize the development of rental housing in the coming time. Among these are: Rented housing in Dong Mai Industrial Park, Dong Mai ward; Rented housing in the 20% land fund of Yen Thanh urban residential area, Uong Bi ward; Rented housing in the Ha Long Xanh complex urban area project area to serve workers and workers building this project.
To develop this type of housing, Quang Ninh province proposed that there should be support resources from the state and financial mechanisms and policies because the current rental housing investment sector is difficult to attract private sector participation due to low profits and prolonged capital recovery time. In which, Quang Ninh proposed that the Ministry of Construction and central ministries and sectors advise the Government to allow Vietnam National Coal - Mineral Industries Holding Corporation Limited (TKV) to expand and supplement investment and housing development for officials and employees, contributing to attracting a stable and long-term labor force for the industry.
Promulgate preferential mechanisms to attract businesses to participate in investing in the development of rental housing, such as preferential policies on exemption and reduction of land use fees, land rent, access to preferential credit capital, to reduce the cost of renting houses.
Continue to review and shorten investment procedures, select investors, and issue construction permits... for rental housing projects.
