Recorded in the market, the demand for social housing is always high. On forums and community groups about real estate, information related to social housing projects regularly receives great attention. However, the number of projects eligible for deployment and launching to the market is still very limited.
According to recent reports from the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Construction, from the beginning of the year to now, the supply of social housing has only one completed project with 580 units, and two projects started in the first quarter with 2,643 units. Ho Chi Minh City currently has 12 projects under construction with about 10,300 units.
In addition, a project with a scale of 2,259 units is selecting investors, and three other projects are expected to start before April 30 with 4,600 units. In particular, the city has up to 41 projects expected to start before June 30 with about 29,200 units.
To prepare supply for the following years, the Department of Construction has reviewed and supplemented 16 land plots with a scale of about 23,000 units. In the period 2026 - 2027, Ho Chi Minh City focuses on completing investment procedures for 72 projects, equivalent to about 67,000 units.
Another notable resource is the 20% land fund in commercial housing projects. The city has allocated about 732ha for this land fund, equivalent to 230,000 apartments. According to plans and forecasts, this land fund may increase to 1,740ha by 2040, creating room for long-term social housing development.
However, the gap between the plan and reality is still a big problem. From the time a project is approved to completion often takes many years, while the needs of workers are immediate.
Mr. Le Huu Nghia, General Director of Le Thanh Company, said that the enterprise has a 2,000 billion VND social housing project, which has completed the foundation, but the implementation situation is "stalling". Besides the story of difficulty borrowing preferential capital, the reason for the small supply is mainly due to prolonged legal procedures.
According to feedback from the business leader, the approval time for the most ideal social housing project by functional agencies (in conditions where the dossier is correct, complete and in accordance with the plan) is 132 days. Not to mention, the investor must spend an additional 132 days to prepare the dossier, including planning design, basic design, construction technical design, fire prevention and fighting design and appraisal. Thus, it takes a total of 264 days.
Difficulties do not only stop at the planning stage but also last until a construction permit is obtained. Practice shows that while commercial housing is exempt from construction permits, social housing is mandatory. To be licensed, businesses must complete a series of procedures such as agreements on electricity, water, infrastructure, environment, fire prevention and fighting... Just adjusting a small detail, the process can be reversed from the beginning, extending for about 4 more months", this business representative shared.
Citing current legal regulations, recently the Ministry of Construction issued an official dispatch affirming that for social housing construction investment projects, investors are allowed to choose to apply the provisions of Resolution 201/2025 of the National Assembly (performing construction permit procedures to be exempt from the procedure for appraising the investment feasibility study report) or apply the provisions of the Construction Law (performing appraisal of the investment feasibility study report to be exempt from issuing construction permits).
In case the investor requests to apply the appraisal of the feasibility study report for construction investment to exempt construction permits, the specialized construction agency is responsible for implementing it in accordance with the provisions of the law on construction.
According to Mr. Le Hoang Chau, Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City Real Estate Association (HoREA), this is good news for investors participating in building social housing as well as for customers. Because the above guidance of the Ministry of Construction has helped remove obstacles regarding cases of issuing or being exempted from construction permits for social housing projects. In fact, in the past time, the overlap between the provisions of the Construction Law and the special mechanism in Resolution 201/2025 has caused the dossier to be lengthened, the locality is confused in applying, and investors lose more time and costs.
