inflating social housing prices, hooking people's pockets with virtual diplomatic gifts

The desire for social housing and the "diplomatic" tricks

In Hanoi, the Thuong Thanh social housing project (Bo De ward) invested by the consortium of Him Lam Thu Do Joint Stock Company and BIC Vietnam Joint Stock Company has just started construction, but has soon become a "fat prey" for brokers.

On real estate forums, a person named Thao, an employee of TGT Land Real Estate Joint Stock Company, advertised enthusiastically: "The project has 200 diplomatic places, I am sure to win, just need to pay 700 - 750 million VND in difference". According to Thao, customers who pay will have a legal documents and after 35 - 50 days "have a QR code to sign the contract". This person even affirmed that his company was assigned a "private housing fund" to sell outside and that buying social housing through diplomatic quotas "is normal, anyone with a relationship can buy".

Not stopping there, brokers also show off social housing quotas in Nguyen Xien with a difference of 1.3 billion VND, or Starlake Tay Ho Tay, "complaining" up to 3 billion VND. Even though the project has not started construction, they are still selling heavily, even setting up " Graphics" for transactions.

Selling virtual houses, real documents - familiar scenario

Another person named Hai, claiming to be a real estate broker, has relationships with many "big" investors who are selling a series of projects such as Kim Chung, Tay Nam Linh Dam, Ha Dinh (Nguyen Xien). Each "diplomatically beautiful" apartment is priced by Hai at a difference of 400 million to more than 1 billion VND.

When the reporter suggested buying, Hai asked to deposit 50 - 100 million VND in cash or transfer money to his personal account, with the reason of "rare holding". Otherwise, "there will be out of stock because there are many buyers".

At the Tay Nam Linh Dam social housing project, Hai affirmed that customers "signed a direct authorization contract with the investor", but in reality, the land is still just an abandoned lot, not yet constructed.

According to the instructions, the PV group was taken to the headquarters claiming to be of the investor company, but the representative presented documents of two other companies under the names of A Group and Marina Holding, then affirmed "the same ecosystem with the investor".

Linh gave a "Consultation request and payment trust" worth 500 - 900 million VND, but when asked about the legal basis, he ignored: "We must accept buying at this stage without any documents to have a good price. This quality is familiar to everyone, and can never be bought anywhere else".

Transferring skills, receiving a profit of hundreds of millions of VND in Thai Nguyen

Not only in Hanoi, in Thai Nguyen, the illegal buying and selling of social housing is also happening blatantly.

The Dai Thang Residential Area Social Housing Project (Pho Yen Ward, Thai Nguyen) invested by TNG Land Joint Stock Company is the first social housing project in Thai Nguyen to be completed and is preparing to hand over to buyers. Although it is only in the handover stage, in the free market, many apartments in this social housing project have been advertised for sale by real estate brokers and owners in violation of the law with a difference of 200 - 500 million VND compared to the purchase contract price with the investor.

For example, a 1-bedroom apartment with an area of about 36m2 in this project has a selling price of about 700 million VND, with a difference of more than 200 million VND. The 2-bedroom apartment, with an area of 62m2, is being offered for sale by the owner for about 1.4 billion VND, a difference of more than 450 million VND compared to the original price signed with the investor.

The investigation of the reporter shows that there is a situation of social housing speculation at the Dai Thang Residential Area project, when some people actually own many apartments here, the apartments are all under the names of relatives, then sold at a difference of hundreds of millions of VND.

According to real estate brokers in Thai Nguyen, of the nearly 400 apartments in the Dai Thang residential area social housing project, about 40% are owned by speculators for the purpose of selling or renting for profit.

Illegal transfer of social housing by issuing a notarized document is a form of house sale and purchase that is not recognized by law and will cause serious legal risks, and buyers may even lose billions of dong. Meanwhile, speculating social housing and selling it to the wrong hands to enjoy the difference is considered a form of profiteering from social security policies, distorting the market and depriving low-income people of opportunities, causing injustice in society.

In Bac Ninh, when workers registered to buy social housing for workers in Nenh ward, many people reported being asked to add 30 million VND in addition to the approved price.

The project is priced at 17.2 million VND/m2 according to regulations, but some brokerage platforms set up consultation tables right at the project gate, collecting additional fees such as "profile fees", "priority fees for approval", which are actually spot fees.

These uninvoiced and unlicensed money have turned the transparent distribution process into an underground market, where real people and real needs are pushed out because they do not know or not pay more.

In the context of sharp increase in social housing demand but scarce supply, many people have become victims of "diplomatic" sales tricks, advertised as "quick buying, no need for drawing, 100% guaranteed".

There is no diplomatic in the law on social housing

According to Dr. lawyer Dang Van Cuong, Head of Chinh Phap Law Office (Hanoi Bar Association), "the legal system does not have any regulations on "diplomatic relations" in the purchase and sale of social housing. This is just a trick set up by brokers to legalize selling at a higher price, profiteering or fraud".

The lawyer analyzed that according to the Housing Law 2023 and Decree 100/2024/ND-CP, the purchase of social housing must comply with a strict approval process, including verification of income conditions, household registration, and housing status. Buyers are not free to trade, transfer or deposit "tenancy".

All cases of illegal buying and selling and transferring have no legal value. Transactions through "consulting", "authorizing" or "reserving deposits" contracts all have the potential risk of being considered a property fraud.

Lawyer Dang Van Cuong emphasized: Even if it is an officer or a person with internal relationships, if it has not gone through the approval process, no one is allowed to buy social housing. The concept of "diplomatic property" only exists in rumors and tricks of brokers". When people transfer money to a broker or intermediary company that does not have legal status to distribute the project, they can completely lose everything if these parties evade or do not fulfill their commitments.

The State's social housing development policy is expected to bring housing opportunities to low-income people, workers and laborers. However, in reality, "price inflation" and "diplomatic turnover" have distorted the social security goal, turning the dream of having a house of thousands of people into a financial trap.

When the price difference reaches billions of VND, social housing is no longer a "cheap house" but has become a speculative channel, where some interest groups take advantage to make illegal profits. In many cases, after depositing, the house or contract is not received, leading to prolonged litigation and loss of property. It is time for management agencies to tighten the approval process, publicize the list of projects and buyers, and strictly handle acts of advertising for sale, receiving money, and promising "diplomatic success" against regulations. The transparency of information, number of apartments, and approval progress not only protects people but also prevents price inflation and policy profiteering.