Painful project shelter, supply bottlenecks
In Hanoi, there are still many apartment projects that have completed the rough construction but are abandoned, "shelved", and there are even projects that have been idle for decades.
Every time he passes To Huu Street, Mr. Dang Quoc Nam (31 years old, La Khe Ward, Ha Dong District) feels regretful for the Van Khe urban area expansion project (Usilk City), because it was once called "the new dream city of Hanoi", but now it is in a state of disrepair, surrounded by corrugated iron fences. "While the demand for housing is very high, a project with hundreds, thousands of apartments is abandoned and behind schedule" - Mr. Nam said.
According to Lao Dong reporters, after more than 10 years of abandonment, the cement blocks of the Van Khe urban area expansion project (Usilk City) are gradually changing color, many places are severely damaged. The project started in 2008, but so far only 3 buildings in CT1 cluster, 101-102-103, have been handed over, the remaining buildings are still unfinished and cannot be handed over. Of which, building 104-CT1 has completed the rough construction (tower A 50 floors and tower B 33 floors), but has not yet completed the legal procedures.
Or the Hattoco project, new name is Golden Millennium Tower (110 Tran Phu Street, Ha Dong District, Hanoi) has been in development for 15 years, but more than 300 customers have not been able to receive the house. It is noted here that the project has completed the rough construction of more than 30 floors but has been suspended for a long time.
Another project in Ha Dong district is the Tokyo Tower project (formerly Vinafor apartment building or Landmark 51). The project was once expected to become the "heart of Ha Dong district", but so far only the rough construction has been completed.
Sharing with Lao Dong reporter, Ms. Doan Thi Hong Hanh (Dai Mo ward, Nam Tu Liem district, Hanoi) said that she had paid 95% of the amount (VND2.8 billion) to buy a house in the Van Khe urban area expansion project (Usilk City) but had not received the house even though it was under contract, and would receive the house in June 2023. Without a place to live, Ms. Hanh's family had to rent a house, paying the principal and interest of the bank, the rent... nearly 20 million VND each month, making her family's life extremely difficult.
Timely handling to revive the project
On July 10, 2024, the Hanoi People's Committee issued Decision No. 3579/QD-UBND to inspect compliance with the provisions of the Land Law; the implementation of inspection and examination conclusions and instructions for handling after inspection and examination for non-budgetary capital projects that use land that are slow to be implemented, behind schedule, or violate in the city.
Among these, the Tokyo Tower project is on the list of inspected projects along with more than 10 other projects in the districts of Ha Dong, Thanh Xuan, Hoang Mai, Thanh Oai. However, as of the end of December 2024, the project has not had inspection information.
Mr. Nguyen Van Dinh - Chairman of the Vietnam Real Estate Brokers Association - said: "The development of the low-cost housing and social housing segments is stagnant, the market will face many serious consequences. To slow down the revival of projects, it is necessary to deploy many options to promptly remove legal bottlenecks".
Dr. Tran Xuan Luong - Lecturer in Real Estate, National Economics University - said: "Where there are problems, we must find solutions, with small problems, the government needs to be flexible to handle them".
People can sue investors
From a legal perspective, Lawyer Nguyen Ngoc Hung (Connecting Law Firm, Hanoi Bar Association) said that the condition for future real estate to be put into business is to have documents on land use rights, project documents, construction drawings approved by competent authorities. However, there are projects where 10 years have passed but the investor still does not have a house to hand over. Thus, the investor violated the obligations stipulated in the contract. Accordingly, people can file a lawsuit in court requesting the investor to perform the contract and compensate for damages.
