Ho Chi Minh City is assigned to complete 28,500 social housing units in 2026, but according to information from the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Construction, from the beginning of the year to now, only 1 social housing project has been completed with 560 units, 2 projects have started construction with a scale of 2,600 units, and 12 projects of 10,300 units are under construction.
Before April 30, a number of projects will start construction, adding 4,600 units and by the end of 2026, 41 projects with about 28,500 social housing units are expected to start construction. The Department also said that it is reviewing and supplementing the land fund so that in the next 2 years the city will have 72 projects and 76,000 social housing units.
Mr. Vu Trung Hung - Representative of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Planning and Architecture said that after the merger, Ho Chi Minh City has prepared a land fund of 1,700-2,000ha for social housing. The total demand for social housing in Ho Chi Minh City by 2030 is estimated at 974,000 units. To meet this huge demand, functional sectors have identified 193 projects, a total of 229,187 apartments, on a land fund of 740.28 ha.
In which, the old Ho Chi Minh City accounts for 104 projects. According to representatives of the Department of Planning and Architecture, this land fund will be exploited from many sources, including from existing planning projects, from land funds of development areas according to the TOD model (urban development associated with public transport) along metro lines and Ring Road 3; development driving areas and new urban areas.
While the housing needs of workers are very urgent, according to the reflection of many businesses, the journey for a social housing project to be born is surrounded by many administrative procedures. This paradox makes businesses, although full of enthusiasm, also somewhat " discouraged".
To speed up the progress of social housing projects, the Department of Construction has advised the City People's Committee to reduce from 10 to 7 steps and has reduced procedures by 50%, shortening them to 152 days.
However, businesses believe that the process and procedures are still too cumbersome. A project must go through the opinions of 11 departments and branches, at many different stages: approval of investment policy; adjustment of planning; transfer of agricultural land to non-agricultural land; approval of 1/500 planning; change of land use purpose; construction permits...
Difficulties 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 agreement 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.
The People's Committee of Ho Chi Minh City has also just sent a document to the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment (MARD), proposing to consider and guide the removal of obstacles related to social housing development on land directly managed by the State; land that has not been compensated or cleared; land leased with annual payment or one-time payment for the entire lease term.
The Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee proposed that the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development consider guiding the approval of investment policies and assign investors in cases where investors propose land funds directly managed by the State or land that has not been compensated or cleared, currently used by people and project information has not been disclosed.
In addition, the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee proposed that the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development guide for cases where investors propose to implement projects in land areas originating from land leased by the State, paying annual rent, and have been granted certificates with the purpose of use as agricultural land or production and business land, whether it is considered appropriate to approve the investment policy and assign the investor according to Decree 192/2025/ND-CP or not.
At the same time, the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee also proposed guidance for cases where economic organizations that are using leased land propose to change the land use purpose from non-residential land to residential land, does this exceed the rights of land users according to the provisions of land law or not?
