Workers hope to buy social housing
Mr. Nguyen Van Hai, 36 years old, residing in Hung Nguyen commune, is currently a worker working at VSIP Nghe An Industrial Park. For many years, his wife and he have lived in a cramped rented room near their workplace. After deducting rent, electricity, water, living expenses and childcare expenses, the monthly savings left are insignificant.
For Mr. Hai, a social housing is not only a stable place to live but also an hope for his family to reduce prolonged renting. However, when learning about procedures, he realized that the path to accessing social housing is not easy at all. From proving income, confirming housing status, residence papers to related procedures, all take time and effort.
Workers like us really want to have stable accommodation to feel secure in our work, but hearing about dossiers and procedures, we already feel pressure," Mr. Hai shared.
The story of Mr. Nguyen Van Hai is also the common concern of many workers and laborers in Nghe An, especially in industrial parks, where the need for housing is increasing.
In recent years, Nghe An has allocated a lot of land and resources for social housing development. The whole province has planned 41 projects with a total area of about 107ha, with an expected scale of about 36,000 apartments. Of which, 34 projects have selected investors with about 28,000 apartments, and 7 projects are undergoing investor selection procedures with about 8,000 apartments.
In the Southeast Economic Zone alone, there are 11 projects with about 16,026 apartments, including 5 social housing projects for workers with 8,162 apartments and 6 worker accommodation projects with about 7,864 apartments. This is an area expected to solve most of the housing needs for the labor force in large industrial parks.
In the period 2021 - 2024, Nghe An has completed 3 projects and construction items with 1,756 apartments. Accumulated in the period 2021 - 2025, the whole province has completed 4,223 social housing and worker dormitories.
In 2026, Nghe An is implementing 5 projects with about 2,177 units expected to be completed, and is preparing to start construction of 6 more social housing projects with nearly 1,900 units and 3 worker accommodation projects with more than 2,700 units at VSIP Nghe An.
Strictly handle cases of dishonest declaration
Along with project development, Nghe An is tightening the management of subjects buying, renting, and renting-purchasing social housing. The province requires full disclosure of project information, dossier receiving time, and approval conditions so that people can easily access it, limiting ambiguous information and the occurrence of profiteering brokerage.
The inspection and verification of beneficiaries are also required to be carried out more strictly. Cases that meet the conditions after signing the contract must be made public for social supervision. If the number of applications is greater than the number of apartments, the selection must be organized by public draw.
Notably, the province requires strict handling of cases of untruthful declarations of income, housing status or taking advantage of policies for personal gain. Illegal brokerage, buying and selling slots, and asking people to stand in for household names are also required to be prevented. Not only tightening dossiers, Nghe An also strengthens the management of project progress, requiring investors to properly implement commitments, avoiding prolongation causing land waste and affecting people's rights.
In the context of the increasing housing needs of workers and low-income people, both expanding supply and tightening approval is a necessary requirement for social housing policies to go towards the right goals.
