A very good piece of news for people who need social housing is that at the meeting of the Standing Committee of the Government, listening to reports and giving opinions on social housing policies and related issues on March 20, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh directed the study of amending and supplementing Decree No. 100/2024/ND-CP in the direction of expanding beneficiaries and increasing income levels.
People who are not married or are certified as single have an average monthly income of no more than 25 million VND. People who are not married or are certified as single and are raising minor children have an average monthly income of no more than 35 million VND; in cases of marriage, the applicant and their spouse have a total average monthly income of no more than 50 million VND.
In fact, the housing market currently has a large gap. That is the group of workers with average incomes, no longer at the "poverty" threshold according to policy criteria, but also not capable of accessing commercial housing.
In major cities such as Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City or even Da Nang, house prices have far exceeded the income of the majority of salaried workers. Engineers, office workers, skilled workers with incomes of 20-30 million VND/month still have to rent rooms, live temporarily, or accept moving far to find suitable accommodation.
Meanwhile, with the old regulations, they are not eligible to buy social housing. Policy therefore inadvertently misses a very important class of people who are directly creating value for the urban economy.
Raising the income ceiling to 25 million VND/month for single people, 35 million VND for those raising children and especially 50 million VND for households, if institutionalized, will "open the door" for a large part of workers to access social housing.
This is not only to expand the beneficiaries, but also to adjust policies to be closer to the reality of life. However, for the expansion of beneficiaries to be effective, it is necessary to accompany strong enough mechanisms to increase supply.
Reality over the years shows that even when the income ceiling is still low, access to social housing in many localities has not been easy because supply does not meet demand. Many people are eligible but still have to wait, even queue, draw lots for many years but cannot buy a house.
In large cities such as Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City or Da Nang, the number of social housing projects being implemented is still limited compared to the very large demand of the people. Many projects are behind schedule, some areas lack suitable land funds, while businesses are still not really interested in participating due to low profit margins and complicated investment procedures.
In that context, raising the income ceiling also means expanding an additional group of people in need. If supply does not increase correspondingly, competitive pressure will be greater, and the paradox that may occur is that the more conditions are relaxed, the more difficult it is for people to access social housing.
When the supply problem is solved, expanding the target audience is truly meaningful, and social housing can become a solid pillar of social security in the urban development process.
