Removing obstacles for social housing.

(Baonghean) - Currently, there are 15 social housing investment projects registered in our province, but only 3 projects have been completed and put into use with a total investment of 191.13 billion VND. This shows that while this sector attracts investor interest, it still faces many difficulties and obstacles, resulting in slow progress. Recently, the Government issued Decree 188-CP (dated November 20, 2013) on the development and management of social housing with many flexible regulations.

The government has issued numerous policy mechanisms regarding investment in social housing construction, and the Provincial People's Committee has also issued additional policies to attract economic entities to participate in the development of social housing, such as: financial support for topographic and geological surveys and detailed construction planning; financial support for land and property compensation; support for land leveling work, etc. In addition, the province has developed a social housing development plan for Vinh City, Cua Lo Town, and concentrated industrial zones with preferential policies on land and compensation for land clearance. Notably, it has received 20 billion VND from the budget to implement investment projects within the pilot social housing development plan in Vinh City, Cua Lo Town, and industrial zones.

Particularly after the implementation of the 30,000 billion VND support package with preferential interest rates for the social housing development sector, 15 enterprises have registered to invest in the construction of social housing projects in Vinh City. These include the mixed-use service and social housing project in Le Loi Ward, Vinh City, invested by TECCO Construction and New Technology Application Joint Stock Company (Nghe An Branch); the social housing and mixed-use service project in Hung Loc Commune, Vinh City, invested by TECCO Central Vietnam Joint Stock Company;...

However, currently only 3 projects have been completed and put into use, comprising 4 social housing units (including 3 five-story buildings and 1 seven-story building, with a total floor area of ​​13,017 m2 and 202 apartments). TECCO Construction and Industrial Application Joint Stock Company, from 2010 to 2011, completed 2 five-story social housing units with 106 apartments and a total floor area of ​​7,048 m2 in Le Loi Ward. For example, at the Hung Loc Social Housing and Integrated Services Project, invested by TECCO Central Vietnam Joint Stock Company (2010-2012), a 5-story building with 41 apartments was put into use. During the same period, the low-income housing project in Block 7, Trung Do Ward (investor: Trung Do Joint Stock Company) also completed and put into use a 7-story building with 50 apartments (each apartment with an area of ​​56m2) and a total floor area of ​​3,873m2 in a short time (2011-2012).

From 2013 to the present, the Provincial People's Committee has allowed the conversion of 3 commercial housing projects into social housing projects (Minh Khang housing project, Dong Dau project and Thanh-Nghe-Tinh Food Company project) and the Ministry of Construction has included 5 social housing projects in the province in the list of preferential loan projects with a total loan amount of 330 billion VND; however, these projects are progressing very slowly.

Mr. Chu Anh Tuan, Head of the Real Estate Market Management Department of the Department of Construction, stated: “Due to some inappropriate and untimely preferential mechanisms and policies applied to the investment and construction of social housing, and some policies not being implemented, the cost of social housing has not decreased significantly compared to commercial housing... Therefore, the Government issued Decree 188-CP (dated November 20, 2013) on the development and management of social housing. This decree is specifically for social housing projects with many new and flexible mechanisms and policies such as: Investors are allowed to allocate 20% of the total land area allocated within the social housing development project for investment in commercial construction; Investors are exempt from land use fees and land lease fees for the land area within the social housing construction project.”

The investor may use housing and future construction within the social housing development project as collateral when borrowing capital for the project. The investor must allocate at least 20% of the total floor area of ​​housing within the project for lease; however, after 5 years from the start of leasing, they are allowed to sell this housing unit to the current tenants (if they so desire). After 5 years from the time of full payment for the purchase or lease-purchase and receiving the certificate of land use rights, ownership of housing and other assets attached to the land, buyers or lease-purchasers of social housing are allowed to resell, mortgage or rent out (this regulation was previously 10 years)... With the open policies of Decree 188/ND-CP, in our province, investors will have more good opportunities to boldly implement social housing projects.” It is known that currently, in Nghe An province, 8 social housing projects with a total of 1,631 apartments specifically for low-income people are being implemented.

A few years ago, mobilizing investment for social housing construction was difficult, but after construction was completed, coordinating with relevant levels and sectors to review eligible buyers was equally challenging. Many developers even faced complaints and lawsuits from residents. For example, the TECCO social housing complex in Trung Do experienced complaints regarding who was and wasn't eligible to buy social housing. This issue has now been largely resolved, but during the use of social housing, some residents have been arbitrarily transferring ownership, causing public dissatisfaction and creating difficulties for the developer and the housing management board. A resident of the social housing complex in Le Loi ward said: "Here, most residents comply well with the regulations of the law, the developer, and the housing management board, but there are still some households that frequently file complaints and appeals to higher levels, reporting things that are not true."

The social housing complex in Le Loi ward is invested in by TECCO Investment, Construction & New Technology Application Joint Stock Company.

It has been learned that the low-income housing complex in Le Loi ward (TECCO Joint Stock Company) has been handed over and put into use for more than two years. The investor built it using bank loans (commercial interest rates), but sold it at an average price of 7.1 million VND/m2 (3 million VND/m2 lower than the selling price of commercial housing). Despite being in use for a long time and having a reasonable selling price, the investor has not yet fully recovered the outstanding debt, affecting the company's financial situation. Recently, the investor of this housing complex had to provide very specific answers to residents' concerns, such as: the management and operation of the security department of the social housing complex; the management of design and completion documents; the process of issuing land use right certificates; the deterioration of technical infrastructure; the construction of the common area's foundation; and the construction of walls separating the low-income housing area from the surrounding area. The obligation to pay for the apartment... During the management and use of the low-income housing area in Le Loi ward, it was observed that the technical infrastructure still has some shortcomings, such as low ground level and foundation of the first floor... These problems can be completely resolved at the local level if the investor and residents cooperate well in a constructive spirit.

The demand for social housing in Vinh City and Cua Lo Town is very high, but enabling low-income earners to own such apartments is not simple at all. The unfortunate incidents at the low-income housing area in Le Loi Ward serve as a lesson to be learned, so that such situations will not occur in other social housing areas in Vinh City in the future.

Hoang Vinh