In recent years, the development of social housing has not met set targets, mainly due to vague planning and fragmented implementation. A lingering perception persists that social housing is low-quality and substandard.

So far, only more than 200,000 social housing units have been completed nationwide which falls far short of actual demand, while most localities have failed to reach their social housing development goals.

The core issues lie in the overly strict and complicated procedures required to start such projects, particularly concerning land pricing, land-use planning, and land allocation by local authorities. These challenges often cause significant delays and extend project preparation timelines for investors.

Moreover, the profit margin allowed for developers of social housing is capped at 10% of the project value which is significantly lower than the 20 - 30% allowed for commercial housing. Local governments in many areas have yet to show strong commitment or provide effective support to businesses undertaking social housing projects.

Under the draft resolution, the Government proposes simplifying many procedures to accelerate the implementation of such projects. Specifically, for social housing projects that have been approved in principle and align with the approved housing development plan and zoning, the competent authorities would be allowed to assign the investor directly without holding a bidding process.

Priority criteria for selecting investors include having real estate business functions; ensuring compliance with credit and bond debt limits; having adequate equity capital as regulated; and possessing appropriate experience and financial capacity.

In addition, social housing projects would be exempt from several procedures such as formulating, appraising, and approving detailed planning tasks. They would not be required to prepare a feasibility study report. The investor would organise the appraisal, approval, and take responsibility for compliance with legal regulations.

Fire safety and prevention design appraisal would be integrated into the construction permit application process. In cases where the social housing project uses standard or typical designs previously published by competent authorities, a construction permit would not be required.

The selection of contractors for construction packages within social housing investment projects using public investment funds would be carried out through a streamlined direct appointment process.

National conference seeks to remove obstacles to social housing development

VOV.VN - The Government is scheduled to hold a national conference on March 6 to remove difficulties and develop social housing projects in Vietnam.