Construction Minister Tran Hong Minh told the National Assembly on the afternoon of 28 October that owners of social housing must not be able to sell their homes at market prices once the five-year holding period ends. Responding to deputies during the debate on the draft revised Housing Law at the second session of the 16th National Assembly, he said, according to VnExpress, that such market-price resales were not acceptable. Social housing, he argued, is a humane policy for people on low incomes, so owners who no longer need the home must meet conditions before transferring it, to prevent people profiting from the policy.
The minister also explained why social housing prices vary between provinces and even between projects in the same city, with recent prices ranging from about 15-29 million dong per square metre.
Why prices differ
According to VietnamPlus, social housing projects receive incentives on tax, land, site clearance and credit but still have to cover construction, infrastructure and the interest developers pay on bank loans. The minister gave the example of parking: a project with 2-3 parking floors costs differently from one with a single floor or none, and building material prices also vary by province. Projects with better infrastructure therefore sell at higher prices.
For rental housing, he said rents must not exceed the level appraised by the provincial People's Committee, whether the home was built by the state or by private developers. He cited Hanoi, where an ordinary commercial apartment in the same area rents for about 18 million dong a month, against about 6 million dong a month for a social rental unit.
Resale rules: now and under the draft
VnExpress reported that the current Housing Law lets social housing owners sell to anyone on market terms after five years. The draft would require that, five years after full payment, buyers can only transfer the home to people who are themselves eligible for social housing. On proposals to allow resale only to developers, the minister said the drafting agency had consulted the National Assembly Standing Committee and the provinces before writing the rule into the draft, VietnamPlus reported.
Most deputies supported the tighter rule but asked for a mechanism to control resale prices:
- Ly Anh Thu, deputy head of the An Giang delegation, warned that without price control, access for people who genuinely need social housing could shrink. She proposed setting resale prices from the original purchase price plus an adjustment index set by the authorities.
- Thach Phuoc Binh, deputy head of the Vinh Long delegation, cautioned that capping prices too low would restrict owners' property rights, and suggested giving developers, housing funds or state-designated bodies a priority right to buy units back.
- Nguyen Khanh Vu, chairman of the Quang Tri ward People's Council, said the draft lacked transitional rules for owners who have reached or are about to reach five years, which could lead to inconsistent application between localities and to complaints.
- Nguyen Ngoc Son, a full-time member of the Committee for Science, Technology and Environment, called for linking housing data with land and population databases to control eligibility checks, allocation and use.
Social housing targets to 2030
According to VnExpress, the government has assigned localities to build 899,857 social and rental homes by 2030:
| Item or locality | Units |
|---|---|
| National total | 899,857 |
| Of which rental homes | 191,023 (about 21%) |
| Of which for sale or lease-purchase | 708,834 |
| Ho Chi Minh City | 181,257 |
| Hanoi | 84,000 |
| Dong Nai | 60,054 |
| Hai Phong | 32,850 |
| Da Nang | 26,279 |
| Can Tho | 13,250 |
| Hue | 10,600 |
VietnamPlus reported that the social housing development fund has three sources: local budgets, proceeds from selling public assets, and the 20% payment linked to land in commercial housing projects.
On old apartment blocks, especially those built before 1994, the minister called renovation an extremely difficult problem. In Hanoi, many units measure only 20-30 square metres, yet residents ask for compensation of up to 100 square metres for households of 5-6 people, even though the city already applies a compensation coefficient of up to 1.5. No investor could make that work, he said, according to VietnamPlus. On building management, he insisted that apartment management fees are a must and that maintenance funds must be held in banks.
What comes next
The National Assembly will consider and vote on the revised Housing Law at its sitting on 21 November. If passed, the law will take effect on 1 July 2027. Issues left open after the debate include how to set resale prices after five years, priority buy-back rights and transitional rules for owners already eligible to sell.