Bac Ninh removes policy-related barriers to social housing development

In addition to the support mechanisms that have been issued to encourage social housing for workers and low-income people with housing difficulties, central and local agencies need to remove difficulties and obstacles, in terms of mechanisms and policies to develop social housing more comprehensively.

According to Bac Ninh Provincial People’s Committee, social housing development in the province has achieved many remarkable results since 2015. However, there have been difficulties and problems during the implementation process.

Demand exceeds supply

Bac Ninh Province currently has 51 social housing projects that have been carried out, with a total land area of 156.93 hectares, a total floor area of about 3,931,992 square metres and 46,290 apartments, meeting the housing needs of about 189,459 people. Accordingly, there are 22 social housing projects for workers, with a total land area of about 106.13 hectares for 30,652 apartments, meeting the housing needs of about 114,085 workers. In particular, 16 projects are completed and under construction.

Twenty-nine other social housing projects are used for other subjects, with a total land area of about 50.8 hectares for 15,639 apartments, meeting the demand for about 75,374 people. In particular, 22 projects are completed and under construction.

It is expected that with about 80,000 apartments to be completed during the 2021-2030 period, Bac Ninh Province will be able to accommodate about 260,000 people.

However, based on survey results and statistics, the number of low-income workers and people in need of social housing across the province is now more than 230 thousand people.

Deputy Director of Bac Ninh Provincial Department of Construction, Nguyen Tuan Dung, said relevant departments and agencies will actively adjust and supplement social housing planning throughout the province. The Department will also speed up progress and take measures to handle slow projects and construction investment projects that lack synchronous technical and social infrastructure, towards meeting the demand for social housing in the fastest and best manner.

Removing difficulties and problems

Bac Ninh Province now has nearly 150,000 workers staying, of whom about 73.81% are living in residential areas built by local people themselves and 26.19% are living in concentrated houses under the projects.

Children living in Hoang Gia social housing building in Bac Ninh City.

Meanwhile, 22 social housing projects for workers have been completed and put into operation, which is forecast to meet about 76% of workers' accommodation needs in the province.

Nguyen Dinh Tan, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Dong Duong Eai., Corp - the investor of the Dong Duong social housing area, said the biggest difficulty in implementing social housing is the identification of the right subjects for enjoying social housing policies. According to Decree No. 49/2021/ND-CP, social houses in industrial parks are invested in and built following the law on housing and the law on social housing, to serve the needs of households and individuals working in industrial zones.

“With this concept, the identification of beneficiaries of social housing faces many problems. Therefore, it is necessary to redefine the concept and beneficiaries of the social housing policy for workers to match the current local reality”, said Tan.

Tong Xuan Man, a resident of Hoang Gia social housing apartment, said her family was able to buy a 70m2 apartment with an amount of about 700 million VND (over 28,217 USD). Currently, she feels satisfied with the environment, low service fees (about 4,000 VND (0.16 USD) per square metre) and utilities around the social housing area. “However, there are still many workers in industrial parks who cannot yet own social housing because they do not meet the criteria for beneficiaries of social housing policies”, noted Man.

In addition, Clause 2 of Article 53 of the Law on Housing, defines the form of enterprises and cooperatives buying or renting houses for employees, to rent as a form of social housing development. However, in the provisions of the Law on Housing and the Government's Decrees, there is no legal corridor for this form of social housing development. The demand for renting/buying social housing for workers from enterprises in Bac Ninh is very large, but it cannot be done.

According to Bac Ninh Provincial People's Committee, the current demand for loans for social housing and worker housing projects in the province during the 2021-2025 period is about 40 trillion VND (over 1.6 billion USD), equivalent to 2.1 million square metres of social housing floor space and about 30,000 apartments, meeting accommodation for 110,000 people.

Besides, many real estate experts said that despite enjoying many incentives, businesses are still indifferent to social housing development projects. The main reason is that this field has low profits, while businesses have to invest a lot of capital. Investors also often face many difficulties in terms of procedures, selling prices and distribution channels.

In addition, the Provincial People’s Committee proposed and recommended additional mechanisms and policies to remove difficulties in the development of social housing and worker housing in the province. Accordingly, the province will focus on supplementing beneficiaries of social housing policies following clauses 1, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 10 of Article 49 of the Law on Housing, that may buy, rent or lease-purchase communal houses under social housing projects in industrial parks.

To develop social housing according to the set goals, Bac Ninh Province needs to develop and propose appropriate mechanisms and policies, while implementing solutions to attract investment, and strengthening coordination with policy banks, so that social housing can reach people and workers in a practical, timely and effective manner.

Up to now, the whole country has had 276 social housing projects completed in urban areas, with a total area of more than 7.3 million square metres. In particular, 122 social housing projects for workers in industrial parks completed the construction investment, with a total area of about 2.7 million square metres of floor space.