Solving the “thirst” for social housing in Hanoi

In recent years, property prices, particularly apartments in Hanoi, have become increasingly expensive, beyond the affordability of low-income individuals. To ease the problem, Hanoi is urgently converting the student housing in the Phap Van-Tu Hiep new urban area into social housing for rent, reviewing investment plans to select investors for the social housing projects in the districts of Dong Anh, Gia Lam, and Me Linh.

The land for social housing construction in Ha Dinh urban area.

On the morning of December 5, a consortium including the Urban Infrastructure Development Investment Corporation, Hanoi Electricity and Water Construction Joint Stock Company, and Hanoi DAC House Development and Construction Joint Stock Company broke ground on a social housing project in the Ha Dinh urban area, located in Tan Trieu Commune, Thanh Tri District.

The social housing project is being built on an area of 9,305 square metres in the Ha Dinh urban area. The building will have 25 floors with a total area of 62,550 square metres and 440 apartments, accommodating a population of 1,230 people.

Nguyen Van Son, who lives in the Khuong Dinh Ward, Thanh Xuan District, expressed his joy, stating that since 2023, he and his wife had completed their application to purchase social housing in Trung Van Ward, Nam Tu Liem District, but were unlucky in drawing lots for the right to purchase. They were overjoyed when they learned the social housing project in the Ha Dinh urban area near their home was being constructed. The project offers various apartments, especially rental and rent-to-own options, providing people with suitable choices.

The supply of apartments priced below 3 billion VND in Hanoi has recently been very scarce. As a result, the public eagerly awaits social housing projects.

Exploiting the shortage in supply, many groups have fabricated information about selling social housing projects to scam and defraud the public.

Even before the completion of investment procedures for the social housing project in the NO1 land plot of the Ha Dinh urban area, Tan Trieu Commune, Thanh Tri District, information about apartment sales appeared on websites, causing concern among many residents.

The investor has repeatedly warned about the false information spread by a group of individuals with fraudulent intent to seize money from the people.

In early 2024, the Hanoi Construction Inspectorate concluded that the investor had been slow in implementing the social housing construction at the NO1 land plot of the Ha Dinh new urban area.

At the time of inspection, the investor had not built the social infrastructure and public facilities, such as a kindergarten, healthcare clinic, green spaces, parking lots, etc., on the designated plots NT and CC2. They also have not completed the construction of roads Hl, H2, H4, and D8 due to incomplete land clearance.

According to a report by the Hanoi Department of Construction, the city currently has 69 social housing projects that have been or are being implemented. Since 2021, approximately 640,000 square metres of social housing with more than 10,270 apartments across eight completed and three partially completed projects have been finished. In the 2024-2025 period, more than 5,920 apartments across 11 projects are expected to be completed.

The Hanoi Department of Construction states that 50 projects will be implemented in the 2026-2030 period, providing about 57,170 apartments.

Notably, the Hanoi People’s Committee is urgently reviewing the investment plans to select investors for four out of five concentrated social housing projects in the districts of Dong Anh, Gia Lam, and Me Linh, covering a total land area of over 200 hectares and about 12,000 apartments.

Specifically, there will be two social housing projects in Tien Duong Commune (Dong Anh District), a social housing project in Co Bi Commune (Gia Lam District), a social housing project in Dai Mach Commune (Dong Anh District) and a project in Tien Phong Commune (Me Linh District).

In addition, the supply of social housing in Hanoi will be supplemented in the near future by converting the student housing in the Phap Van-Tu Hiep new urban area into social housing for rent, helping to alleviate the housing shortage for low-income people.

NDO