12 Groups Eligible for Social Housing Policies

Compared to the Housing Law 2014, the Housing Law 2023 adds two new groups eligible for social support policies, increasing the total to 12 groups:

• People with meritorious services to the revolution, relatives of martyrs eligible for housing improvement support according to the Ordinance on Preferential Treatment for People with Meritorious Services to the Revolution;
• Poor households and near-poor households in rural areas;
• Poor households and near-poor households in rural areas frequently affected by natural disasters and climate change;
• Poor households and near-poor households in urban areas;
• Low-income individuals in urban areas;
• Workers and laborers working in enterprises, cooperatives, and cooperative unions inside and outside industrial zones;
• Officers, professional soldiers, non-commissioned officers in the armed forces, police officers, civil servants, defense workers on active duty; cryptographic workers, and other workers in cryptographic organizations receiving salaries from the state budget;
• Officials, civil servants, and public employees as prescribed by the law;
• Individuals who have returned public housing according to Clause 4, Article 125 of the Housing Law 2023, except for cases where public housing was revoked due to violations of this Law;
• Households and individuals whose land is being reclaimed, requiring housing demolition according to the law, who have not yet been compensated with housing or residential land by the State;
• Students at universities, academies, colleges, vocational schools, and specialized schools as prescribed by law; students at public boarding schools for ethnic minorities;
• Enterprises, cooperatives, and cooperative unions in industrial zones.

Additionally, to benefit from social housing policies, individuals and organizations in the above groups must meet certain conditions such as not owning housing in the area of the social housing project, not having previously purchased or rented social housing, not having received housing support policies in any form, or meeting income conditions as prescribed by law.

Removal of Management Units from the List of Eligible Buyers of Social Housing within the First 5 Years

Regarding the principle of selling, leasing, and renting social housing, the Housing Law 2023 stipulates that buyers and renters of social housing cannot resell the house within a minimum period of 5 years from the time of full payment. If they need to sell the house during this period, they can only sell it back to the social housing project investor or sell it to individuals eligible to buy social housing at a maximum price equal to the selling price in the contract with the social housing project investor. Personal income tax is paid according to tax laws.

Compared to the Housing Law 2014, the Housing Law 2023 has removed the management unit as an eligible buyer of social housing within the first 5 years after the buyer completes payment obligations. This new regulation simplifies the procedure for reselling social housing when needed and increases the seller’s autonomy in choosing the buyer.

The Housing Law 2023 takes effect from August 1, 2024.

This newsletter is intended to inform about newly enacted legal regulations and is not meant to be used as advice or applied to specific cases.

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