HCMC – Owning a home will continue to be a distant dream for many people if the regulation that requires property developers to set aside 20% of their project land for social housing development is in place, said the HCMC Real Estate Association (HoREA).

The association proposed amending the law on housing, saying the target for one million social homes by 2030 would not be achievable if it is not revised. Under the current law, real estate firms involved in commercial residential development projects must set aside at least 20% of their project land for social homes. This regulation should be removed, HoREA said, adding provinces and cities should take charge of allocating land for low-cost housing projects, instead. It reasoned that building social homes inside middle-end and high-end housing projects would drive up their prices, making them unaffordable for low-income people. The price could reach VND40 million per square meter, which low-people earners cannot afford. Meanwhile, social home buyers will have to pay high management and service fees as they live in an area for middle- and high-income residents. Housing prices have been surging over the past five years, leaving the house price index 20 times higher than the country’s average income per capita. Hence, locals have found it tough to own a home. In late 2022, the Government told the Ministry of Construction to collect feedback on regulations on the 20% land requirement for social housing and revise the 2014 Law on housing.