The ministry is seeking feedback on a draft amendment to the Law on Housing, which includes the proposal on tighter control over social housing transactions to ensure benefits go to the right recipients.

Under the draft, after five years, owners of social housing who wish to transfer their property will no longer be allowed to sell freely under market mechanisms as they currently do. 

Instead, transactions will be limited to buyers who meet eligibility criteria. The proposal, aims to prevent policy abuse while creating more opportunities for low-income groups to access housing.

In practice, after a period of use, many social housing projects have recorded significant price increases. In Hanoi, many units after 5–10 years are traded at prices approaching those of commercial market housing, reflecting strong demand and fluctuations in market prices.

Many apartments are now listed at prices close to, or even equal to, commercial housing. A survey on the secondary market found that units at Dai Kim Building (Dinh Cong ward) are being offered at around VND75–80 million per sqm, equivalent to more than VND5 billion per unit.

In the Linh Dam area, apartments at the Rice City project (Hoang Liet ward) are also commonly priced at around VND5 billion per unit. Newly launched social housing projects are also setting higher price benchmarks.

Before 2023, social housing prices in Hanoi ranged from VND13–17 million per sqm, but since late 2024 they have risen sharply. Rice City Long Chau – Thuong Thanh (Bo De ward) currently has the highest price at VND29.4 million per sqm.

Earlier, the Ha Dinh social housing project (Thanh Liet ward) drew attention with an estimated price of about VND25 million per sqm. Projects in Dong Anh commune and Kim Hoa (Tien Thang commune) are priced at VND20.6 million per sqm and VND20.2 million per sqm, respectively. 

The lowest-priced project at present is CT3 Kim Chung (Thien Loc commune), at VND18.4 million per sqm.

Some opinions suggest that the transfer mechanism needs clearer definition to avoid complications. Buyers are concerned about how resale prices are determined - whether based on the original contract price or market value, especially when property values have increased over time.

Prior to that, the Vietnam Institute for Real Estate Market Research (VARS IRE) recommended that, after five years, transfers should give priority to buyers eligible for social housing and be certified by competent authorities. If sold to non-eligible buyers, the owner has to return the incentives previously received.

On February 9, the authority to verify income eligibility for purchasing social housing was transferred from commune-level People’s Committees to commune-level police.

Hong Khanh