At the Government’s regular meeting in October, Minister of Construction Tran Hong Minh addressed negative practices in the buying and selling of social housing.

“The Ministry has taken inspection tours and found cases of people reserving spots to buy social housing and then reselling these slots at price differences of VND200 million to VND500 million. We request local authorities to monitor and correct this situation to ensure transparency in reviewing eligibility,” Minister Minh said.

On online social housing forums, shady agents have openly advertised services ranging from preparing application documents to selling “diplomatic quotas” at social housing projects currently open for sale in Hanoi.

In a community group with nearly 70,000 members, account P.V. publicly offered a service of preparing applications for the CT3 Kim Chung social housing project, even though the project had not officially launched.

When contacted, P.V. advised focusing on this project because its prices were “the lowest” among newly opened social housing projects in Hanoi.

He said he had more than 20 clients in a private group; new customers needed a referral and would only have their documents accepted if they met all legal conditions. Because applications were strictly examined, he claimed to “screen very carefully” to improve the chances of approval.

The price was fixed at the first discussion. The base price was VND18.4 million per sqm, plus a VND350 million price difference (pocketed by shady agents), with a VND20 million deposit upfront. This deposit came without a contract; there was only a handwritten receipt described as a “support fee for preparing documents.”

P.V. promised that deposits would be refunded if the application failed. When asked about chances of success, he claimed “85–90 percent.”

After the investor accepts the application, both parties open a shared bank account, and the buyer deposits another VND130 million. The money can only be withdrawn if both are present at the bank. During the apartment selection round, the buyer will pay the remaining amount as agreed.

VietNamNet reporters contacted P.V. and got ‘advice’ from him. However, after PM Pham Minh Chinh on November 11 requested publicity and transparency to tighten activities related to social housing and assigned the Ministry of Public Security to promptly handle violations, the reporters no longer received replies from P.V.

Shady agents also provide the service of online submissions. The first online submission was recorded at the Rice City Long Chau project in Bo De ward.  The service quickly became a “gold mine,” with a fee from VND1 million to VND10 million.

At this project, even though the investor started accepting online applications on October 1, many people still failed to submit successfully after 10–20 days of trying. The "broker" service for online application submission appeared with prices ranging from VND1 million to VND10 million.

On October 21, VietNamNet reporters managed to contact a person accepting online submissions, but he told VietNamNet that he was supporting 10 customers but only two had succeeded, while the others were waiting for their ‘luck’ to come. The price of VND1 million was applied for document preparation and VND2 million for online submission.

Another account showed clear rates: VND500,000 for document screening, VND1 million for guidance, and VND10 million for completing the online submission.

What do investors say?

Nguyen Thanh Trung, Director of the Project Management Board for CT3 Kim Chung project, told VietNamNet that the investor does not authorize or cooperate with any unit or brokerage floor.

"We affirm that the investor is selling social housing products directly, not through any transaction brokerage or acquaintance. Matters related to social housing purchase applications are carried out in strict compliance with regulations. Afterwards, the Hanoi Department of Construction will review and verify them. The investor will guide citizens to complete the application without collecting any fees," Trung said.

On the first day of receiving applications at the CT3 Kim Chung project (November 17), Trung said that the investor invited the police agency to participate in supervision as well as to ensure security and order, avoiding situations of brokerage and policy exploitation.

According to Nguyen Vu Cao, Chair of Khang Land, social housing is expected to be a market regulatory tool, helping vulnerable groups secure suitable housing within their financial means. But recently, social housing prices have been escalating, not only in the secondary market but also in newly opened projects.

Hong Khanh