Decision 2161/QD-TTg 2021 the national housing development strategy for the 2021-2030 period

DECISION

Approving the national housing development strategy for the 2021-2030 period, with a vision toward 2045^[1]

THE PRIME MINISTER

Pursuant to the June 19, 2015 Law on Organization of the Government; and the November 22, 2019 Law Amending and Supplementing a Number of Articles of the Law on Organization of the Government and the Law on Organization of Local Administration;

Pursuant to the November 25, 2014 Housing Law;

Pursuant to the socio-economic development strategy for the 2021-2030 period;

At the proposal of the Minister of Construction,

DECIDES:

Article 1. To approve the national housing development strategy for the 2021-2030 period, with a vision toward 2045 (below referred to as the Strategy), with the following principal contents:

I. VIEWPOINTS

1. To have appropriate and safe residences is one of the fundamental human rights and a condition necessary for comprehensive human development, which, at the same time, constitutes as a decisive factor for development of human resources to serve the national development. Housing development is a responsibility of the State, the society and the people.

2. Housing development is one of important contents of socio-economic development policies; the State shall encourage all economic sectors to develop housing under the market mechanism to meet every need of the people and, at the same time, adopt policies to provide housing support to social policy beneficiaries, low-income earners and the poor that meet housing difficulties in order to contribute to political stabilization, social security assurance and urban and rural development toward civilization and modernity.

3. Housing development in localities must be associated with development of the housing realty market, in line with local housing development programs and plans in each period, and compliant with the housing law and master plans and plans approved by competent agencies, ensuring completeness of technical and social infrastructure facilities; housing development must be based on economical use of resources, particularly land resource; and management of house construction should be intensified.

4. Housing development must ensure safety and satisfy conditions on construction quality, architecture, landscape, comfort and environmental protection; adequate capacity to respond to climate change, natural disasters and epidemics, energy conservation, sustainable development, and low emissions according to technical regulations and standards issued by competent agencies.

5. To develop diversified housing types, attaching importance to developing social houses, condominiums, houses for rent, and houses for industrial-park workers, with a view to basically meeting the people’s housing demand, especially in urban areas, striving for housing development in rural areas in association with the national target program on building of a new countryside.

6. To ensure stable residences for workers and develop houses for workers which rest with their employers, management boards of industrial parks and export processing zones, local administrations and trade union organizations, applying methods meeting requirements of production activities and regarding worker houses as essential infrastructure facilities of industrial parks.

II. OBJECTIVES

1. General objectives

- To develop houses to meet the people’s needs for new or renovated houses, meeting quality requirements in relevant technical regulations and standards. Existing houses, including condominiums and separate houses of households and individuals, that have deteriorated and no longer meet quality requirements must be renovated or reconstructed.

- To develop houses with prices affordable for medium- or low-income households and social policy beneficiaries.

- To develop the housing realty market in a sustainable and transparent manner under the State’s regulation and supervision and in line with land use master plans, and housing development strategies, programs and plans; to limit speculation and waste of land resource in the housing development.

2. Specific targets

a/ Development of housing area

- By 2025, the per-capita housing area nationwide will be around 27 m² of floor, in which the per-capita housing area in urban centers and rural areas will be 28 m² and 26 m² of floor, respectively.

- By 2030, the per-capita housing area nationwide will be around 30 m² of floor, in which the per-capita housing area in urban centers and rural areas will be 32 m² and 28 m² of floor, respectively.

b/ Raising of housing quality

- To-be-developed houses must meet quality requirements in relevant technical regulations and standards be in line with urban development projects, ensuring complete technical and social infrastructure facilities, interconnected traffic infrastructure and digital infrastructure facilities, with designs of more comfortable functional spaces of houses or apartments toward developing green, sustainable and low-emission spaces.

- To raise the quality of existing houses through intensified application and implementation of technical regulations, standards and master plans upon renovation or reconstruction of separate houses, household residences and condominiums under synchronous and modern projects.

- By 2030, to strive for a higher proportion of solid houses nationwide of 85-90% (100% in urban areas and 75-80% in rural areas); no shabby houses will be available nationwide, especially in urban areas; and 90% of houses nationwide will have complete electricity and water supply and wastewater drainage systems connected to common technical infrastructure systems of localities.

c/ Development of commercial houses

- To develop commercial houses under projects and in association with urban development or housing development programs, promoting investment in development of modern, environmentally friendly and low-emission multi-storied condominiums, thus helping raise housing quality and ensure interconnected and complete infrastructure systems.

- To develop diversified housing products for rent, rent-purchase or sale, of an appropriate structure with higher proportions of medium-sized commercial houses at reasonable prices via the housing realty market under the State’s promotion policies.

- The State shall adopt policies to ensure public and transparent distribution of resources for housing development under the market mechanism.

d/ Development of social houses

- To step up the development of social houses to meet the needs of social policy beneficiaries who face housing difficulties, including low-income urban inhabitants, industrial-park workers, cadres, civil servants, public employees, and officers and soldiers of the people’s armed forces, by adjusting or supplementing policies in order to increase supply sources combined with payment subsidies.

- To develop social houses under projects in locations and of sizes suitable to areas where large numbers of people having the need for social houses reside or where land areas for development of social houses are included in master plans for urban development projects or housing development projects, with a view to ensuring fairness for them and improving their accessibility to complete infrastructure facilities and essential social services.

- To diversify supply sources of social houses by applying more forms of social housing development appropriate to reality; to formulate preferential investment, land, financial and taxation mechanisms, focusing on intensified mobilization of organizations and individuals of all economic sectors to participate in the development of houses for lease.

- To ensure that there is a separate and specific housing policy applicable to every category of subjects, ensuring achievement of set objectives, provision of housing support to eligible subjects and full satisfaction of required conditions for application of appropriate incentives.

- To pay attention to meeting accommodation needs of workers in different production sectors or areas, ensuring complete essential technical and social infrastructure facilities for transport, health care, education and culture in housing areas, creating stable residences and improving living standards for workers to feel secure in production activities, thus contributing to social security assurance.

dd/ Development of official-duty houses

- To fully and promptly meet the housing needs of subjects entitled to official-duty houses of central and local agencies when they are seconded or transferred, ensuring their stable accommodations, making them feel secure and convenient during their terms of office.

- To diversify methods of creating official-duty housing areas through the State’s direct investment in construction or purchase/rent of commercial houses for use as official-duty houses.

- To ensure economical and efficient exploitation, management, operation and use of official-duty houses.

e/ Development of resettlement houses                 

- To basically meet the needs for resettlement houses in adherence to the principles on development and methods of arrangement of resettlement houses in accordance with the housing law.

- To diversify methods of resettlement through the use of commercial houses or social houses constructed under projects and with land areas reserved for resettlement. To prioritize the resettlement on the spot or in adjacent areas in order to guarantee social security for resettled people.

- The development of resettlement houses must ensure the harmony of interests of the State, resettled people and enterprises; resettlement houses must be allocated to eligible subjects that fully satisfy the conditions specified by the housing law. Resettlement houses shall be constructed up to quality requirements in relevant standards and technical regulations and to meet the needs of settled people.

g/ Provision of housing support under target programs

- For people with meritorious contributions to the revolution and the next of kin of these people and fallen heroes^[2] who meet housing difficulties, support shall be provided from the state budget (the central budget or local budgets) at levels suitable to the national socio-economic conditions in the 2021-2030 period; and the same time, to mobilize more social resources in combination with the State’s support policies and the participation of the community, mass organizations, enterprises, individuals, families of people with meritorious contributions to the revolution, and the next of kin of fallen heroes in contributing to the construction of new houses or renovation of existing ones, ensuring higher house quality.

- For poor households in rural areas, ethnic minority and mountainous areas, and poor districts^[3] that meet housing difficulties, support for housing improvement shall be provided in the form of (i) funds from the central budget; (ii) higher concessional loans as well as localities’ additional support from mobilized social resources and integrated with support from other lawful funding sources; and (iii) higher quality and larger minimum area of houses to be constructed as support in suitability with national socio-economic conditions.

- For households having houses in areas frequently affected by natural disasters or climate change (storms, floods, landslides, etc.), support shall be provided in the form of concessional loans for construction of new houses or renovation and repair of existing ones in order to improve the house quality and resilience to natural disasters. For a number of dangerous areas, support shall be provided from the state budget for construction of infrastructure facilities of resettlement zones in safe areas.

- For students, houses for lease shall be developed in association with planning and construction of training institutions, ensuring their daily-life conditions and learning environment.

h/ Development of houses of households and individuals

- Regarding development of houses of households and individuals in rural areas

+ Houses of households and individuals in rural areas shall be constructed in conformity with master plans on construction of rural residential areas, ensuring environmental sanitation and connection with technical infrastructure systems in the areas. The house construction, renovation or repair must ensure conformity with local traditions and customs in combination with conservation and maintenance of traditional house architecture styles of different regions and areas.

+ In case households and individuals construct their houses within projects, their houses must be conformable with approved detailed plans of such projects. For zones in which construction permits and design documents are required, the construction must comply with construction permits and design documents approved in accordance with the construction law.

+ In case houses of households and individuals are constructed in areas where it is necessary to conserve artistic, architectural, cultural or historical values, the house construction, renovation and repair must also comply with the law on cultural heritages.

- Regarding development of houses of households and individuals in urban areas

+ In urban areas, houses of households and individuals in urban areas shall be developed in conformity with urban construction detailed plans and designs. The construction, renovation and repair of houses requiring construction permits must comply with construction permits.

+ The development of houses in urban areas must conform to construction standards and technical regulations, ensure connection with common technical infrastructure systems of areas, meet requirements on environmental sanitation and house architecture, and cause no impacts on adjacent works.

i/ Renovation or reconstruction of condominiums

- To renovate or reconstruct condominiums under projects in combination with urban renovation and embellishment and in conformity with construction master plans, land use master plans and plans, housing development programs, and plans on condominium renovation or construction approved by competent agencies.

- Priority will be given to renovation or reconstruction of condominiums and condominium complexes subject to dismantlement in accordance with the housing law, with a view to ensuring life and property safety and improving living standards of the people in such condominiums and condominium complexes, toward developing green, civilized, modern and sustainable urban centers.

- To raise the State’s management role in controlling investment in condominium renovation or reconstruction projects.

k/ Management and operation of condominiums

- To maintain the quality of condominiums through regular and periodical management, maintenance and operation according to the technical process.

- To raise service quality and management capacity in the course of condominium operation, provide more utilities, improve living standards, and ensure safety for condominium users and managers, particularly fire and explosion safety.

- To ensure balanced interests and unanimity of related parties in their rights to own, use and exploit spaces in condominiums, thereby reducing disputes, complaints and legal actions and stabilizing security and social order in condominium complexes in association with local administrations’ activities.

III. HOUSING DEVELOPMENT TASKS AND SOLUTIONS                       

1. Improving housing institutions and policies

- To improve or revise a number of housing development policies, including those on (i) commercial houses; (ii) social houses; (iii) official-duty houses; (iv) resettlement houses; (v) houses under target programs; (vi) separate houses of households and individuals; (vii) condominium renovation or reconstruction; and (viii) condominium management and operation.

- To formulate policies to promote the development of commercial houses under projects with an average floor area and reasonable prices under the market mechanism.

- To study and promulgate or supplement housing technical regulations and standards applicable to new house designs, construction techniques and technologies, which are aimed at improving living standards and suitable to the trend of developing green, sustainable, smart and digital technology-applied houses, and at the same time intensify inspection and examination of the application of housing technical regulations and standards. To formulate mechanisms and policies to encourage the application of technical regulations and standards to existing residential areas where households and individuals reside in association with urban renovation and embellishment.

- To supplement preferential and incentive mechanisms and policies for organizations and individuals to participate in the development of green, energy-efficient, low-emission and digital technology-applied houses.

2. Group of planning and land area development solutions    

- In the course of formulation and approval of urban master plans, master plans on construction of rural residential areas, and master plans on industrial parks, land areas shall be allocated for housing development in conformity with approved land use master plans and plans to meet requirements of the development of urban projects, housing development projects, and projects on development of social houses, official-duty houses and resettlement houses, etc.

- Upon the formulation and approval of master plans on projects on development of commercial houses or projects on development of urban centers, or master plans on development of industrial parks, land areas shall be allocated for construction of social houses.

- In the course of formulation of master plans on urban centers, existing residential areas shall be adjusted, re-planned or reconstructed toward reducing the population density in combination with models of modern multi-storied buildings with complete infrastructure facilities, or will have their infrastructure facilities renovated or upgraded under plans.

- To focus on formulating all detailed plans based on general master plans on urban centers and new-countryside master plans; to regularly review approved master plans that require prolonged implementation periods or are infeasible, and revise or abolish them when necessary.       

3. Capacity building to develop houses under projects

- To build the capacity of project owners to implement housing development projects through adding regulations on conditions that investors are required to satisfy in order to ensure that project owners have adequate functions, capacity and experience to implement housing projects, giving priority to those having plans with appreciated planning solutions, architecture, construction of technical and social infrastructure facilities, project implementation and commissioning schedules, and management and operation solutions.

- To improve efficiency, publicity and transparency of the investor selection process, which is carried out mainly in the form of auction or bidding, for urban development, housing development, social housing development, and condominium renovation or reconstruction projects. To add regulations on uniform and adequate frameworks of criteria and standards on conditions that investors must satisfy in bidding dossiers for project investment. 

- To intensify supervision and application of sanctions to ensure that project owners properly fulfill their commitments, obligations and approved contents in the course of project implementation.

- To enhance the post-investment management of house construction, promulgate management regulations as well as regulations on handover, receipt and maintenance of technical and social infrastructure facilities in housing development projects.

4. Housing development solutions under the Strategy and local housing development programs and plans

- To raise the role of the Strategy and housing development programs and plans in the housing development management and regulation and assurance of house supply-demand balance. To enhance the function of state management of housing of state management agencies in charge of housing at the central and local levels.

- To concretize contents of the Strategy, and housing development programs and plans, order and procedures for formulation, approval and modification of programs and plans in order to ensure their consistency in their implementation in localities. To manage the list of housing development projects in 5-year housing development plans for use as a basis for investment policy approval.

- To ensure the connection and consistency with relevant regulations, particularly relevant master plans.

5. Group of funding source and taxation solutions

a/ Funding source solutions

- To reasonably allocate funding sources from the state budget for development of houses for policy beneficiaries and housing-related target programs.

- To mobilize social resources for housing development in such forms as mobilization of funding sources from enterprises, banks, credit institutions, and local development investment funds, issuance of stocks and bonds, and other lawful funding sources, in order to create a stable and long-term housing-related financial system with less dependence on the state budget.

- To efficiently mobilize foreign funding sources under such mechanisms for mobilization of international financial resources as investment funds, real estate trust funds, joint ventures and associations for implementation of housing projects; to facilitate foreign investors’ participation in the development of social houses.

b/ Taxation solutions

- To continue implementing policies on tax incentives for social development, such as value-added tax and enterprise income tax exemption or reduction and other incentives in accordance with the tax and housing laws.

- To adjust or add housing-related taxes in order to regulate the housing realty market to suite the practical situation and prevent state budget loss.

6. Group of real estate market development solutions

- To study amendments to the law on real estate business in order to improve real estate business policies in general and policies related to house trading and housing projects in particular, including trading in existing houses and future houses, transfer of rights to use land with infrastructure facilities for construction of houses, transfer of the whole or part of housing projects, etc.

- To enhance control of activities of real estate trading floors, including house trading; to contribute to managing information on real estate trading, thereby improving publicity and transparency and protecting interests of real estate traders on real estate trading floors through encouraging real estate trading on these floors to ensure their publicity and transparency; for existing houses and real estate items for which ownership/use rights certificates have been granted, they are not required to be traded on trading floors; to amend and supplement regulations on trading on trading floors for a number of future real estate types of enterprises and project owners (such as future houses and future accommodations) in order to guarantee interests of customers.

- To enhance control of real estate brokerage activities, including house trading brokerage of organizations and individuals, in the direction of raising professional qualifications and ethics of individual real estate brokers (standardization of training, tests and grant of practice certificates); individual real estate brokers shall register brokerage activities and participate in registered activities so as to be managed (by real estate businesses, offices or associations).

- To improve regulating policies so as to ensure the stable and healthy operation of the real estate market, thus helping state agencies at all levels and sectors take the initiative in proposing and promptly implementing specific solutions to stabilize and regulate the real estate and housing market whenever it becomes unstable, “too hot” or “frozen”.

- To improve effectiveness of the state management of real estate and house trading; to uphold the responsibility for state management of houses and real estate market of ministries, sectors and localities; to complete the building, management and use of the housing and real estate market information system in order to ensure publicity and transparency; to improve effectiveness of inspection, handling and prevention of violations in house and real estate trading activities.

7. Administrative and investment procedure reform solutions

- To simplify administrative procedures in the housing development investment process through the steps of selection of project owners, land allocation, investment in project construction, grant of ownership certificates, etc. To revise, reduce, simplify, standardize and digitalize administrative procedures in the field of construction of household houses and separate houses, with a view to increasing the people’s participation. To step up the decentralization and delegation of powers and carry out administrative reform at the central and local levels.

- To improve the housing and investment laws toward consistency and uniformity of investment, bidding and land regulations (including also mechanisms and policies applicable to social house construction investment project owners).

8. Other solutions

- To intensify the application of sciences and technologies, research and application of new house construction designs, techniques and technologies, new materials and application of digital technology in order to reduce house construction costs while ensuring energy efficiency and low emissions.

- To intensify basic research and professional training and further training of personnel for the fields of housing development and real estate trading.

- To study and improve regulations on appropriate condominium management and use models to ensure harmony of interests and transparency of responsibilities and obligations of related parties, thereby increasing unanimity of residential communities and owners/users in the house management, use and operation, and maintaining and increasing the use duration of works. To build sustainable urban and rural residential communities.

- To intensify the public communication about social house policies and provide information to the people in different media. To formulate plans on public communication about social houses under the Party’s and the State’s guidelines and provide sufficient resources for implementation before promulgating new mechanisms and policies in order to create unanimity among the people; to step up mobilization, public communication and provision of guidance on implementation of new technical regulations and standards.

Article 2. Organization of implementation

1. The Ministry of Construction shall:

a/ Assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with ministries, sectors and localities in, organizing the implementation of the Strategy; guide and urge the formulation of local housing development programs; monitor and sum up the implementation of the Strategy for reporting to the Prime Minister, and organize the preliminary review and final review of the Strategy implementation on a regular basis; propose amendments and supplementations to the Strategy as appropriate to the practical situation in each period.

b/ Assume the prime responsibility for proposing amendments and supplementations to regulations on construction, urban development, housing and real estate business in conformity with strategic orientations for housing development and practical situation; study and propose amendment, supplementation and improvement of the system of housing development-related technical regulations and standards; formulate mechanisms and policies and devise solutions to support the improvement of housing conditions for different groups of social policy beneficiaries who meet housing difficulties.

c/ Direct, guide and appraise housing development programs and plans of provinces and centrally run cities before competent agencies approve them and supervise their implementation.

d/ Assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with related ministries, sectors and localities in, formulating target programs, schemes and projects on housing support and development for different groups of specific subjects according to their competence, and assign responsibilities to localities for submission to the Prime Minister for consideration and decision.

dd/ Assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with related agencies in, conducting basic researches and providing professional training in the field of housing; research and apply new designs, techniques and technologies for low-emission, environmentally friendly and climate change-adaptable houses.

2. The Ministry of Planning and Investment shall:

a/ Assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with related ministries and sectors in, summing up and submitting target programs, schemes and projects on housing development support specified in this Decision after they are approved by competent agencies to the Government or Prime Minister for allocation of state budget funds for implementation thereof.

b/ Assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with the Ministry of Construction and related ministries and sectors in, studying amendments and supplementations to investment policies and regulations and relevant regulations in order to simplify housing development investment procedures.

3. The Ministry of Finance shall:

a/ Assume the prime responsibility for studying policies to promote the development of diversified long-term funding sources for housing development, such as real estate investment funds, real estate trust investment funds, real estate corporate bonds, and other long-term financial instruments.

b/ Study and propose the addition of a number of taxes related to the real estate market, such as property tax on houses, in order to stabilize the market, inhibit speculation, efficiently exploit housing real estate, and guarantee the State’s interests.

c/ Guide the implementation of incentives related to financial, tax and credit policies, and land use levy exemption, and promulgate according to its competence or submit to competent agencies for promulgation regulations on exemption from or reduction of value-added tax, enterprise income tax, personal income tax and other taxes related to social housing development.

4. The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment shall:

a/ Assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with the Ministry of Construction and related ministries and sectors in, studying amendments and supplementations to land policies and regulations based on the tasks and solutions set forth in this Decision.

b/ Assume the prime responsibility for adding regulations for certification of lawful ownership of new house realty and lawfully formed real estate products for use as accommodations.

c/ Assume the prime responsibility for revising and improving regulations toward simplification of administrative procedures in the course of allocation of land to housing development projects under regulations.

5. The State Bank of Vietnam shall:

a/ Direct and administer the credit system in order to ensure safe and stable credit policies for the field of house realty.

b/ Improve mechanisms and policies related to mortgage of real estate in order to maximize the capacity to mobilize funding sources for house realty development.

c/ Promptly guide credit institutions to provide social housing loans, and direct the Vietnam Bank for Social Policies in implementing the program on provision of social housing loans in accordance with the Housing Law and relevant regulations.

d/ Coordinate with the Ministry of Construction and Ministry of Finance in proposing and formulating mechanisms to create long-term financial sources for housing development.

6. The Vietnam Bank for Social Policies shall assume the prime responsibility for organizing the provision of concessional loans to help social policy beneficiaries purchase or hire-purchase social houses, construct or renovate their houses and help eligible subjects get loans for construction of social houses.

7. The Ministry of Justice shall coordinate with related ministries and sectors in formulating and supplementing regulations on housing and real estate business in order to ensure their consistency and prevent overlaps with other relevant regulations for housing development according to the tasks and solutions set forth in this Decision; and control administrative procedures and investment procedures in the field of housing and real estate business.

8. Related ministries and sectors shall, within the ambit of their functions and tasks, coordinate with one another in studying and formulating mechanisms and policies and directing the implementation of policies related to housing development.

9. Provincial-level People’s Committees shall:

a/ Perform the state management of housing in their localities through organizing the formulation of programs and plans on housing development and controlled development of the house realty market.

b/ Take the initiative in planning and allocating land areas for development of houses, particularly social houses, in their localities in accordance with law.

c/ Allocate local budget funds for investment in construction of social houses and provision of support for social policy beneficiaries in their localities in accordance with law.

d/ Incorporate housing development targets in local socio-economic development plans in each period; organize the performance of housing development tasks set forth in local socio-economic development plans and regular evaluation of results thereof.

dd/ Continue stepping up the decentralization and delegation of powers and administrative reform related to housing development.

e/ Pay attention to encouraging the community, social organizations, charitable organizations and  individuals, and donors to provide support for housing improvement for the poor and those meeting housing difficulties.

10. Other organizations:

a/ The Vietnam Fatherland Front and its member organizations shall carry out public communication to mobilize the people to implement and supervise the implementation of the housing law; mobilize organizations and individuals at home and abroad to contribute to and support programs on construction of houses for social policy beneficiaries, low-income earners and the poor who meet housing difficulties.

b/ Housing-related professional associations shall educate their members about observance of the housing law; and participate in providing consultancy, making criticisms and actively implementing housing policies.

c/ The Vietnam General Confederation of Labor shall coordinate with related ministries, sectors and agencies in investing in the construction of houses, medical and educational establishments, supermarkets, and commercial, service, cultural and sport facilities in industrial parks and export processing zones in order to improve the quality of accommodations for workers and employees of such parks and zones.

Article 3. Effect                 

This Decision takes effect on the date of its signing.

Ministers, heads of ministerial-level agencies, heads of government-attached agencies, and chairpersons of provincial-level People’s Committees shall implement this Decision.-

For the Prime Minister
Deputy Prime Minister
LE VAN THANH