Decree 49/2021/ND-CP amending Decree 100/2015/ND-CP social housing development and management

DECREE

Amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Government’s Decree No. 100/2015/ND-CP dated October 20, 2015, on social housing development and management

^_________

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

Pursuant to the Law on Bidding dated November 26, 2013;

Pursuant to the Land Law dated November 29, 2013;

Pursuant to the Housing Law dated November 25, 2014;

Pursuant to the Law on Real Estate Business dated November 25, 2014;

Pursuant to the Law on Public Investment dated June 13, 2019;

Pursuant to the Law on Investment dated June 17, 2020;

Pursuant to the Construction Law dated June 18, 2014, and the Law Amending a Number of Articles of the Construction Law dated June 28, 2020;

Pursuant to the Law on Investment in the Form of Public-Private Partnership dated June 18, 2020;

At the request of the Minister of Construction,

The Government promulgates the Decree amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Government’s Decree No. 100/2015/ND-CP dated October 20, 2015, on social housing development and management.

Article 1. Amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Government’s Decree No. 100/2015/ND-CP dated October 20, 2015, on social housing development and management

1. To add Clauses 4, 5 and 6 after Clause 3 Article 1 as follows:

“4. The approval of the investment policy of social housing projects shall comply with the law on investment.

5. During the appraisal for approval of investment policy of social housing projects, agencies in charge of appraisal shall collect opinions on contents specified in Clause 6 of this Article from state agencies managing housing sector.

6. Contents to be consulted for appraisal and approval of investment policy of social housing projects include:

a) Contents to be consulted by state agencies managing housing sector as prescribed in the Decree detailing and guiding the implementation of a number of the Housing Law;

b) The selection of land areas for building social houses (in case of using public investment capital and state capital other than public investment fund);

c) Assessment of the satisfaction of conditions and criteria for holding the position of the owner of social housing project in accordance with this Decree;

d) Types and standard areas of social houses;

dd) Mechanisms and policies supporting social housing project owners (expenses for compensation and ground clearance; expenses for construction of the technical infrastructure facilities and other support policies).”

2. To amend and supplement Clause 2; add Clauses 4 and 5 after Clause 3 Article 3 as follows:

a) To amend and supplement Clause 2 as follows:

“2. Social houses in industrial parks mean social houses built in accordance with the housing law and the law on social houses to meet the demand of households and individuals working in industrial parks.”

b) To add Clauses 4 and 5 after Clause 3 as follows:

“4. Social housing projects include independent social housing projects and social housing projects using the land area accounting for 20% of the total residential land area in the scope of commercial housing projects for construction of social houses, in case the commercial housing project owners do not invest in construction of social houses.

5. Low-income earners refer to persons working in agencies, units and enterprises of all economic components, or freelancers in urban centers, with regular income not subject to personal income tax in accordance with the housing law and the law on personal income tax.”

3. To amend and supplement Clauses 1 and 3; add Clause 1a after Clause 1 Article 4 as follows:

a) To amend and supplement Clause 1 as follows:

“1. For special urban centers and grade-1, -2 and -3 urban centers, when formulating, appraising and approving urban master plans, rural construction master plans; master plans on development of industrial parks, construction master plans for higher education institutions, vocational schools (except for scientific research institutes, public boarding schools for ethnic minorities in localities), provincial-level People’s Committees of provinces and centrally-run cities shall base themselves on the demand for social housing in their localities to arrange land areas for social housing development; direct functional agencies to determine the specific location and size of each social housing construction project, ensuring synchronous technical and social infrastructure systems for social housing development.”

b) To add Clause 1a after Clause 1 as follows:

“1a) For grade-4 and -5 urban centers, provincial-level People’s Committees shall, based on specific conditions of their localities on the demand for social housing in areas where the approved projects on commercial houses and urban centers, or housing development programs and master plans are implemented, request the project owners to spend a part of land are in the projects with built technical infrastructure facilities for construction of social houses.”

c) To amend and supplement Clause 3 as follows:

“3. The use of land for social housing development must conform with approved urban planning, land use master plans and plans and rural construction master plans and comply with construction permits, for cases which require construction permits granted by competent state agencies in accordance with the construction law.”

4. To amend and supplement Article 5 as follows:

“Article 5. Land areas for building social houses under projects on commercial houses and urban centers

1. For a project on commercial houses or urban centers using 2 hectares of land or more in special urban center or grade-1 urban center, or using 5 hectares of land or more in grade-2 or -3 urban center, the owner must reserve 20% of the total residential land area stated in the detailed plan approved by a competent agency, with built technical infrastructure facilities, for construction of social houses.

2. For a project on commercial houses or urban centers using less than 2 hectares of land in special urban center or grade-1 urban center, or using less than 5 hectares of land in grade-2 or -3 urban center, the project owner is not required to reserve 20% of the project’s land area, or pay the land use levy for the whole project's land area in accordance with the land law.

3. In case the arrangement of the 20-percent land area for building social houses is required by law, but due to the change in the local master plan or zoning plan or detailed plan, resulting to the nonconformity of such arrangement, the provincial-level People’s Committee shall report such to the Prime Minister for consideration and approval. In case of obtaining the Prime Minister's approval, the provincial-level People’s Committee shall:

a) Clearly determine the location and land area arranged for replacement in another location within the locality;

b) Adjust the project's plan for the 20-percent land area for building social houses in accordance with the planning law, land law and relevant laws (if any);

c) Allocate or lease land, and determine the payable land use levy of the project's 20-percent land area in accordance with the land law and relevant laws; the collected amount shall be included in the local budget for construction of social houses in the locality.

4. For the project on commercial houses or urban centers of which the project owner has been selected before the effective date of this Decree, but the 20-percent land area for construction of social houses has not yet been arranged after the effective date of this Decree, if the project is recovered to assign to another project owner as prescribed by law, such project owner shall formulate and adjust the master plan to additionally arrange a 20-percent land area for construction of social houses in accordance with Clause 1 of this Article.

5. In case where the State uses the 20-percent land area for construction of social houses by public investment fund, the owner of the project on commercial houses or urban centers shall invest in synchronously building technical infrastructure facilities according to the master plan approved by the competent agency before handing over such land area to the State.

When the project owner hands over the 20-percent land area for construction of social houses to the State, the ground clearance compensation amount under the plan approved by the competent agency (if any) shall be deducted from the financial obligation (land use levy, land rental) to be paid by the owner of the project on commercial houses or urban centers.

Regarding expenses for building technical infrastructure facilities and other reasonable expenses as prescribed by law that the project owner has paid for the 20-percent land area to be handed over shall be refunded by the state budget in accordance with the law on the state budget.

6. The arrangement of land for a social housing project directly implemented by State with central budget capital must comply with the following regulations:

a) In case the capital amount allocated from the central budget for the project accounts for 50% or more of the project’s total investment, the provincial-level People’s Committee of the locality where the project is implemented shall assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with the Ministry of Construction in, considering and selecting a land area for the project’s implementation;

b) In case the capital amount allocated from the central budget for the project accounts for less than 50% of the project’s total investment, the provincial-level People’s Committee of the locality where the project is implemented shall consider and select a land area for the project’s implementation.”

5. To amend and supplement Article 6 as follows:

“Article 6. Land areas for social housing development in industrial parks

1. Upon formulating or approving a master plan on construction of industrial parks, the agency competent to approve the master plan must clearly determine the appropriate land area in the locality to build social houses and trade union infrastructure, ensuring synchronous technical and social infrastructure systems in service of workers and employees at such industrial park.

2. For an industrial park which is under construction, the provincial-level People's Committee shall take charge of ground clearance and building a technical infrastructure system for social houses for workers and employees in the industrial park under the master plan approved by the competent agency, and hand over such system to the owner of the social housing construction project selected under Article 8 of this Decree for the latter to implement the project. Expenses for compensation, ground clearance and construction of the technical infrastructure system for social houses shall be partially or wholly allocated to the cost price of dealing in the industrial park’s infrastructure.

3. For an industrial park which has been formed but does not have or still lacks accommodations for workers and employees working in that industrial park, the planning and allocation of land area for social housing development in such industrial park shall comply with the following regulations:

a) The provincial-level People’s Committee shall formulate, appraise and approve (or adjust) the master plan so as to add an appropriate land area for social housing development; conduct compensation and ground clearance and recover land for allocation to the social house construction project owner selected under Article 8 of this Decree for implementing the project. Expenses for compensation and ground clearance shall be paid with land use levy and land rental retained by localities;

For an industrial park in which the industrial land area has not yet been fully occupied, the competent state agency may adjust the master plan on construction of industrial park to reserve the land area for development of social houses and trade union infrastructure for workers and employees of that industrial park in accordance with Clause 9 Article 77 of the Investment Law No. 61/2020/QH14 dated June 17, 2002.”

6. To repeal Clause 2; amend and supplement Points a and b Clause 1 Article 7 as follows:

“a) Social houses being condominium apartments shall be designed and constructed as self-contained apartments according to construction standards and regulations and construction master plans approved by competent state agencies; each apartment must have a floor area of at least 25 m² and at most 70 m².

The social housing construction project's construction density or land use coefficient may be increased by up to 1.5 times that prescribed in current standards and regulations promulgated by competent agencies. The increase of construction density or land use coefficient must be consistent with the population target, technical and social infrastructure, space and landscape architecture in the approved zoning plan or detailed plan, and must be approved for adjustment by the agency competent to approve such master plan.

Based on the local practical situation, the provincial-level People’s Committee may increase the maximum standard area of each apartment by at most 10% of the standard area of 70 m² but must ensure that the number of apartments with a floor area exceeding 70 m² built under a social housing project does not exceed 10% of the total number of apartments of the project.

b) Social houses being low semi-detached houses must conform with construction master plans approved by competent state agencies; the construction land area of each house must not exceed 70 m² and the land use coefficient must not exceed 2 times;”

7. To repeal Clause 4; amend and supplement Clauses 1, 2 and 3 Article 8 as follows:

“1. For social housing projects funded with public investment capital and state capital other than public investment fund, the selection of project owners shall comply with the law on public investment and construction law.

2. For social housing projects not funded with public investment capital and state capital other than public investment fund, the selection of project owners shall comply with the following regulations:

a) For the cases specified at Point a Clause 2 Article 57 of the Housing Law, the bidding law shall be complied with;

b) For the cases specified at Point c Clause 2 Article 57 of the Housing Law, the investment law shall be complied with. Investors registering to be owners of social housing projects must meet the conditions for conducting real estate business in accordance with the law on real estate business, and the written investment policy approval must identify such investors as the owner of social housing project;

c) For the cases specified at Point d Clause 2 Article 57 of the Housing Law, the housing law shall be complied with. Investors registering to be owners of social housing projects must meet have the financial capacity to implement the projects in accordance with the land law and relevant laws.

3. The Ministry of Construction shall provide instructions on conditions and criteria for selecting owners of social housing projects.”

8. To repeal Clause 5; amend and supplement Clauses 1 and 4, Article 9 as follows:

a) To amend and supplement Clause 1 as follows:

“1. Owners of social housing projects not funded with public investment capital or state capital other than public investment capital are entitled to land use levy or land rental exemption under Point a Clause 1 Article 58 of the Housing Law, specifically as follows:

a) They are exempted from land use levy or land rental for the land areas allocated or leased by the State, including the land areas for building business works approved by competent agencies within social housing construction projects;

Provincial-level People’s Committees shall consider and decide to refund or clear against the project owners’ financial obligations toward the State, including expenses for compensation and ground clearance (if any), in case the project owners have paid land use levy amounts when being allocated land by the State or receiving land use rights transferred from other organizations, households or individuals, if the project owners use such land areas for building social houses or have paid land use levy for the 20-percent land area;

b) Project owners are entitled to reserve 20% of the total land area with built technical infrastructure facilities under their social housing projects (including also projects using the 20-percent land area) for building commercial houses to cover part of investment expenses so as to reduce sale prices, rental rates and rent-purchase rates of social houses and social house management and operation expenses;”

b) To amend and supplement Clause 4 as follows:

“4. Project owners are entitled to support from provincial-level People’s Committees for part or the whole of expenses for construction of technical infrastructure systems within their social housing construction projects under Point d Clause 1 Article 58 of the Housing Law.

Those who build social houses for lease only are entitled to support for the whole of expenses for construction of technical infrastructure systems.

In case the project owners complete the construction of technical infrastructure system under the social housing construction projects within 12 months from the date of land allocation or lease, they are entitled to support from provincial-level People’s Committees for connection of the technical infrastructure system under the projects with the shared technical infrastructure of the area.”

9. To amend and supplement Clause 2 Article 12 as follows:

“2. The purchase of commercial houses for use as social houses is prescribed as follows:

a) For cases in which the purchase is made with public investment capital, the law on public investment shall be complied with;

b) A project to purchase commercial houses for use as social houses must specify the position, types and number of houses; area of houses of each type, purchase and sale prices of houses and related expenses, capital sources for house purchase, method of payment for house purchase, agency signing house sale and purchase contracts, agency in charge of managing purchased houses, and responsibilities of related agencies for project implementation.”

10. To repeal Clauses 7 and 8; amend the title of Clause 2; amend and supplement Points d and dd Clause 2; amend and supplement Points dd and e Clause 3; amend and supplement Clauses 4, 5 and 6 Article 16 as follows:

a) To amend the title of article as follows:

“Article 16. Concessional loans for purchase and rent-purchase of social houses and house construction, upgrading or repair”

b) To amend the title of Clause 2 as follows:

“2. Conditions for a household or an individual to borrow loans for purchase or rent-purchase of a social house:”

c) To amend and supplement Points d and dd Clause 2 as follows:

d) Filing a written request for a loan to purchase or rent-purchase a social house, which must specify the commitment by the individual or household members that they have not yet been entitled to any housing or land support policy in any form in the locality where he/she/they is/are living;

dd) Having a contract on purchase or rent-purchase of a social house with the project owner in accordance with this Decree and the housing law;”

d) To amend and supplement Points dd and e Clause 3 as follows:

“dd) Possessing a certificate of the rights to use land and own houses and other land-attached assets in the district of permanent residence registration granted by a competent state agency in accordance with the land law;

e) Having a cost calculation plan, construction permit, for the cases requiring a construction permit in accordance with the construction law. In case of having a definite-term construction permit as prescribed by law, a household or an individual shall be considered to grant a borrowing appropriate to the lifespan of the work;”

dd) To amend and supplement Clauses 4, 5 and 6 as follows:

“4. Loan levels:

a) For purchase or rent-purchase of a social house, the loan must not exceed 80% of the value of the contract on social house purchase or rent-purchase;

b) For house construction, upgrading or repair, the loan must not exceed 70% of the value of the cost estimate or loan borrowing plan and must neither exceed VND 500 million nor exceed 70% of the value of security assets.

5. Loan interest rates:

a) The concessional loan interest rate at the Vietnam Bank for Social Policies shall be decided by the Prime Minister at the proposal of the Board of Management of the Vietnam Bank for Social Policies for each period;

b) The concessional loan interest rate at designated credit institutions shall be determined and announced by the State Bank of Vietnam, but must not exceed 50% of the average lending interest rate of commercial banks in the same period.

6. Loan term: The term of a loan shall be agreed upon by the bank and client in accordance with the client’s payment ability but must not exceed 25 years from the date of first disbursement of the loan.”

11. To amend the title of Article 17; amend and supplement Clause 2 Article 17 as follows:

a) To amend the title of article as follows:

“Article 17. Sources of concessional loans from the State for implementation of social housing policy”

b) To amend and supplement Clause 2 Article 17 as follows:

“2. Concessional loans from credit institutions:

a) On the basis of social housing development programs and plans in each period which are approved by the competent agency, the state budget shall offset interests for state-designated credit institutions to provide loans to borrowers that invest in social housing construction or are entitled to social housing support policies at an interest rate not exceeding 50% of the average lending interest rate of commercial banks in the same period.

b) The Government shall use ODA loans, foreign concessional loans to lend to designated credit institutions for providing social housing loans under this Decree.”

12. To add Clause 10 after Clause 9 Article 19 as follows:

“10. The sale of social houses to the project owners or other subjects entitled to the purchases or rent-purchase of social houses specified in Clause 5 of this Article shall comply with Article 62 of the Housing Law and the following regulations:

a) In case of selling social houses to the project owners, the sellers must carry out procedures for liquidating contracts with the project owners. The sale price must not exceed the sale price of the social house of the same type at the same location and time, and shall be exempted from personal income tax.

b) In case of selling social houses to other subjects entitled to the purchase or rent-purchase of social houses, the sellers must carry out procedures for transferring the social house sale and purchase contracts with the project owners for the purchasers (who are entitled to the purchase of social houses) and shall be exempted from personal income tax.

The social house purchasers must obtain certified papers proving eligible subjects and eligibility for purchase, rent or rent-purchase specified in Article 22 of this Decree, and make direct contact with the project owners to submit application dossiers for house purchase in accordance with Article 20 of this Decree.”

13. To amend and supplement Point dd Clause 1; add Clause 3 after Clause 2 Article 20 as follows:

a) To amend and supplement Point dd Clause 1 as follows:

“dd) The social housing construction project owner shall send the list of expected purchasers, lessees and lessees-purchasers of social houses in the order of priority (according to the principles prescribed in Article 23 of this Decree) to the provincial-level Construction Department of the locality where the project is located for examination to determine eligible subjects and exclude those that have received support, or have had a house or residential land, or have received housing or land support from the State, or have income subject to personal income tax payment in the locality. The competent agency shall issue certificates of the rights to use land and own houses and other land-attached assets, the district-level People’s Committee and local tax office shall coordinate with the provincial-level Construction Department to check information according to the competence, and take responsibility for verification results.

In case an expected purchaser, lessee or lessee-purchaser of a social house on the list made by the project owner has received house and residential land support from the State, and incurs income subject to personal income tax payment in the locality, or has purchased, rented or rented-purchased a social house in another project, the provincial-level Construction Department shall send a notice to the project owner for removal of this person from the list. If the provincial-level Construction Department gives no feedback within 15 working days after receiving the list, the project owner shall notify purchasers, lessees and lessees-purchasers of social houses in its project to come for discussion, agreement and contract signing. The provincial-level Construction Department shall update the list of purchasers, lessees and lessees-purchasers of social houses on its portal and the Ministry of Construction's portal.

For a person who satisfies all the conditions and has been included in the list of purchasers, lessees and lessees-purchasers of social houses of the project but no longer wishes to purchase, rent or rent-purchase a social house, the project owner shall return the dossier (including papers proving eligibility for purchase, rent or rent-purchase of social houses) to this person.”

b) To add Clause 3 after Clause 2 as follows:

“3. The Ministry of Construction shall provide instructions on updating subjects eligible for purchase, rent or rent-purchase of social houses on its portal in accordance with Clause 1 of this Article.”

14. To amend and supplement Clauses 4, 5, 6 and 7 Article 21 as follows:

“4. The provincial-level People's Committee shall assign the provincial-level Construction Department or functional agencies to appraise sale, rent and rent-purchase prices of social houses built under investment projects using funds other than public investment capital or state capital other than public investment capital in their localities according to the order specified in Article 21a of this Decree.

5. For a social house invested by a household or an individual for sale, lease or lease-purchase, the household or individual shall set its price which must not exceed the price bracket set by the provincial-level People’s Committee. Before signing a contract to purchase, lease, or lease-purchase a social house with client, the household or individual shall send a list of sale, lease and lease-purchase prices to the provincial-level Construction Department of the locality for monitoring.

The provincial-level People's Committee shall direct functional agencies to refer to methods of determining sale, lease and lease-purchase prices guided by the Ministry of Construction and the local market price level to develop the bracket of sale, lease and lease-purchase prices for social houses invested by households and individuals for promulgation according to competence to ensure conformity with actual local conditions.

6. The lessee of a social house shall pay the lessor a deposit as agreed by the two parties, which must be neither higher than the rental of 03 months nor lower than the rental of 01 month, to secure the fulfillment of the lessee’s obligations.

The lessor and lessee of a social house may reach an agreement on a deposit higher than the level prescribed in this Clause, which, however, must not exceed 50% of the value of the leased house. A lessee that pays the deposit prescribed in this Clause is entitled to rental reduction or exemption from rental for a certain period as agreed by the two parties.

A person who is a member of a poor household or of a household living just above the poverty line or is a person prescribed in Clause 1, 3, 9 or 10, Article 49 of the Housing Law is not required to pay a deposit when renting a social house.

7. A person that purchases or rent-purchases a social house may borrow a concessional loan from the Vietnam Bank for Social Policies or a state-designated credit institution to pay for the purchase or rent-purchase in accordance with Chapter III of this Decree.”

15. To add Article 21a after Article 21 as follows:

“Article 21a. Order and procedures for appraisal of sale prices, rental rates and rent-purchase rates of social houses

1. The project owner shall submit 01 set of dossiers (certified copies) to the provincial-level People’s Committee of the locality where the project is implemented to request the appraisal of sale prices, rental rates and rent-purchase rates of social houses invested by the project owner as prescribed in Clause 2 of this Article.

2. The application dossier for price appraisal must comprise:

a) An application for price appraisal, made according to the form in Appendix I to this Decree;

b) Legal dossiers of the project owner (including: legal grounds for the project; overview of the project);

c) The plan to determine sale prices, rental rates and rent-purchase rates of social houses invested by the project owner.

3.       The provincial-level People's Committee shall assign the provincial-level Construction Department or agency competent to appraise prices in the locality to appraise sale prices, rental rates and rent-purchase rates of social houses proposed by the project owner according to the following provisions:

a) The provincial-level Construction Department or agency competent to appraise prices shall organize the appraisal and take responsibility before the provincial-level People's Committee for the results and time limit for carrying out the appraisal.

In case the project owner has completed the construction of social houses and the project costs have been audited according to provisions, the provincial-level Construction Department shall, based on the audit report, appraise sale prices, rental rates and rent-purchase rates of social houses within the project.

b) Within 30 days from the date of receiving a valid application dossier for price appraisal from the project owner, the provincial-level Construction Department or agency competent to appraise prices shall organize the appraisal and notify the results to the project owner in writing, which clearly states the agreed-upon contents and necessary modifications (if any).

Based on the written notification of the appraisal results, the project owner shall issue sale prices, rental rates and rent-purchase rates of social houses within the project, on the principle that the project's price must not be higher than the appraised price.

c) If the provincial-level Construction Department or agency competent to appraise prices fails to notify the appraisal results within the time limit specified in this provision, the project owner shall have the right to issue the prices based on the price submitted for appraisal, and sign the purchase, lease, or lease-purchase contracts with clients. Before signing the contracts, the project owner must send sale prices, rental rates and rent-purchase rates of social houses, which have been issued by the project owner, to the provincial-level Construction Department for monitoring purposes.

If the appraisal price in the notice of appraisal results is higher than the price in the contract signed by the project owner, the owner is not allowed to charge more; if the appraisal price is lower, the owner must sign a new contract or amend and supplement the appendix to the contract and must refund the difference to the purchaser, lessee and lessee-purchaser.

4. If the project owner sells the social housing fund after 5 years of lease as prescribed in Article 54, Clause 3 of the Housing Law, it is not required to re-appraise the sale price of the social housing if the price has been determined in the pricing plan approved by the competent state agency after the rental period. The determination of the sale price for social houses for rent that are allowed for sale under provisions, the sale price must be reduced by the corresponding depreciation cost of the houses for the rental period.

16. To amend and supplement Article 22 as follows:

“Article 22. Dossiers proving eligible subjects and eligibility for social housing support policy

1. When requesting social housing support, a subject prescribed in Article 49 of the Housing Law that has not enjoyed any social housing support policy shall make an application for housing support according to the form guided by the Ministry of Construction, papers proving his/her eligibility specified in Clause 2 of this Article and papers proving the satisfaction of housing, residence and income conditions specified in Clauses 3, 4 and 5 of this Article.

2. Papers proving the eligibility for social housing support policies are as follows:

a) A subject prescribed in Clause 1, Article 49 of the Housing Law must have papers proving his/her eligibility as prescribed by the law on persons with meritorious services to the revolution and certification of his/her housing status and that he/she has not received any state support, which is granted by the commune-level People’s Committee of the locality of his/her permanent residence registration;

b) A subject prescribed in Clause 4, Article 49 of the Housing Law must have certification of his/her eligibility issued by the People's Committee of the commune where the subject has registered his/her permanent residence or temporary residence for at least one year if the subject has registered his/her permanent residence in another province or centrally-run city.

c) A subject prescribed in Clause 5, 6 or 7, Article 49 of the Housing Law must have his/her employer’s certification of his/her eligibility;

d) A subject prescribed in Clause 8, Article 49 of the Housing Law must have papers providing that he/she is eligible to rent the official-duty house, which is allocated by the agency managing official-duty houses;

dd) A subject prescribed in Clause 9, Article 49 of the Housing Law must have a certificate granted by the training institution where he/she is studying;

e) A subject prescribed in Clause 10, Article 49 of the Housing Law must have a certified copy proving he/she is named on a competent agency’s list of those subject to recovery of residential land, houses and other land-attached assets;

g) A subject with disabilities prescribed in Article 23 of this Decree must have a certificate of being disabled according to the law on disabled people.

3. Papers proving housing status are as follows:

a) A subject prescribed in Clauses 1, 4, 5, 6 and 7, Article 49 of the Housing Law must have a certification of his/her housing status, together with a written certification that this person has not received support for housing or land from the commune-level People's Committee of the locality where he/she registered his/her permanent residence or temporary residence for at least one year if the subject has registered his/her permanent residence in another province or centrally-run city;

b) A subject prescribed in Clause 8, Article 49 of the Housing Law must have a written certification of his/her return of the official-duty house, which is granted by the agency managing official-duty houses;

c) A subject specified in Clause 9, Article 49 of the Housing Law must have a confirmation from the training institution where he/she is studying that this person has not yet rented accommodation at the place of study.

d) A subject specified in Clause 9, Article 49 of the Housing Law must have a certification that this person has not received any state compensation in house and residential land for resettlement, which is granted by the district-level People’s Committee of the locality where he/she has his/her house and land recovered.

4. Papers proving satisfaction with the residence condition are as follows:

a) An applicant for purchase, rent or rent-purchase of a social house that has permanent residence registration in the province or centrally-run city where the social house is located must have a certified copy of the permanent residence registration book or collective residence registration certificate in that locality;

b) An applicant for purchase, rent or rent-purchase of a social house that does not have permanent residence registration as prescribed at Point a of this Clause must have a copy of the temporary residence registration certificate and a written certification of payment of social insurance premiums for 01 year or more in the province or centrally-run city where the investment project on social housing construction is implemented;

c) From the effective date of the Residence Law (July 1, 2021), the certification of permanent residence registration and temporary residence registration shall comply with the Residence Law. In case a household registration book or temporary residence book has been granted, it can still be used and remain valid as a document confirming residence in accordance with the Residence Law until the end of December 31, 2022.

5. Papers proving satisfaction with the income condition are as follows:

a) A subject prescribed in Clause 5, 6 or 7, Article 49 of the Housing Law must have his/her employer’s certification of his/her income level not subject to regular income tax payment as prescribed by the law on personal income tax;

b) A subject prescribed in Clause 4, Article 49 of the Housing Law shall declare his/her income level and shall take responsibility for the declared information.  The provincial-level Construction Department shall, when necessary, contact the local Tax Department to verify income tax of this person.

6. A subject prescribed in Article 49 of the Housing Law must satisfy the conditions for enjoying social housing support policies prescribed in Article 51 of the Housing Law. In case he/she owns a house, this house must have a per capita average area of under 10 m².

7. The Ministry of Construction shall promulgate forms of papers for implementation of this Article.”

17. To amend and supplement Article 23 as follows:

“Article 23. Principles and criteria for approval of purchasers, lessees and lessees-purchasers of social houses

1. Principles of approval of purchasers, lessees and lessees-purchasers of social houses built under projects:

a) In case the total number of (valid) registration dossiers for purchase, rent and rent-purchase is equal to or smaller than the total number of apartments announced by the project owner for each type of product, apartments shall be selected under agreements between the project owner and clients;

b) In case the total number of (valid) registration dossiers for purchase, rent and rent-purchase is larger than the total number of apartments announced by the project owner, the approval and selection of applicants shall be conducted in the form of a lottery organized by the project owner, with the participation of a representative from the provincial-level Construction Department where the project is approved to monitor the process. A record of the lottery results is required.

In case the project has the subjects specified in Article 22 of this Decree who are people with meritorious services to the revolution or people with disabilities, they shall be given priority to purchase, rent, or rent-purchase social houses without having to participate in the lottery with a certain ratio. The number of apartments (houses) reserved for these priority subjects (without participating in the lottery) shall be determined by the ratio between the total number of dossiers from these two priority groups to the total number of dossiers received, multiplied by the total number of social apartments (houses) in the project. The list of priority groups shall be sorted in order of submission time. The apartments for priority subjects shall be arranged in the order of the priority list until run out. The remaining subjects shall continue to participate in the lottery.

2. For the subjects specified in Clause 6, Article 49 of the Housing Law, they may register to purchase, rent or lease-purchase social houses of the projects invested by economic components or projects implemented by the Ministry of Defense, Ministry of Public Security, but must ensure the principle that each purchaser, lessee or lessee-purchaser is only supported once.

The Ministry of National Defense and the Ministry of Public Security shall specify the criteria for selecting and approving the cases eligible to purchase, rent, or rent-purchase social houses of the social housing projects that they implement, in accordance with the specific requirements of the armed forces, and send them to the Ministry of Construction for consolidated opinions in writing before issuance. Within 15 working days, the Ministry of Construction shall take responsibility for responding to the content of the request for opinions.

For cases of registration for purchase, rent, or rent-purchase social houses of the projects invested by economic entities, the principles and criteria for consideration and approval of subjects shall comply with Clause 1 of this Article.

18. To repeal Clauses 3 and 5; amend and supplement Clauses 2 and 4, Article 28 as follows:

a) To amend and supplement Clause 2 as follows:

“2. To promulgate according to its competence the Regulation on management of the use, operation and exploitation of the social housing fund.”

b) To amend and supplement Clause 4 as follows:

“4. To assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with ministries, sectors and provincial-level People’s Committees in, guiding the development of a social housing database system, updating on the Ministry of Construction’s portal; examine and inspect the development and management of social houses according to its competence; summarize and evaluate the implementation of this Decree; propose amendments and supplements according to the practical situation to the Government for consideration and decision.

19. To add Point dd after Point d, Clause 2; amend and supplement Point a, Clause 4, Article 29 as follows:

a) To add Point dd after Point d, Clause 2 as follow:

“dd) To guide according to its competence the management and use of the land use levy payable for 20-percent land area in projects on commercial houses and urban centers in accordance with Clause 3, Article 5 of this Decree.”

b) To amend and supplement Point a, Clause 4 as follows:

“a) To promulgate regulations on methods of lending for social housing support at designated credit institutions; direct the Vietnam Bank for Social Policies to guide the mobilization of deposits, procedures for lending in conformity with the organization and operation of the Vietnam Bank for Social Policies;”

20. To amend and supplement Clause 1; add Clause 8 after Clause 7, Article 30 as follows:

a) To amend and supplement Clause 1 as follows:

“1. To organize and direct the study, survey and summarization of demands to develop annual, medium- and long-term programs, plans and targets for social housing construction investment in their localities (including social houses for workers and employees working in industrial parks); direct and assign tasks to local enterprises and coordinate with the Ministry of Construction in directing the assignment of tasks to its attached state enterprises for development of social houses in accordance with this Decree.”

b) To add Clause 8 after Clause 7 as follows:

“8. The provincial-level People's Committee shall take responsibility for supporting the project owner in connecting the project's technical infrastructure system with the general infrastructure system of the locality.”

21. To repeal Clause 11.

22. To replace the phrase “social housing construction projects” in the title of Article 8, Article 9, Clauses 1 and 2, Article 15, Clause 1, Article 20 with the phrase “social housing projects”; replace the phrases “commercial housing development projects and urban development investment projects” and “projects on commercial houses and urban centers” in Clause 2, Article 30 with the phrase “projects on commercial houses and urban centers”.

Article 2. Transitional provisions

1. For housing projects implemented in the build-transfer (B-T) form, the transitional handling shall comply with the law on investment in the form of public-private partnership.

2. For projects on commercial houses and urban centers of which the decisions on investment policy or approval of investment policy are issued before the effective date of this Decree, the social housing obligation shall continue to be implemented in accordance with the Government’s Decree No. 100/2015/ND-CP dated October 20, 2015.

3. For a project on commercial houses or urban centers using less than 10 hectares of land, the project owner of the approved project shall perform social housing obligations in the form of payment before this Decree comes into force. However, by the effective date of this Decree, if the project owner has not yet made payment, he/she shall pay an amount corresponding to the value of the 20-percent land area at the time of completing the technical infrastructure system.

4. In case the persons registering the purchase, rent or rent-purchase of social houses have been appraised by the provincial-level Construction Department of the locality where the project is implemented, and have been included in the list of purchasers, lessees or lessee-purchasers of social houses, the purchase, rent or rent-purchase of social houses with the project owner shall continue to be implemented in accordance with the Government’s Decree No. 100/2015/ND-CP dated October 20, 2015.

Article 3. Implementation provisions

1. This Decree takes effect from the date of its signing.

2. Ministries, ministerial-level agencies, government-attached agencies, and provincial People’s Committees shall guide the implementation of articles and clauses under the assignment in this Decree, and review issued documents for amendment, supplement or replacement in accordance with this Decree.

3. Ministers, heads of ministerial-level agencies, heads of government-attached agencies, Chairpersons of People’s Committees of provinces and centrally-run cities, and related agencies, organizations and individuals shall implement this Decree.