Access and ownership of social housing in Hanoi today

Currently, when the State no longer holds the right to manage and distribute housing, it is necessary to review housing policies for social groups, especially low-income groups. In 2004, the Prime Minister issued Decision No. 76/2004/QD-TTg dated May 6, 2004 on approving the orientation for housing development to 2020, which also stipulates: Promoting the development of housing funds for low-income people including cadres, civil servants, public employees, workers in industrial parks and other policy subjects to buy or rent in accordance with the specific conditions of each subject...

To meet the growing housing needs of the people, in 2011 the Government issued a national housing development strategy. One of the main goals of the strategy is to build at least 22.5 million square meters of social housing by 2020 targeting low-income residents in urban areas. Then in 2014, the Housing Law was issued with a separate section on social housing development. It can be seen that through the stages of policies and laws on housing, including social housing, have been gradually changed in accordance with the development path of a socialist-oriented market economy... Developing a variety of housing types with different areas and levels of amenities for sale and rent to meet market demands and income conditions of different classes of people... With the above orientation, the State is focusing on solving the shortage of housing funds for social subjects - considered to be low-income people, with little ability to accumulate capital to buy houses.

The State has a very clear policy on creating housing funds for social subjects. Subjects and conditions for renting social housing are cadres, civil servants, public employees, military officers, professional soldiers of the armed forces, workers working in economic zones, industrial zones, and economic zones.

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Export processing zones, high-tech zones and other subjects as prescribed by the Government. The above subjects are also those who have TNT and do not have State-owned housing; or have housing but the average area is less than 5m2/floor/person or have temporary housing that is damaged or dilapidated.

The construction of housing for social subjects as mentioned above requires a synchronous solution from policies to methods of developing housing funds. Design standards must ensure quality and convenience. The management and operation and mobilization of capital for developing social housing funds must be clear and in accordance with regulations. Rental and hire-purchase prices must ensure capital preservation for continued investment and development, the principles of rental and hire-purchase must be appropriate for the subjects and under the authority of the management agency.

To study the current social access process in Hanoi, in chapter 3 the author will clarify the ability of people to access policies, access information and access loans for social housing. Through a practical survey of 3 social housing areas in Hanoi with a research sample of 352 people, the results also initially pointed out some difficulties and barriers in the process of accessing social housing of Hanoi people.

3.1. Access to social housing policy

3.1.1. Period before 2005

Housing policy in the pre-Doi Moi period (1986) , during this period the State played a leading role, subsidizing in the field of urban housing development for a long time and gradually decreased along with the socio-economic development process. The model of collective houses from 2-5 floors with ancillary areas, corridors, and common walkways appeared around 1965 and flourished for nearly 20 years until the 1980s. Limited budget resources combined with the increasing living needs of the people were the main reasons for the gradual transfer of roles.

upgrading and renovating houses to individuals for direct use. The limitations in the economic conditions of the State combined with the internal contradictions of the system created strong pressure, leading to a shift in policy in the late 1980s along with the implementation of the renovation policy. The new management method with the combination of the State and the people was gradually expanded, the first projects were put into trial implementation, contributing to improving the urban appearance.

Social Housing Policy in the first 10 years of Renovation (1986-1995), Collective housing models with small areas were relatively popular during this period, even one apartment was divided in half for 2 households to use together. Living conditions were low because most families at this time lived in collectives with small areas, but the criteria for being selected to use this type of housing were relatively strict.

After 1988, the Government allowed the city to allocate land to a number of enterprises belonging to central and local construction companies to build houses for sale using capital provided by the State or mobilized from home buyers. This is truly a market-oriented housing production model. However, this is only a type of market for the well-off class in an urban society. The majority of workers with TNT and especially the poor cannot reach this type of housing product. In 1990, in urban areas, 1/3 of the housing volume was built with people's money. In 1992, the capital invested in housing construction by agencies, enterprises and people was twice as much as the State's capital, not to mention a similar part built by people without permits. The construction boom, houses sprouted like mushrooms, and city residents were trying to improve their own living conditions.

In 1991, Decree No. 51-LCT/HDDNN8, dated April 6, 1991 of the State Council on housing was implemented to ensure the right to own a house and own property.

Citizens' housing. The transformation of the state housing fund into a business form, the legalization of private enterprises, the financial autonomy of state enterprises and the initiation of public-private joint ventures are breakthrough steps. Housing development is listed as a priority goal of the Government. According to this decree, the State encourages and creates conditions for people to participate in the maintenance and development of housing funds. The State also creates favorable conditions for investment funds in the housing sector through agencies and organizations, creating turning points in the field of urban housing development in the early period of renovation.

In 1994, in Decree No. 61/CP on housing trading and business, the State stipulated the minimum standard price for newly built housing, the land price frame when transferring the right to use, and the minimum standard price for renting housing as a basis for managing housing trading and business activities. The State also sold State-owned housing to tenants of the rented area so that home buyers could improve their living conditions. In addition, the State also created favorable conditions for funding sources to invest in the housing production sector through organizations and units that build and manage housing in cities. During this period, it was possible to see turning points in the field of urban housing development under the impact of the Doi Moi process.

Housing policy in the socialist-oriented period (1996 to before 2005), on December 28, 2000, the National Assembly Standing Committee issued the Hanoi Capital Ordinance, No. 29/2000/PL-UBTVQH10. Chapter III of the Capital Ordinance clearly stipulates the management, construction and urban development of the capital. Including content directly related to housing construction for low-income people:

“Encourage organizations and individuals to invest and choose business models,

Developing housing, residential areas, and new urban areas in accordance with the requirements of each period and each type of subject; focusing on building housing for low-income people; expanding the real estate business market; Managing all types of housing funds in the area (Article 13) . Thus, building housing for low-income people is also one of the important goals of the process of building and developing the capital.

There are two housing models operating in a market economy: owned housing and rented housing. In addition to households that can be customers in the housing market, there are many TNT households that do not have a stable place of residence, and owning a house is beyond their ability. Therefore, it can be seen that there is a great need for support policies from the government in building and renting houses for TNT people, in addition to encouraging the private sector to build and rent houses for groups of people who have difficulty accessing private ownership of housing.

The concept of “Preferential housing” appeared in Decree 71/2001/ND-CP of the Government dated October 5, 2001 on Incentives for investment in the construction of housing for sale and lease. This is a concept very similar to social housing. The Decree also stipulates a number of policies to create favorable conditions and investment incentives for enterprises participating in investment projects to build housing for sale and lease. The Decree clearly stipulates that apartments in high-rise apartment buildings must be given priority for sale and lease to subjects such as officials, workers, civil servants and students. Decision 123/2001/QD-UB with the emphasis on the ratio of 20% of residential land fund or 30% of housing fund. After Decree 71/2001/ND-CP, on December 6, 2001, Hanoi People's Committee issued Decision No. 123/2001/QD-UB stipulating principles on investment management and construction of new urban areas, renovation and repair of houses in Hanoi. The notable point in Decision 123 is the mandatory regulation that project investors

Building houses for sale after constructing technical infrastructure must reserve 20% of residential land fund or 30% of housing fund to supplement the city's housing fund (Article 8). The remaining area is allowed for business by the investor but must reserve 50% to sell to agencies in need of housing at regulated prices and only 50% is allowed to be sold at market price.

In the early 2000s, the model of apartment buildings and the trend of building urban areas flourished, but in the early period, this model was only suitable for high-income people. The 2003 Land Law also promptly had regulations on land for apartment building in Article 85. Price regulation of the economy has been and still is often taking place in the macro management of the economy, in which the State plays a particularly important role. With some special types of goods such as real estate, this will help stabilize the market, regulate supply and demand relations to achieve common goals of economic growth and development. This principle of Decision 123 has been further specified in Decision No. 87/2004/QD-UB on

promulgate temporary pilot regulations on management of housing purchase projects in housing development projects in Hanoi and Decision No. 76/2004/QD-UB of Hanoi People's Committee dated May 19, 2004 on promulgating regulations on management of investment implementation of projects to renovate and build housing areas and urban areas in Hanoi.

Decision No. 87/2004/QD-UB stipulates the principles, order and procedures for buying and selling houses in housing development projects in the City to specify Decision 123/2001/QD-UB. At that time, because the housing fund for regulation and support was not large, the City initially stipulated a temporary pilot method of buying and selling houses in installments, with a part of the responsibility of the employer towards the employee.

Most notable in this period is Decision No. 76/2004/QD-TTg of the Prime Minister, dated May 6, 2004, Approving the development orientation

housing by 2020 because this is the first document to appear the phrase "social housing". The phrase "social housing" is placed in the overall orientation on urban housing development. Accordingly, the State will build and develop the social housing fund through the policy of investing in building a housing fund for installment sale, lease-purchase and lease to policy beneficiaries who have difficulty in improving their housing. This is considered a solution to create conditions for policy households and disadvantaged families in urban areas to improve their living conditions. The concept of social housing seems to have appeared indirectly through the concept of “Housing Fund” mentioned in objective number 3 of this Decision: Promoting the development of housing funds for low-income people (including officials, civil servants, public employees, workers in industrial zones, students of universities, colleges, vocational high schools and other policy subjects) to buy or rent in accordance with the specific conditions of each subject. This can also be considered an inheritance of the Housing Fund viewpoint in previous documents.

3.1.2. Period from 2005 to 2014

The concept of social housing first officially appeared in the 2005 Housing Law. The Housing Law was issued to provide general regulations on housing ownership, development, management of use, transactions and state management of housing, with the aim of serving the needs of households and individuals. If in 2004, in Decision No. 76/2004/QD-TTg, the phrase "social housing" was considered to appear indirectly and as a result of inheritance in a number of previous documents, then in 2005, in the Housing Law, the concept of "social housing" was widely used, legalized in the document with the highest effect after the Constitution. During this period, the State had mechanisms and policies to develop social housing funds; encouraged organizations and individuals from all economic sectors, domestic and foreign, to invest in development; Exemption from land use fees and land rent for land for social housing construction, exemption and reduction

Related taxes (Article 45). Social housing belongs to 1 of 4 housing development methods, including:

- Commercial housing invested and developed by organizations and individuals for sale or lease;

- Individual houses built by households and individuals;

- Social housing invested in and built by the State or organizations and individuals for people in difficulty to rent or rent-purchase;

- Official housing invested in and built by the State to serve the mobilization and rotation of cadres and civil servants according to work requirements (Article 33).

Authorities at all levels have had many preferential policies for investors participating in the construction of social housing projects. The 2005 Housing Law stipulates that investors developing housing for low-income households will receive special incentives such as exemption from land tax and a lower tax rate, or even complete exemption compared to normal housing business, to encourage economic sectors to participate in the construction of social housing. Regarding the number of housing units and construction floor area, management units must provide preferential conditions to encourage investors to participate in the construction of social housing.

Investment capital for building social housing funds is formed from 5 sources (Article 52):

- Proceeds from the sale, lease and hire-purchase of state-owned housing;

- Deduct from 30% to 50% of land use fees of housing development projects in the area;

- State budget investment;

- Support money, voluntary contributions from domestic and foreign organizations and individuals;

- Money mobilized from other legal sources of capital according to regulations of