ELIGIBLE SUBJECTS AND CONDITIONS FOR PURCHASING SOCIAL HOUSING

I. Eligible subjects for purchasing social housing

Article 76 of the Law on Housing stipulates the subjects entitled to social housing support policies as follows:

1. Persons who have rendered meritorious services to the revolution, and relatives of martyrs who are eligible for housing improvement support in accordance with the Ordinance on Preferential Treatment for Persons with Meritorious Services to the Revolution.

2. Poor and near-poor households in rural areas.

3. Poor and near-poor households in rural areas that are frequently affected by natural disasters and climate change.

4. Poor and near-poor households in urban areas.

5. Low-income persons in urban areas.

6. Workers and employees working at enterprises, cooperatives, and cooperative unions inside and outside industrial parks.

7. Officers, professional soldiers, non-commissioned officers of the People’s Armed Forces; police workers; defense civil servants, workers and public employees currently on active duty; persons engaged in cryptographic work and other work in cryptographic organizations receiving salaries from the state budget and currently working.

8. Cadres, civil servants, and public employees in accordance with the law on cadres, civil servants, and public employees.

9. Subjects who have returned official-duty housing in accordance with Clause 4 Article 125 of this Law, except for cases where official-duty housing is recovered due to violations of this Law.

10. Households and individuals whose land is recovered and whose houses must be cleared and demolished in accordance with the law but who have not yet been compensated by the State with housing or residential land.

11. Pupils and students of universities, academies, universities, colleges, vocational education institutions, specialized schools as prescribed by law; pupils of public ethnic boarding schools.

12. Enterprises, cooperatives, and cooperative unions in industrial parks.

II. Conditions for purchasing social housing

Article 78 of the Law on Housing stipulates the conditions for eligibility for social housing support policies as follows:

Subjects specified in Clauses 1, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10 Article 76 of this Law, when purchasing or leasing-purchasing social housing, must fully satisfy the following conditions:

1. Housing conditions:

Subjects specified in Clauses 1, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10 Article 76 of this Law, in order to purchase or lease-purchase social housing, must:

• Not own any housing in the province or centrally governed city where the social housing construction investment project is located;

• Have not purchased or lease-purchased social housing;

• Have not benefited from housing support policies in any form in the province or centrally governed city where the social housing construction investment project is located, or have housing under their ownership in such province or centrally governed city but with an average housing area per capita lower than the minimum housing area standard;

• In cases falling under the subjects specified at Points b, c, d, dd, e, and g Clause 1 Article 45 of this Law, must not be residing in official-duty housing.

Article 29 of Decree No. 100/2024/ND-CP detailing a number of articles of the Law on Housing regarding the development and management of social housing provides the following guidance:

• The case of not owning housing shall be determined when the subject specified in Clause 1 Article 77 of the Law on Housing and his/her spouse (if any) do not have their names on the Certificate of land use rights and ownership of houses and other assets attached to land in the province or centrally governed city where the social housing project is located at the time of submitting the application dossier for purchase or lease-purchase of social housing.

• The case where the subject specified in Clause 1 Article 77 of the Law on Housing owns housing but the average housing floor area per capita is less than 15 m²/person. The average housing floor area per capita specified in this Clause shall be determined based on including: the applicant, his/her spouse, parents (if any), and children (if any) who are registered for permanent residence at that house.

2. Income conditions:

Subjects specified in Clauses 5, 6, 7, and 8 Article 76 of this Law, in order to purchase or lease-purchase social housing, must satisfy income conditions in accordance with Government regulations; subjects specified in Clause 4 Article 76 of this Law must fall under poor or near-poor households as prescribed by the Government.

Clause 2 of Decree No. 261/2025/ND-CP provides detailed guidance for subjects specified in Clauses 5, 6, and 8 Article 76 of the Law on Housing, requiring the following income conditions:

• Where the applicant is unmarried or certified as single, the average actual monthly income received shall not exceed VND 20 million, calculated based on the payroll or salary table certified by the agency, unit, or enterprise where the subject is working.

Where the applicant is unmarried or certified as single and is raising a minor child, the average actual monthly income received shall not exceed VND 30 million, calculated based on the payroll or salary table certified by the agency, unit, or enterprise where the subject is working.

• Where the applicant is married in accordance with the law, the total average actual monthly income received by the applicant and his/her spouse shall not exceed VND 40 million, calculated based on the payroll or salary table certified by the agency, unit, or enterprise where the subject is working.

• The period for determining income conditions specified at Points a and b of this Clause shall be 12 consecutive months, counted from the time the competent authority carries out the certification.

• Based on conditions and income levels of each area, housing incentive policies for cadres, civil servants, and public employees, and the number of dependents as prescribed by law, the provincial People’s Committee shall decide the adjustment coefficient for the income levels specified at Points a and b of this Clause, but not exceeding the ratio between the local average per capita income and the national average per capita income; and shall decide policies to encourage access to social housing for subjects entitled to social housing support policies who have three (03) or more dependents in the same household.

In addition:

• Subjects specified in Clauses 1, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, and 11 Article 76 of this Law, if leasing social housing, are not required to satisfy the housing and income conditions specified in Clause 1 of this Article.

• Where subjects specified in Clauses 2 and 3 Article 76 of this Law are allowed to purchase or lease-purchase social housing in accordance with Clause 1 Article 77 of this Law, they must fully satisfy the following conditions: the housing condition specified at Point a Clause 1 of this Article, not having benefited from housing support policies specified in Clause 3 Article 77 of this Law, and belonging to poor or near-poor households as prescribed by the Government.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice for any specific case. Should you require legal consultation, please contact us directly for assistance from a lawyer.

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