HCM CITY ­— Individuals who already own a home but live far from their workplace may now be considered for social housing benefits in HCM City, provided they belong to the eligible groups.

Bùi Xuân Cường, vice chairman of the HCM City People’s Committee, has signed off on Decision No. 17/2025/QĐ-UBND, which specifies cases in which people living far from their workplace can be considered for social housing in the city.

It applies to people living at least 14.5km away in wards (urban areas) or 20km away in communes (suburban areas) from their workplace, with a margin of 0.5km. The social housing project must be closer to the workplace than their house.

The decision mostly leaves out homeowners in Côn Đảo Special Zone, except where the average living space per person is less than 15sq.m.

The distances will be based on the shortest road or waterway route in the city’s digital map app.

The Department of Construction has been tasked with coordinating relevant agencies and local authorities to guide, monitor and report on the implementation of the regulation.

Social housing project developers are required to process applications in accordance with the rules.

The decision will be in effect between October 1, 2025, and May 31, 2030.

Existing regulations make only certain categories of people eligible to buy social housing, including poor and near-poor urban dwellers, industrial workers, public employees, members of the armed forces, people who rendered meritorious service to the country, individuals returning public housing, students, and people whose lands are acquired for public purposes without being resettled. 

Applicants must also earn no more than VNĐ15 million (about US$570) per month, and VNĐ30 million in the case of couples.

The People’s Committee has tasked the Department of Construction with ensuring the city meets its 2025 social housing development targets and achieves 100,000 units by 2030.

The department is responsible for overseeing development.

By 2030 HCM City plans to allocate 1,400 hectares of land for social housing projects.

The former HCM City had completed five social housing projects with over 2,300 units and part of a worker accommodation project comprising 368 dwelling units. 

Between 2026 and 2030 the city aims to provide between 9,400 and 28,000 social housing units annually. 

Authorities are also reviewing land availability for concentrated social housing development to update the city’s master plan while continuing to enforce land allocation requirements within commercial housing projects. ­— VNS