Closer to a home

Among the many worries about making a living of urban workers, owning a home is a dream that is not easily realized. Therefore, when the Ministry of Construction proposed to amend and supplement a number of articles in Decree No. 100/2024/ND-CP on the development and management of social housing, many people followed with the hope that the door to a stable home would open wider.

The social housing project of Dai Thang Residential Area (Homie City) in Van Xuan ward provides housing opportunities for about 800 workers and low-income laborers. Photo TL

The first adjustment, which is also the easiest to create a social effect, is to loosen the income ceiling to qualify for buying or renting social housing. According to the draft, the maximum income will be raised to 20 million VND/month for individuals, 40 million VND/month for couples; single parents will be considered for up to 30 million VND/month.

This is a "timely" change, suitable for the current income level. In fact, many workers with an average income of about 15-20 million VND/month still have to live in cramped boarding houses, because they do not have enough money to buy commercial housing, nor are they "poor" enough to buy social housing.

This adjustment represents a change in the approach of policymakers. Instead of rigidly classifying people according to the criteria of "poor" or "rich", the draft aims to evaluate based on actual capacity and ability to pay. Hard-working workers with average but unstable incomes are the group that needs support to reach their dream of settling down.

A “bottleneck” that has been going on for years is the income verification procedure, especially for freelancers, small traders, traditional occupations or seasonal workers. The new draft proposes transferring the right to verify income conditions from the Commune People’s Committee to the Commune Police, based on the National Population Database.

If implemented properly, this mechanism would remove one of the biggest barriers, as people would no longer have to prove their circumstances with paper applications, but rely on digitized data. This is a fairer and more transparent approach.

Another highly appreciated adjustment is the reduction of interest rates for loans to buy and lease social housing from 6.6% to 5.4%/year, while applying preferential interest rates for borrowers to build or repair houses. In the context of increasingly escalating living costs and limited salaries, each percentage point reduction in interest rates opens another door for workers. This policy not only helps them afford to buy a house, but also helps them keep their house during the long-term repayment process.

It can be said that the proposals of the Ministry of Construction this time are humane and practical. Not simply amending a decree, this is also a step to adjust the approach to beneficiaries, putting people at the center and bringing policies closer to life. Because for urban workers, the biggest dream is to have a safe and sturdy roof, so that after a hard day's work, they can turn off the lights and sleep peacefully.

Source: https://baothainguyen.vn/tin-moi/202509/gan-hon-mot-mai-am-be1354e/