What is a reasonable rent for social housing?

Hanoi City is seeking opinions from ministries and branches on the rental price frame for social housing invested by private capital, according to which an apartment of about 55 square meters, in a building of 31 floors or more, has a rental price of 5.4 - 10.9 million VND/month.

Social rental housing needs to have suitable rental prices to accommodate the majority of low-income people who cannot afford to buy a house - Photo: NGUYEN KHÁNH

Many opinions say that the above social housing rental price is not suitable and needs to be recalculated so that the majority of low-income people can rent a house.

How are the rental prices in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi?

According to the draft that Hanoi City sent to ministries and branches for comments, the rental price frame for social housing invested by enterprises and cooperatives not using public investment capital, and trade union financial resources in the coming time will be calculated based on the number of floors of the building being built.

Specifically, social housing buildings with 10 floors or less have rental prices of 48,000 - 96,000 VND/ ^m2 /month, buildings with 11-20 floors have rental prices of 49,000 - 98,000 VND/ ^m2 /month.

Buildings with 21 - 30 floors have rental prices of 73,000 - 146,000 VND/ ^m2 /month, buildings with 31 floors or higher have rental prices of 99,000 - 198,000 VND/ ^m2 /month.

Previously, Ho Chi Minh City also issued a price frame for social housing rentals from VND96,000/ ^m2 /month to VND235,000/ ^m2 /month.

Thus, the social housing rental price frame issued in Ho Chi Minh City is higher than the draft social housing rental price frame that Hanoi City is about to issue.

According to Decree 100/2024 of the Government detailing a number of articles of the Housing Law on the development and management of social housing, the standard area for each social housing unit is at least ^25m2 and at most ^70m2 .

Thus, a social housing unit in Hanoi, in a building of 31 floors or more, with an average area of ^​​55m2 , meeting the housing needs of 3-4 people in a household, will have a rental price of 5.4 - 10.9 million VND/month.

In Ho Chi Minh City, the rental price of a ^55m2 social housing unit ranges from 5.3 to 12.9 million VND/month.

Should rent be limited to under 5 million VND/apartment/month?

Speaking with Tuoi Tre Online, many real estate experts said that it is necessary to encourage the development of social housing for rent to meet the needs of the majority of low-income people and workers working in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.

According to Mr. Nguyen Quoc Khanh - Vice President of Vietnam Real Estate Brokers Association, the rental price of social housing is currently set by Hanoi within a very large range, so the gap between the minimum rental price and the maximum rental price should be narrowed to the level of 99,000 - 150,000 VND/ ^m2 /month for buildings with 31 floors or more.

This is a reasonable rental price for social housing because the current rental price for warehouses and factories in industrial parks fluctuates at 4-5 USD/ ^m2 /month. "With housing prices, consumption is higher, construction costs are higher, so the price of 150,000 VND/ ^m2 /month (equivalent to about 6 USD/ ^m2 /month) is reasonable," Mr. Khanh added.

In addition, Mr. Khanh also said that the rent of a social housing unit of about 10 million VND/month is too much for most low-income families. Therefore, to be in harmony, if a family of 3-4 people with low income can choose to rent an apartment of about ^40m2 , the rent of about 5 million VND/month is reasonable.

Because the rental price also needs to be attractive enough, slightly higher than the cost of renting industrial factories so that private investors can participate in social housing projects.

Meanwhile, Mr. Le Hoang Chau - Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City Real Estate Association - said that the cost of renting social housing will be based on the project investment cost.

To save on investment costs for social housing construction, Mr. Chau recommends investing in social housing buildings for rent with a height of no more than 24 floors, equivalent to a level 2 building or lower, then the construction cost will be cheaper. If social housing is built 25 floors or higher, equivalent to a level 1 to special building, the investment cost will be very high, which will push up the rental price.

Mr. Chau also raised the issue of having reasonable social housing rental prices, localities should encourage businesses to build social housing with a height of less than 24 floors, in land locations at a suitable distance from the urban center, near public transport hubs to reduce land costs invested in the project. Thereby saving on construction investment costs, and offering reasonable rental prices for low-income people and industrial park workers.

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/gia-thue-nha-o-xa-hoi-bao-nhieu-la-hop-ly-20241028174049955.htm