Loan is not enough to buy social housing
On the afternoon of May 11, Chairman of Ho Chi Minh City Phan Van Mai attended the program "Thank you to workers" - city leaders met with cadres, union members, and exemplary workers on the occasion of the 16th Workers' Month in 2024. The program was organized by the City Labor Federation.
According to the Labor Federation, this is an opportunity for workers to express their determination to continue contributing positively to the development of the city and the country; at the same time, to raise their aspirations to the city's leaders regarding policies and regimes related to employment and the lives of workers and civil servants.
Speaking at the meeting, Mr. Tran Anh Kiet, Chairman of the Hitachi Company Union, proposed that the city should survey the minimum living standards; job market; social housing policy, land fund for social housing, kindergartens, schools, cultural activities for workers, etc.
Ms. Vo Thi Hai (worker at Vinaco joint venture enterprise, District 10) expressed concern that social housing is sold at a lower price than commercial housing, loans are up to 80%, interest rates are 4-5%... but workers have difficulty accessing it because there is no information about housing sources and loan sources.
Agreeing with the above opinion, Mr. Nguyen Van Tham (worker at Duy Tan Plastic Company) expressed that workers' savings are low, prices are high, and they want social housing but cannot find affordable prices.
Mr. Pham Quang Thang (Center for Research and Development of High-Tech Agriculture) said that the city has a maximum home loan policy of 900 million VND, this amount of money cannot buy social housing.
In response to the above opinions, Mr. Truong Hoang Phong (of Coop Thang Loi) suggested that the city should allocate land funds to businesses to build their own houses to support workers.
Mr. Nguyen Tran Dang Minh (District 10 Public Service Company) sadly said, workers hear a lot about social housing but can't find it anywhere. They only hear information on TV and newspapers but don't know where to buy, how to borrow, or what support they get.
“Every year, the state company considers a few disadvantaged people to be given priority to buy a house, but I really don’t know where to buy one. My wife and I earn about 15-16 million VND, with a surplus of 2-3 million VND per month. If we borrow, how will we pay it back? Where will we get the money to contribute?”, Mr. Minh wondered.
Interest rate support for workers borrowing from banks to buy houses
Talking to workers, Chairman of Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee Phan Van Mai thanked the workforce for their commitment, companionship, and contribution to building the city to become more and more developed.
According to Mr. Mai, the opinions of the workers were divided into groups of jobs, wages, and working conditions. In particular, most of them expressed their opinions on the issue of housing for workers and social housing. Among them, some people said that the issue of social housing was only heard on TV.
Mr. Mai admitted that social housing projects are very few, due to problems with planning, land, and even profitability... so investment from businesses is not much.
To solve the problem, the city government leader summarized three issues.
First, boarding houses are the most practical issue for workers. The city requires boarding house owners to follow certain standards to have decent accommodation. To support, the city lends money to boarding house owners to build, repair, and ensure safe accommodation. It also supports electricity, water, and living expenses related to boarding houses.
"Although the city is interested in and implementing these policies, they have not met the needs of workers," said Mr. Mai.
Second, the city will focus on developing rental housing at reasonable costs, where single people can live together; families can live in apartments of moderate size and reasonable prices. “The city will discuss with the Labor Federation and the Department of Construction to soon implement this project,” Mr. Mai pledged.
Third, regarding social housing, the city has a plan to build 35,000 units by 2025. However, up to this point, Mr. Mai admitted that the implementation has been very modest.
According to Mr. Mai, the Prime Minister assigned the city to build at least 26,200 apartments. The city strives to at least meet the Prime Minister's target by next year. Of these, many projects have already determined their locations.
“After this meeting, the city authorities will fully inform the Labor Federation, to inform the workers,” Mr. Mai informed.
According to Mr. Mai, although it is called social housing, not everyone can access it because the conditions are very strict. Therefore, the city will have to diversify its supply of boarding houses, rental houses, social housing... to have decent accommodation for workers.
Regarding the reflection that borrowing money is not enough to buy social housing, according to Mr. Mai, the loan capital is also modest. With the regulation of borrowing from 900 million to 1 billion VND, the city can only provide about 1,000 billion VND, meeting the needs of about 1,000 borrowers.
“If you borrow money, you have to pay it back. If workers borrow money from banks, the city will support the interest rate. With this policy, more people will have access to social housing. For example, if the city has 1,000 billion VND in loans, it can use the interest rate support to help tens of thousands of people buy houses,” said Mr. Mai.
The head of the city government also said that the government also has many programs to support workers in education policies; health care... Workers will have their health checked twice a year. In addition, the city also monitors quality kitchens, ensuring food safety for workers.
Mr. Mai also said that the city always requires businesses and agencies to pay salaries and bonuses to employees without delay.
Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/chu-tich-tp-hcm-tra-loi-y-kien-cua-cong-nhan-nha-o-xa-hoi-chi-nghe-tren-tivi-2279845.html
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