Thông tư 08/2014/TT-BXD

CIRCULAR

INSTRUCTIONS ON A NUMBER OF ARTICLES OF THE GOVERNMENT’S DECREE No. 188/2013/ND-CP DATED NOVEMBER 20, 2013 ON DEVELOPMENT MANAGEMENT OF SOCIAL HOUSING

Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. 62/20013/ND dated June 25 defining the functions, tasks, entitlements and organizational structure of the Ministry of Construction;

Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. 188/2013/ND-CP;

At the request of general director of the Management Agency for Housing and Real Estate Market

The Minister of Construction promulgates the Circular providing instructions on the implementation of the Decree No. 188/2013/ND-CP

Chapter I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Governing scope

1. This Circular provides instructions on a number of articles of the Decree No. 188/2013/ND-CP dated November 20, 2013 on development and management of social housing (hereinafter referred to as ‘the Decree No. 188/2013/ND-CP) such as design standards; sequence, procedures and applications for approval for social housing projects; investors to social housing projects; sequence, procedures for sale, lease, lease purchase of social housing; contracts for sale, lease, lease purchase of social housing; management and operation of social housing in the form of construction investment projects; quality control, operation and use of social housing invested by households and individuals.2. Specific regulations on preferential mechanisms concerning financial policies, taxes (exemption, reduction in land rents, value-added taxes, enterprise income tax and other taxes as prescribed) applicable to social housing projects and social housing invested by households and individuals; provision of concessional loans to investors of social housing development projects and households and individuals involved in investment and construction of social housing shall be instructed by competent state agencies.

3. Use, sale, lease and lease purchase of state-owned social housing is not subject to this Circular.

Article 2. Regulated entities

This Circular applies to organizations, households, individuals and state administration agencies in connection with social housing as prescribed in Article 2 of the Decree No. 188/2013/ND-CP  

Article 3. Principles of development, management and operation of social housing

1. Development of social housing must be in compliance with construction planning approved by competent agencies, standards and regulations promulgated by competent agencies; ensuring consistency of technical infrastructure and social housing; social housing must be placed under tight control during using and operation to ensure safety, security and environmental hygiene.

2. In case the investor of commercial housing and new urban area projects is required to set aside 20% of the total land area for the construction of social housing but the investor has no such demand and transfers the portion of land for social housing to People’s Committees of provinces where the project is situated, a new investor shall be selected in accordance with Clauses 2, 3, Article 9 of the Decree No. 188/2013/ND-CP ensuring the land used for the construction of social housing is in accordance with the planning approved by competent agencies.

3. Management and operation of social housing shall be directly undertaken by the investor or assigned to functional organizations according to applicable regulations on housing or this Circular.

4. Buyers, tenants, tenant-buyers, apart from liabilities for payments of house purchase price, rents, lease purchase price, shall pay costs of management and operation as prescribed in Article 27 hereof.

5. With regard to the land portion used for commercial purposes as prescribed in Point I, Clause 1, Article 12 of the Decree No. 188/2013/ND-CP (defined in social housing development projects approved by competent authorities), the investor or the Managing Unit may sell, lease out or lease purchase it according to market price to offset the project's investment costs.

In case the investor sets aside 20% of the total land area allocated for social housing development project to invest in commercial constructions such as commercial housing, the design standards for commercial housing shall apply as prescribed in applicable regulations on housing..

Chapter II

REGULATIONS ON DEVELOPMENT OF SOCIAL HOUSING

Section I. DEVELOPMENT OF SOCIAL HOUSING PROJECT

Article 4. Design standards

1. As the project is invested by part or whole of state capital in urban areas (state capital accounting for at least 30% of the project’s total investment capital not including land rents and infrastructural expenses), the design standards shall apply as prescribed in Clauses 1, 2 and 4, Article 47 of the Law on Housing. In other areas other than urban areas, construction of individual houses may be implemented with area for each house not exceeding 70 m2, land use coefficient not exceeding 2.0 and conforming with the planning approved by state administration agencies.

2. In case the project is invested by sources other than state capital (herein referred to as ‘non-state invested social housing project’), following provisions shall apply:

Design standards should meet provisions as set out in Point b, Clause 1, Article 7 of the Decree No. 188/2013/ND-CP;

b) If the project is an apartment house, the design standards for apartments shall be defined on the basis of usable area (carpet area)  

c) If the project is low-rise adjacent houses, approval of president of the People’s Committees of provinces shall be required. If the project is developed in urban of special, first and second classes, People’s Committees of provinces shall be responsible for collecting suggestions from the Ministry of Construction before giving approval for development of low-rise adjacent houses. Within 15 working days since receipt of written requests for suggestions, the Ministry of Construction shall be responsible for giving the answer.

Low-rise adjacent houses should ensure that area and land use coefficient of each house is not exceeding 70m2 and 2.0 respectively and conforming with the planning as approved.

3. The non-state invested social housing project’s investors shall be set aside a portion of land of the project or the housing floor area for development of commercial constructions (including commercial housing) as follows:  

Be set aside 20% of total land area within the project for commercial constructions (including high-rise and low-rise housing) in order to offset investment costs, sale price, rents, lease purchase price and social housing management and operation costs after investment.

b) If the project is not arranged for development of commercial constructions as stated in the approved planning, the investor may use 20% of the housing floor area of the project to sell, lease out, lease purchase according to market price.

c) Such commercial portion of land shall be recorded in the entire social housing project to ensure profit levels as prescribed. The recording for determination of sale price, rents, lease-purchase price is instructed in Article 18 hereof.

d) Apart from the commercial areas as prescribed in Point c, this Clause, the investor shall allocate a portion of land for common activities of households within the project (community activity area, parking lots and other essential infrastructures). This area shall be defined on the basis of applicable regulations and standards, planning – architecture plans approved by competent authorities.

Article 5. Sequence, procedures for selection of investor

1. Selection of the investor should follow principles as prescribed in Article 9 of the Decree No. 188/2013/ND-CP  

2. If the project is invested by at least 30% of the state capital (not including land rents and infrastructural expenses), the selection of the investor is instructed in Clause 2, Article 9 of the Decree No. 188/2013/ND-CP  

3. Investors to non-state invested projects.

a) The investor of commercial housing, new urban area project and also the social housing project on a portion of land (20% of the total land area) set aside for social housing project.

b) If the investor of commercial housing and new urban area project has no demand for development of the social housing project and transfers this portion of land to People’s Committees of provinces, the selection of a new investor shall be organized through a bidding process as decided by People's Committees of provinces. The bidding to select the investor shall be carried out as follows:

- If only one investor participates, such investor shall be reviewed and selected as the investor of the social housing project. The investor to be selected must meet requirements for experience and owner’s capital according to laws on investment and real-estate business.

- If from two investors and over participate, the selection shall be based on following criteria:

+ Experience, financial resources (higher proportion of owner’s capital);

+ Lower sale price, rents, lease purchase price;

+ Better quality and progress;

- People’s Committees of provinces shall be responsible for enacting specific regulations on the bidding process throughout the administrative division in conformity with particular conditions of each locality.

- If a state corporation that has function and experience in housing business is assigned as investor of the social housing development project of large scale as prescribed in Clause 4, Article 23 of the Decree No. 188/2013/ND-CP (land area from 50 ha or 2,500 houses and over), the Ministry of Construction shall exchange and agree with People’s Committees of provinces where the project is situated before official appointment.

c) If the investor who has its own land (has title to it) needs to invest in social housing according to the planning approved by competent agencies, such investor shall be eligible for being the investor of the project but must meet requirements for experience and owner’s capital according to laws on investment and real-estate business.

d) If the land that is currently used for national defense and security purposes is transformed into social housing purposes, the selection of investor shall be within competence of the Ministry of National Defense or the Ministry of Public Security.   

4. Since the Decree No. 188/2013/ND-CP takes effect, the investor selected as the investor for commercial housing and new urban area project shall be responsible for allocating the portion of land (20%) set aside for social housing development as prescribed in Clause 2, Article 6 of the Decree No. 188/2013/ND-CP

In case the investor for commercial housing and new urban area project has been selected before the effective date of the Decree No. 188/2013/ND-CP but the portion of land (20%) set aside for social housing development not yet allocated is expropriated by the state as prescribed for transfer to a new investor, the new investor shall be responsible for formulating and submitting the planning (with adjustments made to 20% land portion) to competent agencies for approval or transfer the housing fund or an amount of money equivalent to such 20% land portion (set aside for social housing) as prescribed in Clause 2,Article 6 of the Decree No. 188/2013/ND-CP

Article 6. Sequence, procedures for verification and approval for state-capital invested-social housing project

1. For local budget-invested projects, the verification and approval shall be carried out as follows:

For projects under 20 ha and 2,500 houses, the investor must submit two sets of application to the Service of Construction where the project is situated for verification and approval as prescribed in Clause 2 of this Article;  

b) The application includes:

- A written statement to president of the People’s Committees of provinces (for projects within competence of the People’s Committees of provinces) or to president of the People’s Committees of districts (for projects within competence of the People’s Committees of districts) for verification and approval according to forms as prescribed in Annex 01 enclosed herewith;

- Documentation of social housing development project should be formulated in accordance with laws on housing and applicable regulations on construction in which information as prescribed in Clause 4, Article 11 of the Decree No. 188/2013/ND-CP should be specified;

- The Document delivered to the investor by competent agencies (copy);

-  Copy of the decision on approval for the 1/500 scale planning and 1/500 scale drawings (or general layout drawings approved by competent agencies according to the law on planning in case 1/500 scale planning and 1/500 scale drawings are not required)

c) The Service of Construction or departments having district-level housing management function shall be responsible for receiving applications and providing instructions to investors on completion of applications.

Upon receipt of the applications, the Service of Construction or departments having district-level housing management function shall preside over verification and collection of suggestions from following agencies: Natural resources and environment, finance, planning and investment and other relevant agencies (if necessary); Department of Architecture – Planning and People’s Committees of districts where the project is situated in case of province-level projects. Within 10 days since receipt of written requests from the Service of Construction or departments, these agencies shall be responsible for providing suggestions. After receipt of suggestions from relevant agencies, the Service of Construction or departments shall formulate a written statement according to forms as prescribed in Annex 02 enclosed herewith and make a report to the People's committees of the same level for granting approval for the project.

If the Service of Construction is assigned as the investor, the Service of Construction shall be responsible for formulating the project (or appointing affiliates to do so), and collecting suggestions from relevant agencies as prescribed in this Clause and submitting the statement to president of the People’s Committees of provinces for granting approval as prescribed in Annex 3 enclosed herewith.

d) Based on the statement from the Service of Construction (in case of provincial level) or departments having district-level housing management function (in case of district level) and suggestions from relevant agencies, president of the People’s Committees of provinces or districts shall issue the decision on granting approval for the project according to forms in Annex 4 enclosed herewith..

dd) For projects less than 20 ha and more than 2,500 houses and projects between 20 ha and less than 100 ha, apart from provisions as set out in Points a, b, c and d of this Clause, the Service of Construction shall collect suggestions from the Ministry of Construction before making submission to the People’s Committees of provinces for consideration and approval.

e) Time of verification and approval for state budget-invested social housing projects is instructed in the law on construction investment.

2. For central budget-invested projects, the investor should submit two sets of application in person to the Ministry of Construction for verification before making submission to the Prime Minister for approval.

The application includes:

- A written statement according to forms in Annex 5 enclosed herewith;

- The Document delivered to the investor by competent agencies (copy);

- Copy of the decision on approval for the 1/500 scale planning and 1/500 scale drawings (or general layout drawings approved by competent agencies according to the law on planning in case 1/500 scale planning and 1/500 scale drawings are not required).Within seven working days since receipt of applications from the investor, the Ministry of Construction shall deliver a written notice accompanied by the application to relevant ministries, departments (natural resources and environment, planning and investment and finance) for suggestions. Within 10 working days since receipt of suggestions from relevant ministries, departments, the Ministry of Construction shall carry out verification and make a written statement to the Prime Minister for approval.

Upon receipt of approval of the Prime Minister, the investor shall formulate and submit the project to persons who have authority to decide on investment (herein ‘competent person’) for verification and approval according to the law on housing and the law on construction investment.

3. If the investor needs to make any adjustments to the investment objectives, usable land areas, number of houses, project progress…after the project has been approved, the investor should make a written statement accompanied by project documentation that has been adjusted and supplemented to competent agencies for approval.

Article 7. Sequence, procedures for approval for non-state invested social housing projects

1. Sequence, procedures for approval for non-state invested social housing projects less than 100 ha:

In case of selection of investors without a bidding process:

- The investor shall submit two sets of application for approval in person to the Service of Construction: The application includes:

+ A written statement according to forms in Annex 6 enclosed herewith;

+ A written recognition of the investor by the People’s Committees of provinces according to forms in Annex 7 enclosed herewith;

+ Certificates of real-estate business registration or certificates of investment, documents proving experience and owner’s capital according to the law on investment and the law on real-estate business;

+ Decision on approval for 1/2000 scale planning and 1/2000 scale drawings approved by competent agencies. If the 1/2000 scale planning is not available but the decision on approval for the 1/500 scale planning, submit the decision on approval for such planning and 1/500 scale drawings.  

- The Service of Construction shall be responsible for receiving applications and providing instructions to the investor on completion of applications.

After receipt of applications, the Service of Construction shall be responsible for presiding over verification and collection of suggestions from relevant agencies and from the Ministry of Construction (for projects between 20 ha and less than 100 ha and projects less than 20 ha and from 2,500 houses and over) and other relevant agencies (if necessary) within the period as prescribed in Clause 4 of this Article. After receipt of suggestions from relevant agencies, the agency presiding over the verification shall make a written statement according to forms in Annex 8 enclosed herewith to the People’s Committees of the same level for approval;

- Based on the Service of Construction's statement accompanied by the investor's applications for approval, suggestions from the Ministry of Construction and relevant agencies; based on provisions set out in Clause 4, Article 11 of the Decree No. 188/2013/ND-CP the People’s Committees of provinces shall issue the approval according to forms in Annex 9 enclosed herewith..

- After receipt of approval from competent agencies, the investor shall carry out formulation and submission of the 1/500 scale planning (only for areas with scale 1/2000 planning approved) to competent agencies for approval and then carry out formulation, verification and approval for the housing development project as prescribed. If the area has had 1/500 scale planning approved or general layout drawings approved by competent agencies (in case 1/500 scale planning is not required), the investor shall carry out formulation, verification and approval for the project as prescribed;

b) In case of selection of investors through a bidding process:

- For projects less than 20 ha and less than 2,500 houses:

The People’s Committees of provinces shall select the investor according to Point b, Clause 3, Article 5 hereof and specify information about acceptance of investment in its’ decision on selection of the investor as prescribed in Clause 4, Article 11 of the Decree No. 188/2013/ND-CP and this decision shall supersede the written approval for investment.

- For projects between 20 ha and less than 100 ha and projects less than 20 ha but from 2,500 houses and over:

Before issue of invitation for bids (IFB), the People’s Committees of provinces shall direct the Service of Construction to collect suggestions from the Ministry of Construction as prescribed in Point b, Clause 1, Article 11 of the Decree No. 188/2013/ND-CP The written request for suggestions from the Ministry of Construction includes:

+ Written request from the People’s Committees of provinces to the Ministry of Construction for suggestions;

+ Copy of the decision on approval for 1/2000 scale planning and 1/2000 scale drawings approved by competent agencies;

After receipt of suggestions from the Ministry of Construction, the Service of Construction shall issue invitation for bid and make a report to the People’s Committees of provinces for organization of bidding as prescribed.

The entity assigned as the investor shall formulate and submit the 1/500 scale planning (or to competent agencies for verification and approval and then conduct verification and approval for the project as prescribed. In case the 1/500 scale planning is not available, submit the general layout drawing approved by competent agencies.  

2. Sequence and procedures for applying for approval on non-state invested social housing projects more than 100 ha are instructed as follows:

a) In case of selection of investors without a bidding process:

- The investor shall submit two sets of applications to the Ministry of Construction for consideration and submission to the Prime Minister for approval.

The application includes: A written statement submitted to the Prime Minister according to forms in Annex 10 enclosed herewith; copy of documents (written recognition of the investor by competent agencies; certificates of real-estate business registration or investment certificates, legal capital, owner’s capital as prescribed; decision on approval on 1/2000 scale planning and 1/2000 scale drawings by competent agencies);

- Based on the application, the Ministry of Construction shall verify and issue requests (accompanied by the application) to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Planning and Investment, the State bank of Vietnam and the People’s Committees of provinces where the project sits for suggestions on a number of issues in connection with the planning, land-use planning, investor’s qualifications, investment capital and issues concerning responsibility for state administration of ministries and departments before making the submission to the Prime Minister. Time to collect suggestions as prescribed in this Point is 20 working days at the maximum since receipt of written request (accompanied by the application).

- Based on suggestions from relevant ministries and department, the Ministry of Construction shall make a report to the Prime Minister. The report submitted to the Prime Minister include: A written statement submitted to the Prime Minister by the Ministry of Construction for approval in which the issues as set out in Clause 4, Article 11 of the Decree No. 188/2013/ND-CP should be specified; the investor’s application and copy of suggestions from relevant ministries, departments to the Prime Minister for review and decision.

- After receipt of approval from the Prime Minister, the Ministry of Construction shall issue a written notice (accompanied by the Prime Minister’s written approval) to the investor for formulation and submission of the 1/500 scale planning to competent agencies for verification and approval.

b) In case of selection of investors through a bidding process:

- Before issue of invitation for bid, the People’s Committees of provinces should make a request to the Ministry of Construction for verification. Before carrying out verification, the Ministry of Construction should make a request for suggestions from relevant ministries and departments including Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, Ministry of Planning and Investment, Ministry of Finance, the State Bank of Vietnam). After receipt of result of verification by the Ministry of Construction, the People’s Committees of provinces shall issue a written statement to the Prime Minister for approval for the project (according to forms in Annex 11 enclosed herewith), accompanied by the Ministry of Construction’s verification results.

- After the Prime Minister's approval is issued, the People’s Committees of provinces shall direct the Service of Construction to issue invitation for bids as prescribed in Point b, Clause 3, Article 5 hereof. Process and manner of bidding to select social housing project investors is instructed the same as bidding to select investors of other land using projects;

- The entity assigned as the investor shall formulate and submit the 1/500 scale planning to competent agencies for verification and approval and then conduct verification and approval for the project as prescribed.

3. If the investor needs to make any adjustments to the project after the project has been approved, the investor should make a written statement accompanied by the project documentation that has been adjusted and supplemented to competent agencies for approval.  For projects more than 100 ha, the investor should make a written statement accompanied by approved project document to the Ministry of Construction for verification before submission to the Prime Minister for review and approval for such adjustments.

4. Time for competent agencies to grant approval for adjustments to the project is a maximum of 45 working days since receipt of the investor’s written requests.

5. Number of sets of applications to be submitted by the investor to competent agencies for verification and submission for approval is two.

6. The People’s Committees of provinces and local functional agencies should rely on the Decree No. 188/2013/ND-CP and provisions set out hereof to grant approval for investment. For projects by investors at home (domestic investors), Investment certificate is not required.

7. The Service of Construction shall be responsible for establishing a database about the number of social housing projects; number, type of social houses of each project; number and type of buyers, tenants, tenant-buyers across the administrative division for compilation and making irregular and regular reports to the People’s Committees of provinces and the Ministry of Construction as requested.

Section II. DEVELOPMENT OF SOCIAL HOUSING INVESTED BY HOUSEHOLDS AND INDIVIDUALS

Article 8. Minimum conditions for a room

Each room of a social house invested by households and individuals for sale, lease, lease purchase must meet following minimum conditions:

1. Usable area should be at least 9m2; minimum width of carpet area of the room at least 2.40m; clearance height at the lowest point at least 2.70m.

2. Rooms should have doors, windows to ensure ventilation and natural lighting. Area of lighting window at least 1/10 of room area. Width of doors from 0.75m and over. Doors and windows should have locks and bars to ensure safety and security;  

3. Rooms should be well lit (illuminance at least 100 lux); ensure each person at least one socket; each room a circuit breaker.

5. Average area for each person should be at least 4.5m2 (not including area of secondary works).

Article 9. Minimum conditions for a house for sale, lease purchase

Social housing constructed by households and individuals for sale, lease and lease purchase should conforms with following provisions in addition to provisions set out in Article 8 hereof:

1. In case social housing is constructed from two stories and over with each story accommodating at least two rooms designed in a closed way (rooms, kitchen area, toilets and bathroom separately arranged), minimum area of each room should be 30m2 and meets applicable standards, regulations on construction;

2. Structure should be firm and resistant to winds, storms; each room should be arranged with separate doors and windows;

3. Floors should be paved with bricks or cement. Floor level should be at least 0.3 higher than house walkway level and at least 0.15m higher than yard level;

4. Materials of walls between rooms should be durable and strong to ensure fire safety, insulation and penetration control; inner surface of walls if constructed of bricks should be made flat with plaster, white-washed or painted;

5. Roof should not be made of inflammable materials and should ensure no penetration.

6. Electrical wires should meet safety as prescribed; outdoor lights are required to ensure enough illuminance for traveling.

7. Ensure at least 75L of clean water /person/day & night. If drilled wells are used, ensure a filter tank is installed to ensure standards of water as prescribed;

8. Ensure a draining pipeline is installed to connect to the common drainage system in the area; ditches, drains should have covers;

9. Ensure availability of water container used for fire fighting and other fire equipment as prescribed;

10. Each room should have its own space for cooking, washing and hanging the washing.

In case of low-rise adjacent social housing constructed for sale or lease purchase, a separate toilet is required.

If it is constructed for lease, a common toilet area may be exploited but ensure availability of an separate area (including toilets, baths) for male and female. Each toilet area serves a maximum of 8 persons. Effluent from toilets should be directed through a properly installed septic tank.

Article 10. Minimum conditions for land sites

1. Land site used for construction of social housing by households and individuals for sale, lease and lease purchase should not be in the area prohibited from construction; not violate protection corridors for traffic, irrigation, dyke, energy, historical and cultural remain works according to laws; not be in the area running the risk of landslide, inundation, floods, facing industrial waste-induced pollution, landfills, cemeteries; not invade public land and ensure no disputes on land.

2. Construction layout for houses and other work items in the land site should ensure favorable conditions for traffic, environmental hygiene and dealing with problems such as fire, explosion and collapses….

3. Density of construction, width of traffic roads and minimum distance between rows of houses should conform with applicable construction regulations.

4. Ensure availability of a green area or an empty area at least 1.0m2/person;  

Article 11. Responsibility of households and individuals as investors to social housing projects for sale, lease or lease purchase

1. Obtain construction license (for areas required of licenses)  

2. For areas exempted from construction licenses, intended for at least 10 houses or at least 50 persons, or occupying more than 200m2 as construction area, households and individuals should submit a general layout drawing meeting requirements as prescribed in Articles 9, 10 and Clause 1, Article 11 hereof, and at the same time obtain written approval from People’s Committees of communes and wards;

3. Comply with regulations on survey, design, construction work and quality control for individual houses as prescribed in the law on housing and construction;

4. Perform maintenance and repair during the operation and use of houses according to the law on housing;

Chapter III

MANAGEMENT OF SALE, LEASE, LEASE PURCHASE, AND USE OF SOCIAL HOUSING

Article 12. Entities as buyers, tenants and tenant-buyers of social houses

1. Entities as buyers, tenants and tenant-buyers of social houses include:

a) Persons that have contributed to the Revolution as prescribed in Points a, b, c, d, dd, e, g, h, I, k, l and m, Clause 2, Article 16 of the Government’s Decree No. 34/2013/ND-CP dated April 22, 2013 on management and use of state-owned houses;

b) Officials and civil servants working in public non-business units, agencies affiliated to the Communist Party and unions receiving salaries from the state budget and those who work on a contract basis within payroll of these agencies.

c) Officers, professional servicemen (including officers, non-commissioned officers and enlisted members) belonging to people’s armed forces receiving salaries from the state budget; persons (other than servicemen) engaged in cipher work entitled to the same benefit policies as servicemen according to the law on cipher;

d) Workers, laborers of all economic sectors working in small and medium-sized industrial zones, industrial zone complexes, economic zones, export processing zones, hi-tech zones, industrial and handicraft production and service facilities (including exploitation and processing facilities) of all branches;

d) Persons belonging to poor households in urban areas within poverty line as stipulated by the Prime Minister.

e) Social security beneficiaries; old-aged persons living in solitude and helplessness in urban areas;

g) Persons who have returned official houses after granted lease term of these official houses is done;

h) Households and individuals subject to relocation who are yet to be provided with lands or resettlement houses;

i) Low-incomers working in non-business administrative agencies, agencies affiliated to the Communist Party, unions or public non-business units other than those as prescribed in Points b and c of this Clause; non-public non-business units; enterprises of all economic sectors; cooperatives that are established and operate in accordance with laws (other than those as prescribed in Points a, d and g of this Clause) or persons living on a pension, free workers as prescribed in Points a, dd, e and h of this Clause) who are not subject to paying regular income taxes according to the law on personal income tax.

In case of households, taxable income level shall apply to all members of the household and the way of calculation is instructed by the Ministry of Finance;

2. A household shall be eligible for purchasing, leasing or lease purchasing a social house invested by economic sectors if only one member of such household belongs to those as prescribed in Clause 1 of this Article.

Article 13. Requirements for purchase, lease and lease purchase of social houses

1. Those who have difficulties in residence as prescribed in Clause 2 and Clause 3 of this Article shall be eligible for purchasing, leasing or lease purchasing social houses belonging to non-state invested social housing projects. For low-incomers, provisions set out in Clause 4 of this Article shall apply in addition to Clauses 2 and 3 of this Article. For tenant-buyers, provisions of Clause 5 shall apply.

2. Person that have difficulties in residence as prescribed in Point a, Clause 3, Article 14 of the Decree No. 188/2013/ND-CP are defined as follows:

a) Do not own a house, lease, purchase or lease purchase a social house; have no support from the state in housing and land in any form.

b) Own an apartment house or a house of other types with average area below 8m2/person and total area of such house below minimum requirements for renovation and construction according to the People's Committees of provinces where the house sits;

- c) Have a house with frames, walls and roof being damaged and total area of such house below minimum requirements for renovation and construction according to the People's Committees of provinces where the house sits.

3. Requirements for residence as prescribed Point b, Clause 3, Article 14 of the Decree No. 188/2013/ND-CP are defined as follows:

a) Those as prescribed in Article 12 hereof that need to purchase a social house should have permanent residence in central-affiliated provinces and cities where the social house sits;

b) In case they have no permanent residence, a temporary residence, employment contract of at least one year and written confirmations (or other papers) about payments for social insurance being made to insurance agencies of central-affiliated cities and provinces where the social house is situated should be provided;

c) In case of households and individuals subject to relocation as prescribed in Point h, Clause 1, Article 12 hereof, requirements for residence as prescribed by the People’s Committees of provinces should also be met.

4. Low-incomers: Only low-incomers as prescribed in  Point I, Clause 1, Article 12 hereof shall be applied.

5. In case of lease purchase, at least 20% of the house’ value should be paid in advance, the remaining shall be paid on the basis of agreement between the two sides but the minimum term should not exceed five years since the time of handover of the house.

Article 14. Sequence and procedures for purchase, lease and lease purchase of social houses

1. For non-state invested social housing projects:

After the project starts, the investor shall be responsible for providing information such as project name, investor name, construction site, contact address, address for submission of registration, project progress, project scale and number of houses (including number of houses for sale, lease and lease purchase); area of individual houses; sale price, rents and lease purchase price (temporary) for each type of houses; start and end time for receipt of applications and other relevant information) to the Service of Construction; making public announcement of such information on the Service of Construction’s website, the newspapers as an official organ of local authorities (at least one insertion) and at the investor's real-estate trade exchange (if any). 

b) The investor shall be responsible for making a report on total number of houses for sale, lease and lease purchase, and the time of starting sale, lease and lease purchase to the Service of Construction.

c) Based on the information above, households and individuals who have demands for sale, lease or lease purchase of social houses may submit applications to the investor as prescribed in Article 15 hereof.

d) After all the applications have been gathered, the investor shall check if such applications meet requirements as prescribed in Articles 12 and 13 hereof to issue a list of households and individuals eligible for purchasing, leasing and lease purchasing social houses (hereinafter referred to as ‘the list’).

If an application is submitted to the investor in accordance with Article 15 hereof, but no more house in the project is available, the investor shall be responsible for stating the reason and returning the application to the applicant.

If the application fails to meet provisions of Article 15 hereof, the recipient of such application should specify the reason and retiring the application to the applicant for supplements.

dd) The investor shall be responsible for sending the list in order of priority (on the basis of principle as prescribed in Article 16 hereof) to the Service of Construction where the project is situated for examination to avoid repeated supports made to some applications.

If any applicant that has been already supported by the state in housing and land or eligible for purchasing, leasing or lease purchasing social houses for low-incomers from other projects, the Service of Construction shall be responsible for making a written notice to the investor for elimination of the name of such applicant from the list. After 15 working days since receipt of the list, if the Service of Construction abstains, the investor shall make notifications to eligible applicants for negotiation and signing the contracts.

If an applicant having its name in the list does not need to purchase, lease or lease purchase the social house, the investor shall return the application.

e) After the contracts have been signed (as prescribed in Article 17 hereof), the investor shall be responsible for make a list of all households and individuals (including members of the households) confirmed eligible for purchase, lease and lease purchase of social houses to the Service of Construction where the project is situated for public announcement within 30 working days since receipt of this list and keeping it for management and inspection. The investor shall also publish the list at its head office or at the real-estate trading exchange or website (if any).

2. For social housing invested by households and individuals

a) Households and individuals that make investment in social houses (or often called as ‘the investor) should make a report on construction sites, implementation progress, scale, number of houses (including number of houses for sale, lease, lease purchase), selling price, leasing price and lease purchasing price, time of starting sale, lease, lease purchase to the People's Committees of communes, wards and district-level towns (hereinafter referred to as 'the People's Committees of communes) where the construction site is situated for public announcement.

b) Based on the information above, any one who needs to purchase, lease or lease purchase social houses may submit applications to the investor as prescribed in Article 15 hereof.

c) After all the applications have been gathered, the investor shall be responsible for making a list of applicants eligible for purchasing, leasing and lease purchasing the social houses (herein 'the list') to People’s Committees of communes for confirmation before the applicants carry out signing the contracts according to forms as prescribed in Annexes 17, 18 and 19 hereof.

d) People’s Committees of communes shall make a copy of the applications and the list and deliver it to the Service of Construction for examination to avoid repeated supports made applicants.

Article 15. Applications

An application includes:

1. A registration form according to forms in Annex 12 enclosed herewith;

2. One of written confirmations about applicants and current conditions of housing as follows:

a) For applicants as prescribed in Points b, c and applicants who have returned official houses while still working as prescribed in Point g, Clause 1, Article 12 hereof, a written confirmation from agencies or organizations about such applicants and current conditions of housing as prescribed in Annex 13 enclosed herewith should be provided;

b) For applicants as prescribed in Points a, d, dd, e and i, Clause 1, Article 12 hereof, a written confirmation about such applicants and current conditions of housing from People’s Committees of communes where the applicants have registered permanent residence according to forms in Annex 14 enclosed herewith should be provided; if permanent residence is not available, a temporary residence may be used as a substitute; for applicants as prescribed in Point k, Clause 1, Article 12 hereof, a written confirmation from training institutions where the applicant is learning should be provided.

If an applicant who has returned the official house to the Government after the end of the granted lease term or retirement from work on a pension needs to purchase, lease or lease purchase a social house, a written confirmation about such applicant and current conditions of housing issued by the Ministry of Construction or the People’s Committees of provinces should be provided (Annex 15).

c) For applicants subject to relocation as prescribed in Point h, Clause 1, Article 12 hereof, an authenticated copy of the list of households or individuals subject to land expropriation by the state should be provided, accompanied by a written confirmation from the People’s Committees of rural districts where the land is situated about compensations not yet made by the state.  

3. Residence-related papers:

a) Certified true copy of registered permanent residence in central-affiliated provinces and cities the social house is situated in case permanent residence is registered in such provinces and cities;

b) In case the registered permanent residence as prescribed in Point a of this Clause is not available, a certified true copy of the temporary residence book, employment contract of at least one year (up to the time of submission of the application) and a written confirmation of insurance payments being made to insurance agencies of central-affiliated cities and provinces where the social house is should be provided; 

4. Income-related papers:

Applicants as low-incomers as prescribed in Point i, persons who returned official houses after retirement from work on a pension as prescribed in Point g, Clause 1, Article 12 hereof should make a declaration of their own incomes (see forms in Annex 16 enclosed herewith) and be responsible for such declaration. In case of need, the Service of Construction may make contact with local tax agencies for verification of the applicant’s income tax.

Article 16. Principles and criteria for marking eligibility of applicants for purchase, lease and lease purchase of social houses

1. Principles:

a) In case the total number of applications is equal or less than the total number of houses as published by the investor, the selection of a house is based on agreement between the investor and customer;

b) In case the total number of applications is higher than the total number of houses as published by the investor, the selection of eligible applicants is based on the evaluation criteria as prescribed in Clause 2 of this Article.

After the selection of eligible applications is done, the determination of individual houses before entering a contract shall be based on agreement between the investor and customer;

c) Applicants who are confirmed as ineligible shall have their applications returned.

2. Band scores and marking criteria:

3. Based on principles and marking criteria as prescribed in Clauses 1 and 2 of this Article, the People’s Committees of provinces shall enact particular criteria for selection of applications in accordance with the locality’s specific characteristics as foundations for the investor to select applicants as prescribed.

4. The investor shall rely on the principles and marking criteria as prescribed in Clauses 1 and 2 of this Article and regulations promulgated by the People’s Committees of provinces (if any) to perform sale, lease and lease purchase of social houses.

5. For officers, non-commissioned officers, enlisted members (professional servicemen) belonging to people’s armed forces and receiving salaries from the state budget, persons performing cipher work (other than professional servicemen) entitled to the same benefit policies as servicemen according to the law on cipher, may apply for purchase, lease or lease purchase of social houses of the projects invested by economic sectors or by the Ministry of National Defense, Ministry of Public Security but no repeated supports made to applicants should be ensured.

The Ministry of National Defense and Ministry of Public Security shall draft out particular requirements for eligibility for purchase, lease and lease purchase of social houses belonging to their own project in accordance with specific characteristics of the armed forces and make the submission to the Ministry of Construction for decision before official promulgation. For applications for purchase, lease and lease purchase of social houses invested by economic sectors, the principles and criteria for marking eligibility are instructed in Clause 1 of this Article.

Article 17. Contract for purchase, lease and lease purchase of social houses

1. The contract for purchase, lease and lease purchase of social houses invested by economic sectors should ensure compliance with provisions of Article 16 of the Decree No. 188/2013/ND-CP.

2. The contract for purchase, lease and lease purchase of social houses shall be made according to forms in Annexes 17, 18 and 19 hereof.

The contract for purchase, lease and lease purchase of social housing as apartment houses should specify shared areas, privately-owned areas, the apartment’s floor area, carpet area as foundations for determination of selling, leasing or lease purchasing prices; maintenance cost (2% of the selling price); charges for management and operation of apartment house during the period the Management Board has not yet been established.

Issue of certificates of rights to land use, rights to ownership of land-linked houses and properties with respect to purchase, lease and lease purchase of social houses is instructed by the Law on Land and the Law on Housing.

3. Terms of lease and lease purchase of social houses:

a) A maximum of five years in case of lease; When the contract for lease expires, the lessee may apply for extension of lease if it is confirmed as having met provisions of Article 13 hereof.

b) At least five years in case of lease purchase; When the contract for lease purchase expires and the lease purchaser has fulfilled its obligations for payments for lease purchasing prices, the lessor shall be responsible for preparing procedures and applications to competent agencies for issue of the certificate of rights to land use, rights to ownership of land-linked houses and properties (hereinafter referred to as ‘the certificate’) to the lease purchaser. Sequence and procedures for issue of the certificate are instructed in the Law on Issue of Certificates.

3. Sale price, rents and lease purchase price proposed in the contract by the investor shall be based on principles as prescribed in Article 18 hereof.

4. Payment terms for purchase, lease and lease purchase of social houses belonging to non-state invested social housing projects shall be based on agreement between the seller (or lessor) and buyer (or lessee) respectively in a principal contract:

a) In case of purchase:

- One-time payment or installment payment (subject to agreement between the two sides)  

- In case the investor needs to mobilize advances from customers, the project must be approved and the foundation work has been done; the amount of advance for the first time should not exceed 20% of the sale price as stated in the contract; before the time of handover of the house to the buyer, the investor shall not be allowed to mobilize  more than 70% of the sale price; at the time of handover, the investor shall be paid only 95% of the sale price; the remaining 5% shall be paid to the investor after the project's sheet balances, audits have been approved and the buyer has been issued the certificate.

b) In case of lease, the lessee should pay a deposit on the house to the lessor as prescribed in Clause 4, Article 15 of the Decree No. 188/2013/ND-CP.

c) In case of lease purchase, the lease purchaser shall pay an initial upfront portion (equal to 20% of the sale price) and the remaining part shall be paid on the basis of agreement between the two sides. Payment period for the remaining portion shall be agreed between the two sides but no later than fiver years. Payment terms shall be agreed by the two sides (on a monthly, quarterly or periodical basis).

The lease purchaser is encouraged to pay more for an initial upfront portion but no more than 50% of the sale price.

5. In case of purchase, lease or lease purchase of social houses invested by households and individuals, the contract shall be signed after the investor completes the construction. Payment terms shall be agreed between the two sides.

Article 18. Principles of determination of sale price, rents and lease purchase price

1. For social houses belonging to social housing projects:

a) Sale price, rents and lease purchase price shall be determined by the investor on the basis of principles as prescribed in Articles 2, 3, Article 15 of the Decree No. 188/2013/ND-CP

b) Sale price, rents and lease purchase price for houses as apartment houses shall be based on usable area of the house (carpet area). In case the contract was signed before the effective date of this Contract, the determination of the house's area as foundations for the calculation of sale price, rents and lease purchase price shall be based on the signed contract;

c) Budget collected from sale, lease of commercial works belonging to the social housing project as prescribed in Point I, Clauses 1, Article 12 of the Decree No. 188/2013/ND-CP shall be recorded as follows:

- In case the investor sells the commercial works (including houses), the profits therefrom shall be recorded in the sheet balance of the entire social housing project as foundations for determination of sale price, rents and lease purchase price of the social houses of the project.

- In case the investor leases out the commercial works, minimum period for capital recovery shall be 15 years. The profits therefrom (during the 15-year period) should be recorded in the sheet balance of the entire social housing project as foundations for determination of sale price, rents and lease purchase price of the social houses of the project.

d) Based on the principles and price determination methods as prescribed in Clauses a, b, c of this Article, the investor shall establish the sale price, rents and lease purchase price of the social houses and make the submission to the People’s Committees of provinces where the project is situated for verification. Within 30 days since receipt of the written request for verification from the investor, the People’s Committees of provinces shall conduct verification and issue a written notice to the investor specifying adjustments to be made (if any).

The Service of Construction or local agencies specializing in verification of price of social houses shall be responsible for acting as an advisor for the People’s Committees of provinces in verifying sale price, rents and lease purchase price of the social houses.

Based on the written notice of verification issued by the People’s Committees of provinces, the investor shall publish the sale price, rents and lease purchase price of the social houses invested by itself.

After 30 working days since receipt of the written request for verification from the investor, in case the People’s Committees of provinces abstain, the investor shall have the right to publish the sale price, rents and lease purchase price based on the plan submitted.  The investor shall be responsible for delivering the sale price, rents and lease purchase price to the People’s Committees of provinces and the agencies specializing in price verification for inspection and monitoring.

2. For social houses invested by households and individuals, the sale price, rental price and lease purchase price shall be determined by the investor itself but ensure not in excess of the price frame published by the People’s Committees of provinces.

The People’s Committees of provinces shall direct functional agencies to study and publish sale price, rents and lease purchase price of social houses invested by households and individuals within competence in accordance with each locality’s particular conditions.  

Article 19. Components of sale price, rents and lease purchase price

1. Construction cost: Construction cost is the entire cost of implementing investment and construction of a social housing project and putting it into practice according to applicable regulations on construction investment project management minus (-) the profits collected from sale, lease of commercial works (according to the principles as prescribed in Point c, Clause 1, Article 18 hereof).

2. Maintenance cost:

a) For a social house as an apartment for sale, apart from paying the sale price of the apartment, the buyer shall pay an expense for maintenance of the shared area (equal to 2% of the sale price of an apartment) as stated in the contract. Management and use of expenses for maintenance of shared area according to applicable regulations on management and use of apartment houses;

b) In case of lease, maintenance cost shall be deducted from the rents (according to the price mechanism as prescribed in Article 20 hereof).  The investor shall be responsible for covering the entire maintenance cost for houses for lease;

c) In case of lease purchase, apart from paying an initial upfront portion as prescribed, the buyer shall pay an expenses for maintenance of the shared area (equal to 2% of the sale price of an apartment) as stated in the contract.

3. Rated profits:

a) In case of sale: Rate profits are determined on the basis of principles as prescribed in Point a, Clause 2, Article 15 of the Decree No. 188/2013/ND-CP;

b) In case of lease, lease purchase: Rate profits are determined on the basis of principles as prescribed in Point b, Clause 2, Article 15 of the Decree No. 188/2013/ND-CP;

Article 20. Methods of determining rental price

1. Formula:

Gi^T= x Ki +

Where:

- Gi^T: Monthly rent for 1m² of usable area (not including VAT) in position i (VND/m²)

- V_d: Construction cost for rental area, annually allocated on the principle of capital preservation (VND/year), determined in the following formula:

Vd=

+ Td:Construction cost for rental area at the time of handover;

+ r: Capital preservation interest rates subject to persons who have authority to decide the investment (herein ‘competent persons’) (%/year)  

+ n: Number of years for capital recovery subject to particular conditions of individual projects and competent persons but not in excess of 15 years.

- L: Profits derived from the project, not more than 15% of the construction cost for rental area (VND/year)

- Bt: Annual average maintenance cost for rental area (VND/year)

- T_dv: Profits derived from commercial works allocated on usable area of rental houses (VND/year)

- Si: Rental area of a house at position i (m2)

- Ki: Rental price adjustment coefficients for rental area at the position i (determined on the principle of the weighted mean of k factor of a house block = 1).

2. If the rental price determined from the formula in Clause 1 of this Article is higher than the market rental price, the investor should re-determine the rental price as appropriate. After a minimum lease term of five years is ensured, the investor may record the difference between formula-based receipts and actual receipts in the sale price of social houses at the time of selling.

Article 21. Methods of determining lease purchase price

Formula:

G^TMi=  x Ki -

Where:

- G^TMi: Monthly rent for 1m2 of usable area (not including VAT) in position i (VND/m2)

- Ai: A factor indicating the ratio between remaining value of the house at position i (after deducting the initial upfront portion) and the initial value of the house at position i (A <1).

- V_d: Construction cost calculated for the usable area used for rent and annually allocated on the principle of capital adequacy (VND/year), determined in the following formula:

Vd=

+ T_d: Construction cost for lease purchased area at the time of handover;

+ r: Capital preservation interest rates subject to the person who has authority to decide the investment (%/year)

+ n: Lease purchase term subject to agreement between landlord/seller and tenant/buyer but not more than five years.

- L: Profits derived from the project, not more than 15% of the construction cost for lease purchased area (VND/year)

- Tdv: Profits derived from commercial works allocated on usable area of housing for lease and purchase (VND/year)

- Si: Lease purchased area at position i (m2).

- Ki: Lease purchase price adjustment coefficients for lease purchased area at the position i (determined on the principle of the weighted mean of k factor of a house block = 1).

Article 22. Methods of determining sale price

Formula:

Where:

Gi^B= x Ki

- GiB: Sale price for 1m2 of usable area (not including VAT) in position i (VND/m2);

- Td: Total construction cost for the area for sale minus the profits derived from area for sale from commercial works at the time of handover

- L: Profits derived from the project, not more than 15% of the construction cost (VND)

- S: Total usable area of the project’s houses including the area for sale and the area retained by the investor (used for business, service offices...) (m2)

Sale price (after a minimum lease term (five years) is ensured) shall exclude depreciation cost in proportion to lease term.

Article 23. Rights and responsibility of investor

1. Rights:

a) Be entitled to support, benefit policies as prescribed in Article 12 of the Decree No. 188/2013/ND-CP;

b) After a minimum lease term of five years, the non-state investor (investors to non-state invested social housing projects) may sell the portion of the houses for lease (at least 20% of the entire floor area of the project) to the tenants as prescribed in Article 14 of the Decree No. 188/2013/ND-CP. If the tenant does not need to lease the house, the investor may sell that house to others as prescribed in Article 14 of the Decree No. 188/2013/ND-CP for the price as prescribed in Point a, Clause 2, Article 15 of the Decree No. 188/2013/ND-CP;

c) Be entitled to sign a contract for sale, lease, lease purchase with buyers, tenants, tenant-buyers respectively as prescribed, collect money from sale, lease and lease purchase under the signed contract; terminate the contract with buyers, tenants, tenant-buyers who are in breach of the contract or tenants who are no longer the subjects as prescribed in Article 12 hereof;

d) Provide services for social housing as apartment houses (or hire other organizations and individuals to do the job) when the Management Board is yet to be established according to the Law on Housing;

dd) Exploit other services for business as prescribed in the Decree No. 188/2013/ND-CP and this Circular to create income as an offset for the costs of operation and maintenance of houses;

e) Other rights as prescribed in the Decree No. 188/2013/ND-CP and other relevant legislative documents.

2. Responsibility:

a) Fulfill all obligations of a seller, lessor, landlord/seller as prescribed in the Decree No. 188/2013/ND-CP and this Circular; Do not transfer the project or transform purposes of social houses on its own initiative;

b) Perform management and operation of social housing as apartment houses or choose an enterprise with professional functions to do the job when the Management Board is yet to be established according to the Law on Housing;

c) Perform procedures with relevant competent state agencies concerning issue of the certificates to buyers, tenant-buyers (unless otherwise as agreed);

d) Construct and publish a table of regulations on use of social houses (or authorize the Managing Unit to do the job); The table of regulations shall include following information: Responsibility of relevant organizations for management of social houses; rights and obligations of homeowners or legal occupants; prohibited acts in the management and use of social houses; expenses to be contributed for management, operation and maintenance of social houses and other reasonable expenses; determination of the lists, positions, area and size of private and shared area. This table of regulations shall be attached as an integral part of the contract for sale, lease, lease purchase of social houses;

dd) Formulate a plan for organization of maintenance of social houses (or authorize the Managing Unit to do the job); cooperate with health agencies, fire and explosion control agencies, local authorities and police in carrying out prevention of epidemic diseases, fire control and assurance of social security, order and safety in the social housing block.

e) Other obligations concerning the investor’s responsibility according to the Law on Housing and other relevant legislative documents.

Article 24. Rights of buyers, tenants, tenant-buyers of social houses

1. Buyers:

a) Be entitled to fundamental rights of a buyer as prescribed in the Decree No. 188/2013/ND-CP and other legal rights according to applicable regulations;

b) Receive handover of the house accompanied by drawings in accordance with the contract;

c) Request the investor to perform procedures with competent agencies for issue of the certificate according to laws after paying 95% of the contract value; request the investor to create favorable conditions and provide relevant documents in case the buyer directly carries out application for issue of the certificate with competent agencies;

d) Request the investor (or the Managing Unit) to repair any damage caused to the house (not the buyer’s fault) during the maintenance period;

2. Tenants:  

a) Be entitled to fundamental rights of a tenant as prescribed in the Decree No. 188/2013/ND-CP and other legal rights according to applicable regulations;

b) Receive handover of the house and accompanying facilities in accordance with the contract;

c) Request the investor (or the Managing Unit) to repair any damage caused to the house (not the tenant’s fault); Be eligible for contract extension if meeting requirements as prescribed;

3. Tenant-buyers:

a) Be entitled to fundamental rights of a tenant-buyer as prescribed in the Decree No. 188/2013/ND-CP and other legal rights according to applicable regulations;

b) Receive handover of the house and accompanying facilities in accordance with the contract;

c) Request the investor to perform procedures with competent agencies for issue of the certificate when all the payment for lease purchase has been made according to laws or request the investor to create favorable conditions or provide relevant documents in case the tenant-buyer directly performs procedures with competent agencies for issue of the certificate; be provided with drawings and relevant housing documents by the investor.

d) After a minimum lease term of five years since the time of completing payment of the lease purchase price, the tenant-buyer may exercise all of its obligations as a homeowner according to the Law on Housing and civil laws.

Article 25. Obligations of buyers, tenants, tenant-buyers of social houses

1. Buyers:

a) Perform fundamental obligations of a buyer as prescribed in the Decree No. 188/2013/ND-CP and other commitments in the contract;

b) Within a period less than five years since the time of completing the payment for the house under the contract, the buyer may sell such house on only to the investor or other persons (who meet requirements prescribed in the Decree No. 188/2013/ND-CP and this Circular) (herein ‘the sub-buyer’) for the price not in excess of the sale price of social houses of the same type at the time of selling.

The buyer shall make direct contract with the investor to perform procedures for the transfer of the contract for sale of social houses to the sub-buyer.

The sub-buyer should make direct contract with the investor for submission of applications as prescribed in Article 15 and ensure satisfaction of the principles and marking criteria as prescribed in Article 16 and execute the contract for sale of social housing as prescribed in Article 17 hereof;

c) Within a minimum period of five years since completing the payment for the house under the contract, the buyer must use the house on its own without allowing others (outside the registered permanent residence) to use the house in any form such; not allowed to sublease, mortgage (except for acquiring bank loans for purchase, lease purchase of the house itself) or transfer the house in any form;

dd) After a minimum period of five years since completing the payment for the social house under the contract and being issued the certificated, if a buyer sells its house on to others, such buyer shall pay taxes, land levy and other fees as prescribed in Clause 5, Article 13 of the Decree No. 188/2013/ND-CP and applicable regulations.

dd) Fulfill all other obligations of a buyer (homeowner) according to the Law on Housing and civil laws;

2. Tenants:  

a) Perform fundamental obligations of a tenant as prescribed in the Decree No. 188/2013/ND-CP and other commitments in the contract;

b) Protect the house and be responsible for any damage caused; pay rents, electricity & water bills and other services in addition to the expenses already recorded in the rental price (if any);  

c) Use the house purposefully, without allowing others (outside registered permanent residence) to use the house in any form; not allowed to sublease, mortgage or transfer the house in any form;

d) Return the house to the investor when the lease contract expires according to laws;

dd) Fulfill all other obligations of a tenant according to the Law on Housing and civil laws;

3. Tenant-buyers:

a) Perform fundamental obligations of a tenant-buyer as prescribed in the Decree No. 188/2013/ND-CP and other commitments in the contract;

b) Within a period less than five years since the time of completing the lease purchase payment under the contract, the tenant-buyer may sell such house on only to the investor or other persons (who meet requirements prescribed in the Decree No. 188/2013/ND-CP and this Circular) for the price not in excess of the sale price of social houses of the same type at the time of selling.

The tenant-buyer shall make direct contract with the investor to perform procedures for the transfer of the contract for sale of social houses to the sub-buyer.

The sub-buyer should make direct contract with the investor for submission of applications as prescribed in Article 15 ensuring satisfaction of the principles and marking criteria as prescribed in Article 16 and execute the contract for sale of social housing as prescribed in Article 17 hereof;

c) Use the house purposefully, protect the house and be responsible for any damage caused; pay rents, electricity & water bills and other services in addition to the expenses already recorded in the rental price (if any);

dd) After a minimum period of five years since completing the lease purchase payment under the contract, if a tenant-buyer sells its house on to others, such tenant-buyer shall pay taxes, land levy and other fees as prescribed in Clause 5, Article 13 of the Decree No. 188/2013/ND-CP and applicable regulations.

dd) Fulfill all other obligations of a tenant-buyer according to the Law on Housing and civil laws;

Article 26. Organization of management and operation of social houses

1. Management and operation of social housing as apartment houses is instructed in the Law on Apartment House

2. Managing Unit

a) After the investment and construction phase has been completed, the investor shall establish an affiliate or entrust an enterprise having professional functions to perform management and operation of social houses;

b) Management and operation activities shall have the same benefits as other public services according to laws.

3. Management board

a) The Management Board shall be elected through conferences of homeowners and legal occupants (including buyers, tenants and tenant-buyers) The conference of homeowners, legal occupants (herein ‘the conference’) is organized once a year; in case of need, the conference may be organized irregularly at the request of more than 50% of the total number of homeowners, legal occupants or the Management Board accompanied by the request of more than 30% of the total number of homeowners and legal occupants;

b) Within 12 months since the social housing block is handed over and put into operation with more than 50% of the total number of houses being occupied, the investor shall be responsible for organizing the conference for the first time.

c) The Management Board is composed of between five and seven members depending on particular conditions of such housing block. Composition of the Management Board includes representatives from the investor, homeowners, legal occupants and representatives from the Managing Unit. Structure of the Management Board includes one head, one or two deputies.

4. Rights and responsibility of the Managing Unit and the Management Board are instructed in Article 29 hereof.

5. Maintenance of social housing

Maintenance of social housing shall be carried out under the contract between the investor and construction unit, equipment supplier and conform with Article 74 of the Law on Housing.

6. Records

c) The investor shall be responsible for formulating and storing social housing records as archives in accordance with Clause 3, Article 66 of the Law on Housing and guiding documents enacted by competent state agencies; hand over as-built dossiers to the Managing Unit.

b) The Managing Unit, the Management Board shall be responsible for storing as archives copy of as-built drawings and other relevant documents in connection with the management and maintenance of social housing;

c) Housing management agencies of central-affiliated provinces and cities shall be responsible for managing records of housing for low-incomers according to the Law on Housing;

d) Management agencies shall formulate and store records of applicants eligible for purchase, lease and lease purchase of low-income housing including the list (including members of the household); area, address of the house being purchased, leased, lease purchased, income level, housing conditions;

dd) Management agencies for social housing records shall provide information about housing at the request of organizations and individuals.  

Article 27. Expenses for management and operation of social housing

1. Activities of management and operation of social housing include management, operation and maintenance of operation of facilities (lifts, water pumps, backup generators, technical infrastructure system and other equipment) belonging to shared portion of the social housing block; provision of such services as security, sanitation, collection of waste, care of flower gardens, ornamental plants, insect treatment and others to ensure normal operation of the social housing block.

2. The investor to social housing as apartment houses shall determine the levels of charges and principles of adjusting levels of charges for management and operation of social housing during the period when the Management Board is yet to be established and specify such in the contract for sale, lease, lease purchase of social housing.

3. In case of purchase and lease purchase of social housing as apartment houses, the levels of charges for management and operation shall be calculated on a monthly basis, allocated on privately-owned area (carpet area) of individual homeowners, occupants and paid to the Managing Unit once a month.

4. Expenses for provision of fuel, energy, water and other services for which the homeowner, legal occupant has undertaken in a separate contract shall be paid directly to such suppliers. If expenses for such services are not undertaken in a separate contract, the user shall make the payment on the basis of consumed quantity plus losses.

5. Expenses for keeping bikes, motorbikes are instructed by the People’s Committees of provinces.

6. During the formulation of social housing project, the investor can calculate and set a side a portion of area as appropriate (after meeting demands for general area of the project according to applicable regulations and standards on construction) for the Managing Unit to do the business with the aim of offsetting the management and operation costs, ensuring that the buyers, tenants and tenant-buyers only contribute an amount in accordance with provisions of Clause 2 of this Article.

Article 28. Expenses for maintenance of social housing

1. Maintenance of social housing includes maintenance, care, minor, moderate and major repairs, and irregular repairs with the aim of maintaining quality of houses.  Maintenance is carried out in accordance with applicable regulations on maintenance of construction works and the Law on Housing.

2. The maintenance of shared portions, infrastructural works and facilities of the apartment house and rental houses shall be carried out by the investor or enterprises managing and operating social housing or other qualified organizations in accordance with instructions of designers, manufacturers, processes and norms issued by competent state agencies.

3. The maintenance of privately-owned portions of social housing for sale and lease purchase shall be carried out by the buyers, tenant-buyers at their own cost.

4. Expenditures contributed for maintenance of shared portions of social housing as apartment house are instructed in Clause 2, Article 19 hereof.

5. Within 30 days since the social housing block is put into operation, the investor (or the Managing Unit) shall be responsible for opening a deposit account at a commercial bank with interest rates not lower than the interest rates of non-term saving deposits for transferring contributed maintenance expenses as prescribed. Amount of interests derived therefrom shall be included in the expenditures for maintenance of social housing.

6. Maintenance of social housing shall be carried out through a contract. Acceptance testing, payment, settlement of contract must conform with regulations on construction.

7. The investor (or the Managing Unit) shall set up a logbook to monitor expenses and receipts of the maintenance expenditures and coordinate inspection of settlement and management of expenses and receipts according to regulations on finance; make public disclosure of receipts and expenses when carrying out the maintenance of social housing as prescribed.

Article 29. Rights and responsibility of the Managing Unit and the Management Board of social housing block

1. Rights and responsibility of the Managing Unit:

a) Provide services of management and operation of social housing under the signed contract or entrusted by the investor in accordance with safety, regulations, standards issued by competent agencies;

b) Sign sub-contracts with other enterprises to provide services (if any); monitor provision of services of management and operation of apartment houses performed by such enterprises;

c) Make written notifications of requirements and attentions to homeowners, legal occupants when starting using social housing; provide instructions to homeowners, legal occupants on the installation of facilities of their own to the social housing block's system; publish the table of regulations on the use of social housing (in case it is authorized by the investor).

d) Perform periodical inspection of quality of construction of social housing according to laws to ensure the management, operation and maintenance of social housing as prescribed;

dd) Prevent risks of damage caused to homeowners, legal occupants and take liability for such damage, ensuring normal operation of the housing block;

e) Collect charges for the services as prescribed in Article 27 hereof;

g) Exploit other services for business as prescribed in the Decree No. 188/2013/ND-CP and this Circular to create income as an offset for the costs of operation and maintenance of social housing; perform maintenance as prescribed in Clause 2, Article 19 hereof.

h) Collect and manage charges for maintenance and perform maintenance of shared area as prescribed in Clause 2, Article 19 hereof;

i) Make bi-annual reports on the tasks of management and operation of social housing to the Management Board and cooperate with the Management Board in collecting suggestions from homeowners, legal occupants about the services provided;

k) Cooperate with the Management Board, residential neighborhoods in ensuring security and order and other relevant issues;

2. Rights and responsibility of the Management Board:

a) Protect legal interests of homeowners and legal occupants according to laws; carry out inspection and speed up homeowners, legal occupants to comply with the table of regulations on the use of social housing as well as regulations on the management and use of social housing; create good conditions for the managing enterprises to fulfill their duties under the signed contract;

b) Compile suggestions, proposals from homeowners, legal occupants about issues concerning the management and operation services to make notifications to the enterprises, functional agencies and other relevant organizations and individuals for consideration and handling;

c) Cooperate with local authorities, residential neighborhood in building civilized lifestyle, keeping social security and safety in the apartment house;

d) On a six-month basis, the Management Board shall collect suggestions from homeowners, legal occupants as foundations for assessment of the services provided by the Managing Unit;

dd) Make proposals to the investor for changing the Managing Unit if quality of the services is found unsatisfactory.

Chapter IV

SETTLEMENT OF DISPUTES AND HANDLING OF VIOLATIONSS

Article 31. Settlement of disputes

1. Any dispute concerning rights to ownership of social housing shall be settled by the Court.

2. Any dispute on the rights to ownership of social housing shall be amicably settled in accordance with provisions set out in this Circular. Otherwise, the case shall be brought to the Court for settlement.

3. Any dispute on the contract for sale, lease, lease purchase of social housing during the implementation of this Circular shall be settled in accordance with the Law on Housing and civil laws.

Article 32. Handling of violations

1. Any act in violation of this Circular shall be handled in accordance with regulations on penalties for administrative violations, the Law on Construction and the Law on Housing.

2. Any organization, individual that falsifies applications and conditions to acquire eligibility for purchase, lease or lease purchase of social housing shall be forced to return the house, in addition to penalties for administrative violations.

3. Any person who takes advantages of titles, authority to commit wrongdoings concerning applications as well as sale, lease, lease purchase and use of social housing shall be subject to administrative handling or criminal prosecution depending on degree of severity. Any person who commits act that cause physical damage shall be liable for compensation.

4. The investor to social housing projects carrying out sale, lease, lease purchase of social housing in opposition to provisions of this Circular, apart from penalties according to laws on penalties for administrative violations in management and development of housing, shall be forced to return incentives, subject to recovery of the project, prohibition from trading in real estate for two years since the date of recovery of the project or business registration certificate.

Chapter V

IMPLEMENTATION

Article 33. Responsibility of the People’s Committees of provinces

1. Direct the Service of Construction to preside over and cooperate with functional agencies in conducting statistical investigation and compiling demands for purchase, lease and lease purchase of social housing in the administrative division to formulate annual or periodical social housing development plan in accordance with particular conditions of individual localities;

2. Enact particular regulations on bidding to select the investor; direct functional agencies within competence to conduct the bidding to select the investor to social housing development project in the administrative division as prescribed in Point b, Clause 3, Article 5 hereof;

3. Conduct and direct the formulation, verification and granting approval for local budget-invested social housing projects; verify and grant approval for non-state invested social housing projects within competence; enact particular regulations on the areas where the investor shall be allowed to develop low-rise adjacent social housing within the project in accordance with urban planning of individual localities approved by competent agencies.

4. Direct functional agencies to carry out the management of construction of social housing invested by households and individuals in the administrative division;

5. Enact particular criteria for selection of applications eligible for purchase, lease, lease purchase of social housing in the administrative division within competence as prescribed in Clause 3, Article 16 hereof;

6. Direct functional agencies within competence to carry out verification of sale price, rental price and lease purchase price of social housing belonging to social housing projects in the administrative division; publish sale price, rental price and lease purchase price of social housing invested by households and individuals as prescribed in Article 18 hereof; publish price of management and operation services for social housing projects throughout the locality;

7. Based on this Circular, enact particular regulations on sale, lease, lease purchase of social housing belonging to projects invested by economic sectors and social housing invested by households and individuals;

8. Direct the People’s Committees of rural districts and communes to conduct statistical investigation into demands for social housing throughout the administrative division and make submission to the Service of Construction for building annual, middle-term, long-term social housing development plans and making submission to competent agencies for approval.

9. Direct investigation, supervision and handling within competence or direct competent agencies to handle acts in violation of regulations on management and development of social housing in the administrative division;

10. Direct functional agencies to make regular or irregular reports on the management and development of social housing in the administrative division to the Prime Minister, the Ministry of Construction.

11. Perform the tasks assigned as prescribed in Article 25 of the Decree No. 188/2013/ND-CP;

Article 34. Responsibility of the Service of Construction

1. Receive and examine applications, preside over selection of the investor to social housing development projects for making submission to the People’s Committees of provinces for decision on the selection within competence as prescribed in the Decree No. 188/2013/ND-CP and this Circular;

2. Receive and examine applications, preside over selection of the investor to social housing development projects for making submission to the People’s Committees of provinces for decision on the selection as prescribed in the Decree No. 188/2013/ND-CP and this Circular;

3. Preside over and cooperate with local functional agencies in studying and drafting particular criteria for selection of eligible applications; enact particular provisions on sale, lease, lease purchase of social housing belonging to the projects invested by economic sectors and social housing invested by households and individuals in accordance with particular conditions of individual localities and make submission to the People’s Committees of provinces for review and promulgation;

4. Conduct investigation and handling of acts in violation of regulations on development and management of social housing in the administrative division within competence or make reports to competent agencies for handling according to laws;

5. Make regular or irregular reports to the People’s Committees of provinces and the Ministry of Construction on development and management of social housing in the administrative division;

6. Other duties assigned by competent agencies;

Article 35. Responsibility of the Management Agency for Housing and Real Estate Market

1. Assist the Minister of Construction in providing instructions and speeding up localities across the country to execute the Decree No. 188/2013/ND-CP and this Circular;

2. Monitor and inspect the development and management of social housing across the country;

3. Make regular reports on the implementation to the Minister of Construction for amendments, supplements to this Circular or make requests to the Government for amendments and supplements to the policy on development and management of social housing;

Article 36. Effect

1. This Circular takes effect since July 08, 2014.

2. The Ministry of Construction’s Circular No. 10/2009/TT-BXD dated June 15, 2009; the Ministry of Construction’s Circular No. 13/2009/TT BXD dated June 30, 2009; the Ministry of Construction’s Circular No. 15/2009/TT-BXD dated June 30, 2009; the Ministry of Construction’s Circular No. 36/2009/TT-BXD dated November 16, 2009; the Ministry of Construction’s Circular No. 16/2010/TT-BXD dated September 01, 2010 shall expire since the effective date of this Circular.

3. Regulations on development and management of social housing invested by economic sectors in the documents issued by the People’s Committees of provinces are found different from this Circular, this Circular shall prevail.

4. Difficulties that arise during the implementation of this Circular should be reported to the Ministry of Construction for amendments and supplements within competence or to the Prime Minister for decision./. /.