In the days leading up to Tet (Lunar New Year), at Dai Thang Residential Area (Homie City), Van Xuan Ward (Thai Nguyen), the lights are turning on in the new apartments as many working-class families move in and prepare for their first Tet in their new homes. Behind the joy of receiving the keys lies a very real need: to follow the correct procedures to secure their opportunity for home ownership, and to avoid being lured into “detours” that distort social housing policies.
In the corridors still smelling of fresh paint, the elevators go up and down constantly: sometimes carrying a kumquat tree, other times a few cardboard boxes hastily labeled “kitchenware” or “children’s clothes.” In her newly handed-over apartment, Ms. Pham Thi A. ( a Samsung worker in Thai Nguyen) busily hangs string lights on the balcony, smiling as she says, “This Tet, I finally have a proper place to set up my Tet feast. Before, when I lived in rented accommodation, setting everything up would block the walkway.”
For many working-class families, the value of a home lies not just in a new address, but in the feeling of finally being able to settle down for the long term: children have a fixed study area, parents worry less about moving, and living expenses no longer increase with repeated relocations. “I only believed it was real when I held the keys,” shared Mr. B. (a worker in the Diem Thuy industrial zone). “I’ve been renting for so long, I’m used to the feeling of ‘temporary living.’ Now I finally dare to buy a proper wardrobe and desk.”
A social housing project comes to life with concrete results.
Dai Thang Residential Area is a social housing project invested by TNG Land Joint Stock Company. According to information published on the Thai Nguyen Provincial Electronic Information Portal, the social housing portion of the project has a total area of 8,432 m², comprising 395 units: 34 two-story townhouses and an 18-story apartment building with 361 apartments; upon completion, the project is expected to provide housing opportunities for approximately 800 workers and low-income laborers.
The Dai Thang social housing project includes 34 low-rise terraced houses and one 18-story apartment building.
Notably, the completion and acceptance milestones were also clearly announced: the townhouses began handover to residents in March 2025; the high-rise apartment building was completed according to schedule and was officially inspected and approved by the Thai Nguyen Provincial Department of Construction in early November 2025. In the story of social housing, information with “addresses and figures” often makes a difference because buyers in the low-income group need certainty most: a real project, a real schedule, and a real process.
In reality, Thai Nguyen is a locality with a vibrant industrial sector and a high concentration of labor demand. When housing is stable, workers face less pressure to find temporary accommodation and avoid unnecessary expenses; businesses also experience reduced employee turnover due to housing issues. This is a less noisy but very sustainable relationship: stable housing helps retain workers – a crucial foundation for long-term industrial development.
Follow the correct procedures to secure your chance of owning a home, avoid unnecessary detours and inflated prices.
The recent surge in demand for social housing has also led to a worrying situation: brokers are exploiting buyers’ impatience, making promises of “internal allocations,” “fast-tracked applications,” accompanied by inflated prices or informal, handwritten transactions. Many, eager to secure a spot, accept these “detours,” only to face a double risk: losing money and potentially losing their chance of owning a home if their application is found to be fraudulent.
Recently, the Thai Nguyen Provincial Police have initiated a criminal case, indicted and detained several individuals involved in forging and using forged documents to fraudulently obtain benefits from social housing policies at the Dai Thang Residential Area project. This action aims to strictly punish those who violate regulations, ensuring that housing is sold to the correct recipients and in accordance with established policies. This information demonstrates the government’s tightening of policy discipline and clearly emphasizes the need for buyers to be vigilant against unofficial offers.
From a market perspective, the story needs to be brought back to its true nature: social housing is not a “commodity for speculation,” but a social welfare policy for those with genuine housing needs. When the policy is exploited, the first to suffer are usually the workers; a group that already has to carefully budget every expense.
Residents of Dai Thang Social Housing at the year-end party organized by the investor TNG Land.
In an informational exchange, a representative from TNG Land stated that the company has been cooperating with relevant authorities/investigating agencies in reviewing and verifying complaints related to brokerage activities, charging inflated fees, or processing documents improperly. The developer also advised residents to follow proper channels and instructions, avoiding transactions through dubious intermediaries, as any “shortcut” could become a “dead end” in terms of both legal rights and interests. According to the TNG Land representative, the company considers the development of social housing a long-term strategy, not limited to a single project. In the future, TNG Land will continue to implement more social housing projects to meet the actual needs of low-income individuals, workers, and laborers in the area.
Simultaneously, the investor affirmed its close cooperation with relevant authorities in implementing the State’s policies on social housing; and proactively preventing, deterring, and combating acts of exploiting the policy for personal gain, harming the legitimate rights of low-income individuals with genuine housing needs. “All violations of the law related to social housing must be strictly dealt with so that this humane policy is implemented correctly and targets the right beneficiaries,” the company representative emphasized.
Given the situations that arise in the market, it’s crucial for buyers to understand a few simple principles to protect themselves. For social housing, three minimum principles should be repeatedly emphasized: Buyers should avoid transferring “deposit/premium” money to individuals, refrain from signing documents that allow them to “act as nominees” or “circumvent conditions,” and only submit applications according to official instructions; they should also retain receipts, documents, and proof of communication throughout the application process.
The policy is becoming clearer: open opportunities, tighten discipline.
Besides the project story, a noteworthy point is that the social housing policy framework in the recent period is being adjusted to both expand access opportunities for those with genuine needs and increase the standardization of procedures.
Decree 261/2025/ND-CP, effective from October 10, 2025, is one of the documents mentioned when discussing the improvement of mechanisms for the development and management of social housing.
Regarding procedures, Circular 32/2025/TT-BXD (issued and effective November 10, 2025) amends and supplements several detailed guidelines, including regulations related to forms and documents proving eligibility according to target groups.
Financially, the preferential loan interest rate for the social housing program is set at 5.4% per year, helping to reduce the long-term debt burden for low-income homebuyers.
When policies become clearer, the “ground” for ambiguous offers will shrink. And when discipline is tightened, the trust of discerning buyers will have a basis to return: not to believe in promises of “guaranteed approval,” but in a transparent process and projects that are implemented genuinely.
Returning to the Dai Thang residential area, the end-of-year stories still revolve around small things: rearranging children’s study desks, adding a layer of cellophane to windows, cleaning paint stains from doorknobs. But it is precisely these small things that are the truest measure of “settling down”: when workers have a stable home, they can think beyond today’s concerns, and society gains a stronger foundation for sustainable development, starting with brightly lit apartments after work hours.
Source: Vietnam Law Newspaper
