Consolidated Decree No. 13/VBHN-BXD: Detailed Regulations on the Development and Management of Social Housing
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The Ministry of Construction has issued Consolidated Document No. 13/VBHN-BXD, merging Decree No. 100/2024/ND-CP with its subsequent amending decrees, Decree 261/2025/ND-CP, Decree 192/2025/ND-CP, and most recently Decree 54/2026/ND-CP, effective from February 9, 2026. The document details the entire process for developing and managing social housing (NOXH) under the 2023 Housing Law, covering everything from project preparation and investor selection to the sale, lease, and lease-purchase of social housing units. For real estate developers, the most important rule is the requirement to set aside 20 percent of the serviced residential land in commercial housing projects located in special-grade and Class I, II, and III urban areas for social housing construction. Developers may instead use an equivalent land parcel elsewhere in the same urban area, or pay a cash amount equal to that land's value, made up of the land use fee plus infrastructure costs. Social housing developers are exempt from land use fees and land rent for the entire project area without needing to apply for the exemption, their profit margin is capped at 10 percent of total construction cost for the social housing portion, and they can access preferential loans. Investors are selected either through direct approval, when only one investor expresses interest, or through a 100 point competitive bidding process in which the proposed sale or rental price accounts for 40 to 50 percent of the total score. For buyers, tenants, and lease-purchasers of social housing, including low-income individuals and households, industrial zone workers, and armed forces personnel, the document sets out eligibility conditions on housing and income, pricing methods, and the procedures for price appraisal and contract signing. Businesses planning commercial housing projects in major cities, or building worker accommodation in industrial zones, should review their social-housing land or cash contribution obligations and the corresponding incentives under this newly consolidated decree.
Overview
Consolidated Document No. 13/VBHN-BXD, Official Gazette No. 179 dated April 3, 2026, merges Decree No. 100/2024/ND-CP dated July 26, 2024 with its subsequent amending decrees: Decree 261/2025/ND-CP, Decree 192/2025/ND-CP, and Decree 54/2026/ND-CP, effective February 9, 2026. It implements the 2023 Housing Law's provisions on developing and managing social housing (NOXH), worker accommodation in industrial zones, and housing for the armed forces.
Scope and applicable entities
The decree applies to: (1) domestic and foreign organizations, households, and individuals, plus overseas Vietnamese, investing in social housing development; (2) individuals eligible to buy, rent, or lease-purchase social housing; and (3) relevant state management agencies.
Project phases
The decree divides a social housing project's lifecycle into three phases:
- Preparation: investment proposal, construction planning, investment policy decision or approval, investor determination, land allocation or lease, and project appraisal and approval.
- Implementation: design appraisal, construction permitting, construction and off-plan sales, and project acceptance testing.
- Closeout: settlement and handover of the housing units.
Most procedures in this phase reference Decree No. 95/2024/ND-CP, the general housing decree, and only add social-housing-specific requirements.
Obligation to set aside social housing land in commercial projects
This is the provision with the largest financial impact on commercial housing developers:
- In special-grade and Class I, II, and III urban areas, developers must set aside 20 percent of the total residential land area, excluding existing residential land and resettlement land, that already has technical infrastructure, for social housing construction.
- Instead of setting aside land within the project, a developer may propose an equivalent parcel of land elsewhere in the same urban area, or pay cash equal to the land's value.
- The cash amount has two components: the land use fee for the 20 percent land area, calculated under land law, plus the corresponding infrastructure cost, calculated using the technical infrastructure investment rate published by the Ministry of Construction, excluding land-filling or sea-encroachment costs. Late payment incurs late-payment charges under tax administration rules. The amount is paid into the local budget and the National Housing Fund.
Selecting the project investor
- Only one interested investor: the provincial People's Committee approves the investor directly if they meet equity capital and capital-mobilization conditions.
- Competitive bidding: uses a 100 point scoring system across three groups of criteria, capacity and experience, business investment plan, and sector or local development effectiveness. The proposed sale, lease-purchase, or rental price carries the largest weight, 40 to 50 percent of total points. The winning bidder must meet the minimum score for each criteria group and a total score of at least 70 percent.
Investor incentives
- A profit margin capped at 10 percent of total construction cost for the social housing portion.
- Exemption from land use fees and land rent for the entire project area, with no application procedure required.
- A portion of the project may be used for commercial services or commercial housing, though that commercial housing portion still requires payment of a specifically determined land use fee.
- Preferential loans for social housing developers not using public investment capital, and preferential loans for individuals who self-build or renovate housing for rent.
Housing types, area standards, and buyer or tenant eligibility
The decree sets the housing types and area standards for project-built social housing and for housing built by individuals for rent, along with the housing-status and income conditions required to qualify for social housing support. This is information that businesses and trade unions should know when advising employees on housing benefits.
Pricing and procedures for sale, lease, and lease-purchase
The decree sets out how to determine rental, lease-purchase, and sale prices for social housing depending on the funding source, public investment or trade union funds versus other sources, the price-appraisal process through the provincial People's Committee's specialized agency, and the rules for waiving or reducing rent on state-owned social housing.
Why this matters for businesses
Developers of commercial housing projects in Class III or higher urban areas should immediately review the 20 percent social-housing land obligation when preparing new investment policy applications, since the provincial People's Committee must decide on this requirement at the investment-approval stage, not later. Companies planning to develop social housing projects themselves should prepare bid documents that meet the competitive criteria, especially the proposed price, which carries up to half the total score, and factor the 10 percent profit cap into project planning from the outset.