Government apartment buildings in Hanoi are showing signs of deterioration and private companies find it difficult to invest in these projects.

Social housing in Long Bien District

The CT19A apartment building in the Viet Hung Urban Area, Long Bien District is a six-storey building with 515 apartments with no elevator. After five years, many parts of the building appear run-down.

Doan, a resident in the building said her family lives on the sixth floor. Her roof leaks water and cracks have appeared all over the building. She said, "When it rains, the underground parking lot floods. I even fear that its roof might collapse one day."

Despite its appearance and the nuisances, rent in the building has just gone up from VND29,100 to VND38,515 per square metre. "My total rent increased by VND1 million (USD48). The number may not bother working people but it's a huge sum for retirees like us," another resident said. He went on to say that increased price might force some residents to move. 

Vo Vinh Nam from the Management Unit of Urban Development, under the Ministry of Construction, said building maintenance and operation depends on the city budget. "Our annual fund is about VND400-500 million. This does not cover the maintenance cost for over 500 apartments. So we can only do maintenance work on one block and wait for the next year fund to repair the rest," Nam said.

Meanwhile, the Viglacera Infrastructure Investment Development Company is planning to invest in a social housing project in Gia Lam District, but they are dealing with problems with the procedures. Even home buyers have to go through a lot of procedures before they can are allowed to buy an apartment.

Tran Anh Tuan, Director of Viglacera Company, said potential residents must have at least one-year temporary resident permit and low-income people must have been contributing to the social insurance system for more than one year. According to Tuan, students would find it almost impossible to fulfill the requirements. He added that the Ministry of Construction should loosen their regulations.