The Prime Minister has instructed the State Bank of Vietnam to take the lead in researching and proposing preferential credit policies for developers of long-term rental housing projects, with stable interest rates and loan tenures aligned with project payback cycles.

Prime Minister Lê Minh Hưng. (Photo: VGP)

Prime Minister Lê Minh Hưng recently held a working session with the Hanoi People’s Committee and relevant ministries and agencies on the development of rental housing in the capital, according to the Government News.

The development of affordable commercial housing and rental housing is a major policy direction of the Party and the State. In particular, prioritizing rental housing development — especially apartment-for-rent models — is considered a strategic orientation with fundamental significance, helping reshape Vietnam’s housing market development mindset in the coming period.

Hanoi has been selected as the pilot locality for rental housing development, serving as a foundation for replication across other major urban centers and key economic regions nationwide.

Under the Capital Master Plan, Hanoi is oriented toward developing multi-functional urban areas, while the Capital Law grants the city authority to pilot new mechanisms and policies. Accordingly, the Prime Minister requested the city to comprehensively review land-use planning, urban and rural planning, land banks, and inefficiently utilized public housing assets in order to formulate plans for rental housing development. Effective pilot mechanisms may later be expanded nationwide.

Hanoi has been tasked with commencing construction of several rental housing projects in June, while flexibly utilizing revenue collected from social housing obligations in cash under a model where the State invests and professional enterprises operate the projects. The city is also required to formulate plans for investment, construction, and operation of rental housing projects, while proposing mechanisms to mobilize social resources and policies related to land allocation and land leasing.

The Ministry of Construction has been assigned to propose new policies and a comprehensive mechanism for rental housing development. The ministry is also required to study orientations for classifying housing development into four categories: commercial housing, rental housing, official residences, and policy-based housing.

The Prime Minister suggested several policy directions, including studying long-term lease policies ranging from 15–20 years or longer, and requiring commercial housing projects to allocate a certain proportion of units for rental purposes. He also requested proposals for specific financial mechanisms enabling State participation and suitable approaches to attract private enterprises to invest in and develop long-term rental housing.

The Ministry of Construction is required to coordinate with local authorities — initially including Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Dong Nai, Hai Phong, and Da Nang — to determine rental housing demand by segment and propose specific nationwide targets for rental housing development. The ministry is also tasked with studying mechanisms that would allow enterprises and cooperatives to purchase commercial housing and social housing solely for rental operations.

Regarding the Ministry of Finance, the Prime Minister requested urgent guidance within its authority on accounting mechanisms for cash revenues collected from social housing obligations, capital preservation mechanisms for investment in rental housing development, and financial and tax incentives for long-term rental housing projects aimed at creating sufficient motivation to attract private capital and long-term investment funds.

For the State Bank of Vietnam, the Prime Minister requested the agency to take the lead in researching and proposing preferential credit policies for long-term rental housing project developers, featuring stable interest rates and loan tenures aligned with project payback cycles. If necessary, the State Bank should also study refinancing mechanisms for commercial banks or flexible credit growth quotas for banks participating in rental housing financing.