Officially raising the income cap to 40 million VND/month for married couples buying social housing

On October 11, at the second meeting of the Central Steering Committee on Housing Policy and the Real Estate Market, Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha stated that the Government has adjusted the income cap for individuals buying or leasing social housing.

Dong Nai’s residents tally ballots in the draw for the right to purchase social housing. Illustrative photo: Hoang Loc

Accordingly, on October 10, the Government signed and issued Decree 261/2025/ND-CP, amending and supplementing several articles of Decree 100/2024/ND-CP dated July 26, 2024, which details certain provisions of the Housing Law on social housing development and management, and Decree 192/2025/ND-CP dated July 1, 2025, which details several provisions and implementation measures of Resolution 201/2025/QH15 dated May 29, 2025, of the National Assembly piloting several special mechanisms and policies for social housing development.

In the newly issued decree, the Government has agreed to raise the income cap for buyers of social housing. Specifically, the ceiling will be raised to 20 million VND/month for individuals, 40 million VND/month for married couples, and 30 million VND/month for single parents raising young children (currently the cap is 15 million VND/month for individuals, 30 million VND/month for married couples, and there is no separate regulation for single parents with young children).

In addition, the decree also includes an open provision allowing Chairpersons of Provincial and Municipal People’s Committees to adjust the income cap according to actual local income conditions.

A groundbreaking ceremony was held for a social housing project in Ho Nai Ward, Dong Nai Province at the end of September 2025. Photo: Archive

The new decree also introduces more flexible mechanisms for informal workers. Accordingly, individuals without labor contracts may have their income certified by the commune-level police based on the national population database. The time limit is 7 days from the date of receiving the citizen’s request.

According to Government leaders, this adjustment aims to expand the group of beneficiaries, create opportunities for middle-income earners to access social housing, while promoting product consumption and encouraging developers to implement projects. This is considered one of the breakthrough solutions for social housing development in the coming period, contributing to achieving the goal of 1 million housing units during 2021–2030.

In Dong Nai, in recent times, many workers and informal laborers have been unable to buy or rent social housing due to income-related procedures, including both income eligibility and regular income verification, resulting in not meeting the conditions for purchase or lease. This situation is unfair to low-income earners and also affects developers’ ability to sell units.

By Hoang Loc – Translated by Quynh Nhu, Thu Ha