HCMC – Facing housing demand from nearly one million people seeking to buy, rent, or lease-purchase social housing, HCMC is pursuing a shift from primarily developing homes for sale to expanding both ownership and rental housing.
The move has been identified as a key priority to address housing needs for workers, laborers, and vulnerable groups as the city’s population continues to grow rapidly.
The information was announced at a conference on promoting investment in rental housing development held by the HCMC government on June 9.
Data from the HCMC Real Estate Association (HoREA) showed that after the merger with Binh Duong and Ba Ria-Vung Tau provinces, the city now has around 974,000 people in need of social housing. Although HCMC aims to develop 181,498 social housing units during the 2026-2030 period, bringing the total projected supply to nearly 200,000 units when combined with previous achievements, the figure remains far below actual demand.
At the conference, experts and businesses highlighted housing rent as the largest burden on workers’ household budgets. Le Hoang Chau, chairman of HoREA, said rental costs equivalent to 20% of income are considered manageable, but spending more than 25% could significantly undermine workers’ ability to maintain their livelihoods and productivity.
To attract private investment, Chau proposed exempting eligible rental housing projects from land-use and land-rental fees, particularly those offering rents affordable to low-income residents.
To implement the strategy, the HCMC government will finalize a social and rental housing development plan with a vision to 2045. The city will prioritize the allocation of cleared land, improve the effectiveness of the city’s Housing Development Fund, and study additional incentives to encourage investors.
Authorities will also review underutilized resettlement housing and public assets for conversion into rental housing projects.
Speaking at the event, HCMC Chairman Nguyen Van Duoc described rental housing development as a strategic task to attract and retain the workforce. He also called on the Ministry of Construction to promptly issue detailed standards and regulations to establish a consistent legal framework.
Deputy Minister of Construction Nguyen Van Sinh said the ministry would work closely with local authorities to implement rental housing targets through 2030 in line with the Prime Minister’s directives.
Under the plan, all localities are required to break ground on at least one rental housing project in June 2026 and accelerate the rollout of additional projects in the second half of the year to boost housing supply.
