A resettlement condo project in HCMC's District 7 - Photo: Dinh Dung

The much-touted housing program for displaced families living in several districts in HCMC has challenged municipal authorities for many years, though efforts have been made. More remains to be done over the thorny issue for the city authorities, who are facing pressures from two sides, including building enough accommodation for displaced families and speeding up site-clearance work to quickly give land to investors for project development.

However, developing resettlement condo projects is one thing, and how to manage and to properly distribute those properties to displaced families is another. It is easy to understand that from authorities’ angle, resettlement condos have been built not for commercial purpose but for accommodation, and those apartments are seen as compensation for what those displaced families. Nevertheless, many families for different reasons decided to resell their would-be properties, regardless of current regulation that is not allowed to transfer resettlement apartments.

Demand for accommodation is huge down there in the society, and resettlement condos with affordable prices have drawn attention from many homebuyers. Therefore, the property market is willy-nilly witnessing silent transaction in resettlement condo projects in the city.

Among resettlement projects in the city, the ongoing development New Urban Thu Thiem in HCMC’s District 2 has carried several condo projects to build 12,500 apartments for displaced families. Some major projects are in the pipeline and will supply the market affordable apartments in the coming time.

For example, Nam Rach Chiec Company is developing a condo project at An Phu-Binh Khanh in Thu Thiem Peninsula, building some 1,800 condo units, which is scheduled to be up and running by the end of this year. In another project, the 21st Century International Development Co is working on a resettlement condo project, building some 4,200 apartments in Binh Khanh Ward in the new urban town. Meanwhile, Duc Khai Corp lends the city a hand to work on the Phu My Resettlement condo project in HCMC’s District 7, providing some 3,000 apartments for displaced families in the city. Or most recently, infrastructure for a resettlement condo project with 6,200 apartments in Binh Khanh Ward was broken ground for construction.

However, no one can say for sure that how many displaced families will move to their new homes when the resettlement condo projects are in place. Many people resell their would-be properties; even they resell the right to buy an apartment in the resettlement projects. Of course, transaction is made under the table, thus disputes among buyers and sellers can occur in the future.

Seeing such reality, the HCMC Construction Department has put forward a proposal to the HCMC People’s Committee, allowing displaced families resell their properties but the selling procedures must be monitored to avoid speculation. Accordingly, those who resell their properties must advise district authorities for check and they are allowed to sell the property after a month, or the authorities are given a priority in buying resettlement properties at market prices. An individual who buys a resettlement apartment must be a HCMC citizen and has no other apartment at the time he/she buys the resettlement apartment.

The HCMC Department of Justice has also suggested the municipal authorities allow displaced families to resell their properties so as to ensure interests for both buyers and sellers. The justice department in a recent document suggested that the city should issue a resolution as guidance and a legal corridor to carry out the problem.

However, the department noted the city should consider some items in the proposal and reject unsuitable points, which find hard to carry out in reality, such as requiring a buyer to be HCMC citizen. The requirement violates residence and housing laws. Besides, the regulation that requires a buyer to prove having no other apartment at the time he buys the resettlement apartment is unsuitable to possession and housing laws. In another suggestion, the justice department proposed to eliminate the regulation requiring confirmation from district level authorities in accommodation demand of buyers because this is very difficult to monitor the problem.

Some realty experts say that buying and selling resettlement apartments is a real demand, thus the authorities cannot prohibit it. They suggested that resettlement condo should be considered as a segment in the market, rather than limiting its transaction. Reality proves that transaction has silently been made for a long time. Due to be forbidden, sellers have to sell their properties at a price lower than market levels, and buyers will face risk when disputes occur.