Circular No. 17/2014/TT-BXD amending and supplementing certain Articles in Circular No. 07/2013/TT-BXD dated May 15, 2013, and Circular No. 18/2013/TT-BXD dated October 31, 2013 guiding the determination of subjects eligible for housing loan support under Resolution No. 02/NQ-CP dated January 7, 2013 of the Government.

CIRCULAR

Amending and supplementing certain Articles in Circular No. 07/2013/TT-BXD

dated May 15 2013 and Circular No. 18/2013/TT-BXD

dated October 31, 2013 guiding the determination of subjects

eligible for housing support loans pursuant to Resolution No. 02/NQ-CP

January 7, 2013 of the Government

____________________ 

Pursuant to the Law on Housing dated November 29, 2005;

Pursuant to Decree No. 62/2013/NĐ-CP dated June 25, 2013 of the Government stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Construction;

Pursuant to Decree No. 71/2010/NĐ-CP dated June 23, 2010 of the Government detailing and guiding the implementation of the Law on Housing

Pursuant to Resolution No. 02/NQ-CP dated January 7, 2013 of the Government on certain measures to resolve difficulties in production and business operations, support markets, and address bad debts

Pursuant to Resolution No. 61/NQ-CP dated August 21, 2014 of the Government on amending and supplementing certain contents of Resolution No. 02/NQ-CP of the Government on several measures to address difficulties in production and business, support markets, and resolve bad debts;

The Minister of Construction hereby issues this Circular to regulate the issuance of real estate brokerage practice certificates; guide the operation of real estate trading floors.

The Minister of Construction hereby promulgates this Circular amending and supplementing certain Articles in Circular No. 07/2013/TT-BXD dated May 15, 2013 guiding the determination of subjects eligible for housing support loans pursuant to Resolution No. 02/NQ-CP dated January 7, 2013 of the Government and Circular No. 18/2013/TT-BXD dated October 31, 2013 amending and supplementing certain Articles in Circular No. 07/2013/TT-BXD guiding the determination of subjects eligible for housing support loans pursuant to Resolution No. 02/NQ-CP dated January 7, 2013 of the Government, issued by the Ministry of Construction as follows:

Article 1. Amending and supplementing certain Articles in Circular No. 07/2013/TT-BXD dated May 15, 2013 and Circular No. 18/2013/TT-BXD dated October 31, 2013 of the Ministry of Construction guiding the determination of subjects eligible for housing support loans pursuant to Resolution No. 02/NQ-CP dated January 7, 2013 of the Government

1. Amending and supplementing Clause 1 Article 1 of Circular No. 07/2013/TT-BXD as follows

"1. Scope of regulation: This Circular regulates matters related to the determination of subjects eligible for loans to lease, purchase, and buy social housing; loans to lease, purchase commercial housing with an area less than 70 square meters and a selling price below 15 million VND per square meter; loans to purchase commercial housing at projects developing housing, urban development projects on areas that have been approved by competent authorities with a total value of the sales contract including VAT (both house and land) not exceeding 1.05 billion VND; loans to build new or renovate and repair their own houses and loans to develop social housing according to Resolution No. 02/NQ-CP dated January 7, 2013 and Resolution No. 61/NQ-CP dated August 21, 2014 of the Government."

2. Amending and supplementing Point b Clause 2 Article 1 of Circular No. 07/2013/TT-BXD as follows

"b. Civil servants, public officials, members of the armed forces, and low-income individuals borrowing to lease or purchase commercial housing with an area less than 70 square meters and a selling price below 15 million VND per square meter; civil servants, public officials, members of the armed forces, workers, and low-income individuals who are having difficulty finding housing when purchasing commercial housing at projects developing housing, urban development projects on areas that have been approved by competent authorities with a total value of the sales contract including VAT (both house and land) not exceeding 1.05 billion VND; civil servants, public officials, members of the armed forces, and workers in urban areas (in wards, towns) who already have land use rights consistent with planning but are currently facing housing difficulties and have not received any form of state support to build new or renovate and repair their own houses."

3. Amending and supplementing Clause 1 Article 1 of Circular No. 18/2013/TT-BXD as follows

"c) Enterprises that are investors in social housing projects in accordance with housing laws; enterprises that are investors in commercial housing projects converted to social housing projects; households and individuals with plans to renovate or build new social housing in compliance with the law to lease, lease-purchase, and sell to workers in industrial zones, small and medium-sized industrial clusters, export processing zones, economic zones, high-tech parks, industrial production facilities, handicraft industries, factories, and plants (both inside and outside industrial zones) of all sectors and economic components; workers in urban areas from all economic components; students and pupils of universities, colleges, vocational high schools, vocational colleges, and technical secondary schools (both public and non-public) and other subjects eligible for social housing solutions under housing laws."

4. Amending and supplementing Article 2 of Circular No. 07/2013/TT-BXD as follows

"Article 2. Regulations on subjects eligible for loans to lease, lease-purchase, and purchase social housing; loans to lease, purchase commercial housing with an area less than 70 square meters and a selling price below 15 million VND per square meter; loans to purchase commercial housing with a total value of the sales contract including VAT (both house and land) not exceeding 1.05 billion VND; loans to build new or renovate and repair their own houses; households and individuals investing in renovating or building new social housing in compliance with the law to lease, lease-purchase, and sell to subjects in accordance with housing laws

1. Civil servants, public officials, and employees receiving salaries from the state budget belonging to Party, State, and mass organizations; employees of public service units; members of the people's armed forces.

2. Low-income individuals are workers in non-public service units, enterprises of all economic components, cooperatives established and operating in accordance with the law; persons who have retired according to regulations; self-employed workers, individual traders.

3. Civil servants, public officials, members of the armed forces, and workers in urban areas who already have land use rights consistent with planning but are currently facing housing difficulties and have not received any form of state support, borrowing to build new or renovate and repair their own houses.

4. Households and individuals investing in the renovation or construction of new social housing in accordance with the provisions of the law for leasing, lease-purchase, and sale to workers at industrial zones, small and medium-sized industrial clusters, export processing zones, economic zones, high-tech parks, industrial production facilities, handicraft production facilities, factories, and workshops (both within and outside industrial zones) across all sectors and occupations under various forms of ownership; workers under various forms of ownership in urban areas; students and pupils from universities, colleges, vocational high schools, vocational colleges, intermediate vocational colleges, and vocational training schools for workers (regardless of public or private status); and other eligible recipients for social housing as stipulated in Decree No. 188/2013/ND-CP dated November 20, 2013 of the Government on the development and management of social housing.

5. Amend Clause 3, and supplement Clauses 4, 5, and 6 of Article 3 of Circular No. 07/2013/TT-BXD as follows:

"3. The subjects specified in Article 2, in addition to meeting the conditions set forth in Circular No. 07/2013/TT-BXD, Circular No. 18/2013/TT-BXD, and this Circular, must also satisfy the loan conditions as prescribed in Circular No. 11/2013/TT-NHNN dated May 15, 2013, and the amendments and supplements to certain articles of Circular No. 11/2013/TT-NHNN dated May 15, 2013 issued by the State Bank of Vietnam."

4. The condition for obtaining a loan to purchase commercial housing with a total contract value including VAT (for both the house and land) not exceeding 1.05 billion VND;

a) The loan recipient must meet the following conditions:

- Not having their own housing, or having housing but with insufficient space. Specifically:

+ Having housing in the form of an apartment, but the average living area per household member is less than 8 square meters;

+ Having individual housing, but the average living area per household member is less than 8 square meters and the plot area of the housing is smaller than the minimum land area standard for construction permits as stipulated by the provincial People's Committee;

+ Not having housing but having residential land that has been granted a Land Use Right Certificate in accordance with the law on land (hereinafter referred to as the Land Use Right Certificate), and the land area is smaller than the minimum land area standard for construction permits as stipulated by the provincial People's Committee.

- The loan recipient must have permanent residence registration in the province or centrally-administered city where the housing project is located. In cases of temporary residence, they must have contributed to social insurance for at least one year in that province or city (which need not be continuous) and have a confirmation letter from the social insurance agency. If the loan recipient works at a branch or representative office in the location of the housing project and the social insurance contributions are made in the location of the company's branch or representative office, then the provisions of this point shall apply provided there is a confirmation letter from the company regarding the social insurance contributions.

- Must have signed a contract to purchase commercial housing with developers of housing projects or urban development projects on the local area that have been approved by competent authorities in accordance with the law on housing.

b) Confirmation of eligibility for loans:

- For loan recipients who are civil servants, government employees, and military personnel belonging to state agencies, political organizations, mass organizations, and public service units, and who are receiving salaries from the state budget, must have a confirmation from their current workplace regarding their place of work and housing situation (in accordance with Model Form 01 attached to this Circular) and only confirmed once; the confirming unit must bear responsibility for the content of its confirmation, without requiring income confirmation;

- For loan recipients who are employees of non-public service units, enterprises under various forms of ownership, cooperatives established and operating in accordance with the law, those who have retired according to regulations, and self-employed workers and individual traders, must have a confirmation from the People's Committee of the commune (village) where the household resides and is registered as a permanent resident or temporary resident regarding their housing situation(in accordance with Model Form 02 attached to this Circular),the loan recipient can only be confirmed once and must bear responsibility for the content of their declaration.

c) Each household can only obtain one loan for housing support as stipulated in this Circular. In cases where children or grandchildren of the head of the household have formed their own families (with a Marriage Certificate) and live together with the head of the household, they are considered independent households and are eligible for housing support loans under this Circular.

5. Conditions for obtaining a loan to construct new or renovate and repair existing housing for cadres, civil servants, public officials, members of the armed forces, and workers in urban areas (towns, townsites) who already have suitable land in accordance with planning:

a) Currently facing housing difficulties but have not yet received any form of state support (must meet the conditions stipulated in Clause 2 of Article 13 of Circular No. 08/2014/TT-BXD dated May 23, 2014 of the Ministry of Construction guiding the implementation of certain provisions of Decree No. 188/2013/ND-CP dated November 20, 2013 of the Government on the development and management of social housing);

b) Already obtained a certificate of land use rights or a construction permit from the competent state authority (for households and individuals investing in new construction or renovation and repair of housing in areas where the construction law requires a construction permit);

c) In cases where there is already housing on the plot of land (already granted a certificate of land use rights), the average living area per household member must be less than 8 square meters or the housing must be severely damaged and require demolition and reconstruction, or the housing is damaged and leaking and needs renovation and repair of the frame-walls and replacement of the roof.

d) Having an application form (in accordance with the model prescribed in Appendix No. 03 issued together with this Circular) and confirmation from the People's Committee of the commune (town) regarding the current status of housing and being responsible for the contents declared.

6. Conditions for borrowing capital for households and individuals investing in renovation or construction of new social housing for lease, lease-purchase, and sale to eligible recipients as stipulated in Decree No. 188/2013/ND-CP dated November 20, 2013 of the Government on the development and management of social housing:

a) Holding a land use right certificate issued by a competent state agency; having a construction permit (for cases where households and individuals invest in new construction or renovation of housing in areas where construction laws require a construction permit);

b) Ensuring the minimum conditions for a room as prescribed in Article 8, the minimum conditions for a house (apartment) as prescribed in Article 9, and the minimum conditions for the construction area as prescribed in Article 10 of Circular No. 08/2014/TT-BXD dated May 23, 2014 of the Ministry of Construction guiding the implementation of certain provisions of Decree No. 188/2013/ND-CP dated November 20, 2013 of the Government on the development and management of social housing;

c) In cases where households and individuals invest in renovation or construction of new social housing for sale, lease, or lease-purchase in areas exempted from construction permits but have ten rooms (or ten apartments) or more, or accommodate fifty people or more, or have over 200 square meters of floor space, they must provide a layout plan showing the overall construction site plan, ensuring the conditions prescribed in Articles 8, 9, and 10 of Circular No. 08/2014/TT-BXD dated May 23, 2014 of the Ministry of Construction, and must obtain written approval from the People's Committee of the commune or ward where the project is located;

d) Having a written commitment to implement the sale, lease, or lease-purchase of social housing (after completing the investment and construction) in accordance with the specified target groups and price range as stipulated in Decree No. 188/2013/ND-CP dated November 20, 2013 of the Government and Circular No. 08/2014/TT-BXD dated May 23, 2014 of the Ministry of Construction, and confirmation from the People's Committee of the commune or ward where the project is located (according to the template at Appendix No. 04 issued together with this Circular).

Article 2. Implementation clause

1. This Circular takes effect from November 25, 2014.

2. Ministries, ministerial-level agencies, People's Committees at all levels, relevant organizations, and individuals shall be responsible for implementing this Circular. Any difficulties arising during the implementation process should be promptly reported to the Ministry of Construction for consideration and resolution./.