According to National Assembly Deputy Nguyen Quang Huan, law enforcement should neither legitimize mistakes nor criminalize issues, ensuring respect for the rule of law while preserving the humanitarian spirit of a law-governed state.
On October 28, the National Assembly held a plenary session to discuss the results of thematic oversight on “the implementation of policies and laws on managing the real estate market and developing social housing from 2015 through the end of 2023.”
Sharing his views, National Assembly Deputy Nguyen Quang Huan highly appreciated the oversight results in a difficult and urgent area involving complex and topical issues of concern to voters. “The report has clearly addressed the development and implementation of policies and laws, frankly identifying shortcomings without avoiding difficult issues, while also putting forward detailed and specific solutions,” he said.
National Assembly Deputy Nguyen Quang Huan at the discussion session on the morning of October 28. Photo: Quochoi.vn
Commenting on the thematic oversight, National Assembly Deputy Nguyen Quang Huan said that mistakes should not be legitimized, but neither should issues be criminalized. He noted that nine projects had recently been transferred for investigation, including projects in Binh Duong, Hanoi, and Ho Chi Minh City, which had raised concerns among voters.
“The essence of citizens’ complaints and petitions is that they are seeking to reclaim their housing rights, having invested substantial amounts of money for many years without receiving the homes they were promised. In reality, people do not want to escalate these cases, potentially leading to project developers being prosecuted or local officials who have devoted years to public service — some of whom may be just one or two months away from retirement — facing legal proceedings over a signature they made 10 years ago. As noted in the oversight report, the relevant policies and regulations at that time were not yet clear. Looking back 10 years later, the issue may seem easy to resolve, but at the time, it was a difficult matter,” National Assembly Deputy Nguyen Quang Huan said.
The deputy suggested that the National Assembly should establish an appropriate mechanism to ensure, on the one hand, strict adherence to the rule of law and stringent action against wrongdoing, while on the other hand preserving the humanitarian spirit of the socialist rule-of-law state. Cases should be classified to appropriately address projects involving violations and wastefulness. For projects involving multiple ministries and sectors, inter-ministerial and Government-level opinions should be sought to avoid prolonged legal proceedings lasting for years.
Regarding the requirement to allocate 20% of land for social housing, National Assembly Deputy Nguyen Quang Huan suggested considering the development of social housing alongside commercial housing projects. According to the deputy, if social housing is built within a commercial housing area to lower standards, it could detract from the appearance and overall quality of the commercial development; however, if it is built to commercial housing standards, the cost would be too high.
Therefore, the deputy suggested that if 20% of the land is allocated for social housing, project developers should instead make a monetary contribution to the State. The State could use these funds to establish a support fund for social housing. This approach, he argued, would be more appropriate than placing lower-quality social housing alongside commercial housing, which could create disparities in both visual appeal and pricing.
Finally, regarding transparency in real estate market transactions, National Assembly Deputy Nguyen Quang Huan suggested focusing on clarifying transactions in the secondary market and issues related to credit. According to him, one factor contributing to a lack of transparency is the significant gap between secondary-market selling prices and the actual prices paid by buyers, which results in tax revenue losses.
Regarding credit, the deputy noted that in practice, there are projects where the same credit institution effectively lends to the developer with one hand and to homebuyers with the other, creating a conflict of interest. If the “right hand” lending to buyers is stopped, the developer could face a liquidity crunch, causing the project to no longer operate according to market mechanisms.
Watch more video coverage of National Assembly Deputy Nguyen Quang Huan’s comments during the discussion on October 28: