Loans to buy social housing: income conditions and preferential rates

Basis: Decree 100/2024/NĐ-CP as amended by Decree 261/2025/NĐ-CP; Official Letter 5340/NHNN-CSTT of the State Bank of Vietnam. Policy changes by period, so ask the bank and the developer before filing. Updated 24/10/2026.

Social housing is for the groups and income levels set by law, with a loan package at a lower rate than commercial loans. This article gives the main milestones and an example payment calculation; detailed procedures are guided by the local Department of Construction and the project developer.

1. Income conditions (under Decree 100/2024, amended by Decree 261/2025)

For workers, officials, civil servants and public employees (a LuatVietnam summary):

Case	Maximum average take-home income
Single person	20 million VND/month
Single person raising a child under 18	30 million VND/month
Married	40 million VND/month (combined income of the couple)

Income is based on the pay and salary table confirmed by the employer; for a single person it covers the 12 months before the confirmation date. Poor and near-poor households are assessed by the household-status certificate. The army and police have separate levels by pay grade. Provincial People's Committees may adjust within the legal range. Besides income, you must also meet housing and residence conditions, depending on the group.

2. The current preferential loan package

Under Official Letter 5340/NHNN-CSTT (Vietnam+, 26/06/2026), for people under 35 buying social housing, with loans disbursed from 01/7/2026 to 31/12/2026:

• First 5 years: 6.5% a year, 2 percentage points below the average medium and long-term lending rate of the four state-owned commercial banks.
• Next 10 years: 7.5% a year, 1 percentage point below that average.
• Maximum loan term: 15 years in this package.
• Participating banks: 9 banks: Agribank, BIDV, Vietcombank, VietinBank, MB, Techcombank, VPBank, TPBank, HDBank.

Doanh nghiep & Hoi nhap newspaper (08/10/2026), citing a representative of the State Bank's Credit Department, said the programme rate for social housing buyers is currently 6.5% a year and 7% a year for developers, with promotional periods of 5 years and 3 years respectively. People over 35 should ask the bank which rate and promotional period apply to them.

3. Example: borrowing 1 billion VND

For easy comparison, the example keeps 6.5% for all 15 years (in practice the rate after 5 years is 7.5% in the young-people package):

• Social housing, 6.5% a year, 15 years: equal principal-and-interest payment of about 8.7 million VND/month.
• Commercial loan, 10% a year, 15 years: about 10.7 million VND/month.

The gap is about 2.0 million VND a month, or about 24 million VND a year. A commercial loan with a floating rate after the promotion can be higher still; see How to calculate home loan interest.

4. Steps to take

1. Work out which group you belong to and prepare confirmations of income, housing and residence.
2. File the purchase application with the social housing project developer; it reviews applications under the rules and announces a list.
3. When you have a unit allocated, file the loan application at a bank in the package; the bank still appraises income and repayment ability as for an ordinary loan.
4. Ask in writing: the rate in each period, the term, the early-repayment fee, and whether insurance is compulsory. See Early repayment.
5. Check the monthly payment against income, and leave a reserve fund; see Managing your finances before buying a home.

5. When social housing is not suitable

If your income exceeds the ceiling, there is no allocation in the area you want, or you need to receive the home early, a commercial apartment or a ready unit is another choice. The loan rate is then higher, so compare the total cost over the life of the loan. See Bank loans to buy a ready apartment and Calculating cash flow when buying a home.

6. Notes when borrowing to buy social housing

• Policy changes by period: the State Bank announces the rate for each period; a loan disbursed in another period may have a different rate. Ask the bank for the rate and the application date stated in the contract.
• Social housing has its own rules on transfer and minimum ownership time: ask the developer and read the contract before signing, especially if you plan to resell after a few years.
• The rate rises after the promotional period: in the young-people package the rate after 5 years is 7.5% per the official letter, but other packages may float; calculate the payment at a higher level to be sure you can bear it.
• Confirmation documents expire: income and housing confirmations are usually valid only for a limited time; do them together so you do not have to request them again.

If you are weighing social housing against a commercial apartment, build a comparison table of the total loan cost over 15–20 years for both instead of looking only at the first-year rate.

• Vietnam+ (VNA) — Từ 1/7, áp dụng lãi suất vay mua nhà ở xã hội với người trẻ 6,5% (Official Letter 5340/NHNN-CSTT; 6.5% first 5 years, 7.5% next 10 years, 9 banks), 26/06/2026.
• Doanh nghiep & Hoi nhap — Lãi suất vay mua nhà ở xã hội hiện ở mức 6,5%/năm (statement by a State Bank Credit Department representative on 07/10), 08/10/2026.
• LuatVietnam — Thu nhập bao nhiêu thì được mua nhà ở xã hội? (income ceilings under Decree 100/2024 as amended by Decree 261/2025), accessed 24/10/2026.