A corner of the Thanh Da residential complex
Specifically, the Thanh Da residential complex in Binh Thanh District which is 5km far from the center of Ho Chi Minh City is in poor repair as its blocks’ paint has been peeling. Moreover, to increase the usable area, most families arbitrarily installed iron cages known as ‘tiger cages’ on their balconies or apartment window. But these were thought of as a problem, blocking routes for firefighters in the event of a blaze, and dangerously hampering rescue attempts.
Most of the corridors inside and the stairs of the lower floors in the apartment are quite dim with many peeling corridor walls and rusted steel next to the water pipes, and electrical wires running along the bottom. Ms. Le Thi Hai Ngoc in Lot E in the Thanh Da residential complex said that her parents have lived in the dormitory since 1990. Growing up and getting married, she also bought an apartment in the Thanh Da residential complex.
Also built before 1975, the Truc Giang apartment building at 41/1 Le Van Linh Street in District 4 is now seriously degraded. The ceiling area in the corridor of the lots is mostly peeling, revealing rusty iron bars, turning dark brown. Many pieces of concrete buckled under the cracks, ready to fall to the ground. Electric wires and cables run tangled along the aisles, and the electrical boxes are rotting, damaged, and lying on their side.
In 2018, the government found an investor to build a new Truc Giang apartment building. The investor plans to resettle on the spot with the conversion rate of 1m2 of the old apartment to 1.1m2 of the new apartment. Any owner that does not live in the apartment will sell to the investor at the cost of VND27.5 million per square meter. Residents at the apartment building disagreed with this proposal of compensation because the price in the market is VND40 million- VND50 million per square meter. Because of negotiations on-site clearance ended in deadlock, the investor withdrew and the construction of the apartment can’t be carried out.
Currently, 119 owners in the Truc Giang apartment have agreed to move to the Phu Tho apartment building in District 11 while owners of three flats have not yet moved. Mr. Nguyen Minh Hung, who has lived in the Truc Giang apartment building for more than 50 years, is temporarily covering the porch under the corner of the apartment to live.
He said that the local government lobbied us to leave the apartment to pay for the construction of a new apartment, but my family is facing financial difficulty, so my family stays temporarily in the corner of the Truc Giang apartment yard. He added that if he receives more financial support, he will find another place to live.
The poor condition of apartment 440 in Tran Hung Dao Street in District 5 is as bad as the above-mentioned apartments.
Since 2016, Ho Chi Minh City has classified and inspected 474 old apartments which were built before 1975. Amongst them, 14 are graded D (or dangerous) and they need to be dismantled. However, according to the Department of Construction, up to now, only 6/14 grade-D apartments have been relocated while residents in five apartments have not moved. Worse, residents in three apartments have not agreed to move.
According to a leader of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Construction, because investors must fulfill financial obligations arising from the adjustment of architectural planning, they are not interested in building old apartments.
The Ministry of Construction and the Ministry of Finance have not yet agreed on the exemption or reduction of land use fees for new apartment construction projects with a part of expanded land for embellishment.
In particular, it is difficult for D-class apartments to invite investors to build old apartment blocks because most of these apartments have small areas, and investment in new construction of apartments does not guarantee economic efficiency.
However, Mr. Huynh Thanh Khiet, Deputy Director of the Department of Construction pointed out that persuasion of people to move is the most difficult problem because all residents must agree.
Therefore, the People's Committee in Ho Chi Minh City has recently proposed the Ministry of Construction change Decree 101/2015 on the renovation and rebuilding of apartment buildings. According to the suggestion of the municipal People’s Committee, the State will dismantle severely damaged apartments to implement the project when half of the residents approve.
