Ms. Phan Tran Dieu Linh and her brother both have low incomes and want to register to buy social housing. Ms. Linh sees that the beneficiaries of the housing support policy in Clause 5, Article 76 of the 2023 Housing Law are "low-income people in urban areas".

Ms. Linh is working in Dong Anh commune, Hanoi city. She asked, is the commune where she works considered an urban area?

Ms. Linh's brother lives and works in a town in a province bordering Hanoi city. After the merger, the town became a commune. So is the commune still an urban area after the merger? Which document specifically regulates the determination of urban and rural areas?

The Ministry of Construction responded to this issue as follows:

Clause 1, Article 13 of Resolution No. 76/2025/UBTVQH15 dated April 14, 2025 of the National Assembly Standing Committee on the arrangement of administrative units in 2025 stipulates:

"1. People, cadres, civil servants, public employees, workers, and salary earners in the armed forces in the administrative unit after the arrangement continue to enjoy the special regimes and policies applied by region, by area or by administrative unit as before the arrangement until there is another decision by the competent authority".

Clause 4 and Clause 5, Article 26 of Decree No. 178/2025/ND-CP dated July 1, 2025 of the Government detailing a number of articles of the Law on Urban and Rural Planning stipulate:

"4. New town or urban areas that have had their urban planning approved before the effective date of this Decree, now located in communes, shall continue to be managed and implemented according to the approved urban planning and when preparing and approving the general planning of the commune after the arrangement, the content of the approved urban planning must be inherited.

5. Decisions on urban classification issued by competent authorities before July 1, 2025 based on the results of urban quality assessment on the basis of approved urban and rural planning shall continue to be effective until replaced, amended or abolished in accordance with the provisions of law".

Based on the above regulations, people in the administrative unit after the arrangement will continue to enjoy the regimes and policies applied according to the administrative unit as before the arrangement until there is another decision by the competent authority.