Housing pathway of worker migrants: the case study of Ho Chi Minh city, Vietnam

Abstract

Rapid urbanization in emerging nations has led to internal migration to cities for better economic possibilities. Due to escalating housing costs and a lack of affordable housing in rapidly expanding urban regions like Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), low-income workers, notably migrant workers, face discrimination and overcrowded living circumstances. Cross-sectional and social security studies on this population in Vietnam may have overlooked the complexity of housing consumption and decisions, which are thought to be cumulative over time. The study explores housing pathways, which may indicate household mobility. This study defines "migrant worker" as a person who moved from a rural or urban province to Ho Chi Minh City for work and economic opportunities. To document the lived experiences of migratory workers, the study examined the housing pathway. The fact that migration workers move around a lot may show that the author is interested in how inadequate housing affects low-income migrants. Each time they move, their backgrounds, skills, perceptions, and choices affect their housing pathway patterns in different ways. A deeper look at housing pathways may reveal structural barriers like discrimination, financial constraints, and a lack of affordable homes for migratory workers. Therefore, the study focuses on housing choices, search methods, and housing move factors to shed light on their affordable housing struggles. The methodology of the study is centered on Clapham (2005) housing pathway concept, focuses on analyzing housing consumption and the experiences of migrant workers in HCMC who face difficult housing situations. It mostly focuses on three specific groups based on their recent tenure: homeowner, 49-year rental leases (social and commercial housing), and informal room rental (nhà trọ). As an inductive and qualitative methodology, the study used the interpretive phenomenology approach (IPA), which combined two qualitative techniques: semi- interview and life-history mapping (bibliographic mapping). 54 migrant worker families are valid for additional interpretation and analysis out of the 57 interviews I conducted. Housing pathways are analyzed through two key dimensions: tenure status and housing type, revealing the diverse housing trajectories of migrant workers. The findings of the study were summarized as follows. There are five specific housing pathway amongst selected migrant worker in HCMC, including (1) informal rentals, (2) transitional rentals, (3) long-leased holder, (4) homeowner and (5) intergenerational pathway. To be general, the housing pathways are characterized by two segments: rental status and ownership pattern. For most of selected migrant worker, the initial stages of their housing pathway involve the cheap rental market, where migrants face economic constraints and prioritize proximity to job locations. The informal private sector plays a crucial role in addressing the unmet demand for affordable housing in the absence of robust public housing programs. The first pathway represents a chaotic private rental housing pathway of rural-migrant-agriculture based laborers o HCMC, particularly from Mekong Delta. It is characterized by permanent precarity, leading to overcrowding and substandard accommodation in informal rental rooms. The second pathway pertains to rural- urban migrants who are employed in the non-agricultural sector. Despite the appearance of improved housing conditions in the formal sector, their pathway is at risk of turning into permanent precarity, restricting upward mobility on the housing ladder. They often come from economically challenged families and face systemic obstacles, such as unstable employment, low pay, and restricted access to official housing markets. High housing costs from the formal housing sector are regarded as a burden, leaving little room for savings or investments in long-term housing security. Both of the pathways consider their decision to return to their rural origins, particularly if they possess land ownership and hộ khẩu (household registration) at their place of origin. Immigrants without property ownership face difficulties, unable to establish roots in urban areas or hometowns. Despite post-2010 government initiatives for low-income and job-based housing in Vietnam, only a small percentage of recipients have successfully improved their housing trajectory toward official housing accommodations. Since the limited stock for 49-year-leased program and the strict eligibility to access, the third pathway is quite new in Vietnam, with family-based relationships greatly supporting their financial capacity to access. The fourth pathway showed a more complex pattern of homeownership, which can be separated into informal and formal arrangements. Informal homeownership often occurs through the purchase of properties without proper paperwork or through participation in informal land or property transactions, making it a practical option for many people. However, formal housing markets are often unavailable for these individuals, even with low-middle incomes in HCMC. For formal homeowners, generational housing transitions are significant, as family-provided accommodation often acts as an essential predecessor to attaining formal homeownership. It could be regarded as progressing steps from the fifth pathway. Family relations often bridge the intergenerational housing gap by providing resources or transitioning their housing benefits to support younger generations in accessing formal housing options. From the perspective of social structuralism, the study explored the influencing elements that shape their journey. Migrants in the informal rental sector are often the most vulnerable, often finding themselves as escapers from economic hardships and poverty rather than economic seekers. Kinship ties and migrant networks provide social capital that enables individuals to strategically navigate urban systems and secure formal housing arrangements. Life course perspectives show that housing decisions are not merely economic choices but socially constructed responses to improved life events. There are institutional barriers, like strict requirements for getting public housing and complicated administrative processes, that make it harder for low-income migrants to find housing. These migrants employ passive self-searching strategies, highlighting the socially constructed nature of housing pathways. Homeownership, a form of urban integration, involves both formal and informal arrangements, as well as long-term lease holding. Factors such as improved employment opportunities, education, and modern lifestyles influence migration. Long-term leaseholders prioritize housing stability, with job proximity being a significant factor. Their housing decisions reflect rationality, and their pursuit of secure tenure through long-term rental contracts is a socially constructed strategy. However, migrants who have attained homeownership face complex housing challenges. For those engaged in informal homeownership, legalization of property use, bureaucratic obstacles, and discrimination in accessing essential public services can lead to socio-spatial isolation. Some individuals view informal homeownership as a proactive approach to ensure housing stability, but it often involves diminished legal safeguards, susceptibility to eviction, and unclear property rights. Government policies and property rights legislation also influence informal homeownership, leading to increased insecurity. The shift from informal to formal homeownership is linked to major life events, such as marriage or relocation, which impose further financial and emotional burdens. Intergenerational housing transitions and marriage connections with local inhabitants also influence housing mobility, reinforcing gendered and familial characteristics. Even with these problems, the fact that migrant workers still rely on informal homeownership shows that housing security problems and the way people get housing are socially constructed.