The new school year 2025 - 2026 has begun, at this time, the rental market in Hanoi has become bustling as a large number of students are enrolled, causing rental prices to increase. Faced with great demand, many students have difficulty finding accommodation.
To find a suitable room, Vu Thi Minh Hang - a student at the Academy of Journalism and Communication had to go to Hanoi nearly a month before her admission date. During the search, Hang encountered many difficulties due to high rental prices, some affordable rooms were far from school or lacked amenities.
According to Hang, at the beginning of the school year, the price of rooms was pushed up, making it very difficult to find a room. Hang has visited some rental rooms, but many places have quality that is not commensurate with the price.
For example, at a boarding house opposite the Academy of Journalism and Communication, Hang was introduced to a small "room", separated from other rooms by a cardboard board, with an area of only one bed. The room does not have many amenities, and has to share a toilet, but is still being offered for rent at 1.6 million VND/month.
"Even for closed rentals in the Cau Giay area, the cheapest price I refer to is about 3.5 million VND/room. If you add electricity, water and services, the cost for two people can be up to 5 million VND/month. This is a price beyond the affordability of students like me - Minh Hang shared.
Similarly, Nguyen Thi Ngoc Linh (Hung Yen) is also having many difficulties in finding a place to live. Although she is a 4th year student, moving into a boarding house at this time is very difficult for Linh.
Ngoc Linh said that she had consulted many rental rooms on social networking sites and searched directly. However, for more than 2 months, Linh has not found a satisfactory room, because the number of rooms to meet the needs and finances of students is quite scarce.
"Some rental houses have set unreasonable requirements, while the material conditions are poor but the rental price is high. Some places have electricity bills of up to VND5,000-5,500/kWh, the rooms are very cramped and stuffy inside, and some places even require me to pay an additional VND300,000 for fingerprint fees, even though that is an essential condition to get in and out of the rented room" - Ngoc Linh added.
The survey shows that the current rental price is quite high compared to actual conditions. At a boarding house on Tran Thai Tong street, a closed room of more than 10 square meters, located on the 5th floor, that has to be reached by a staircase, is rented for more than 3.7 million VND/month (including fixed service fees).
On Xuan Thuy Street, a single room with shared hygiene lacks basic amenities such as air conditioners, hot air frost or beds. Despite the small, degraded area, the rental price is still at 1.6 million VND/month, causing many students to consider due to remote location and limited living conditions.
Mr. Tran Van Son - the owner of a boarding house on Tran Thai Tong street - said that at the beginning of the school year, when many new students from other provinces come to Hanoi to study, many boarding house owners often adjust prices up. Due to high demand for room rental while the number of empty rooms is limited, students almost still have to rent, regardless of the high or low price. Therefore, if we do not find a room early, there will be almost no more rooms.
According to the Statistics Office (Ministry of Finance), the consumer price index (CPI) in August increased by 3.24% over the same period, mainly due to increased rental prices, maintenance materials and home repair services. Of which, rental prices increased by nearly 7%, material prices increased by nearly 9%. Domestic electricity prices also increased by 10.8%, while water services increased by 3.9%.
Data from Batdongsan.com also showed that in July, the interest in rental housing in Hanoi increased by 11%. Compared to March, many rental rooms have increased in price by about 10%, while mini apartments have increased by 10 - 15%.
