Rental price of a house in Hanoi is equal to family living expenses for one month

Rental prices increase rapidly

Currently, renting a house has become the optimal solution chosen by the majority of young people living in Hanoi. According to records, from 2024 to present, the rental market for apartments and houses in Hanoi has become extremely vibrant, with a series of rental groups springing up, attracting tens, even hundreds of thousands of members each group. However, the housing price level has continuously increased, causing rental prices to escalate, with an average increase of 10% to 20% in 2024 alone.

According to Mr. Nguyen Hoang Nam (from Bac Ninh), his family is renting a 65m2, designed with 2 bedrooms in Cau Giay district (Hanoi) for 15 million VND/month since 2020. Each month, the couple earns about 35 million VND. After paying the rent, his family still has almost enough to cover living expenses. Recently, the landlord announced an increase in rental price to 20 million VND/month from May 1, with the reason "high apartment prices".

His family is considering renting a smaller mini apartment to reduce costs. "The rental rate of 20 million VND/month is equal to my salary. If we continue to rent, my family will not be able to afford it," said Mr. Nam.

At the same time, Mr. Trung Kien - a sales staff in Cau Giay District - also said that he had been looking for a room for more than a month but the rental price was beyond his financial capacity. rooms that are affordable are humid, with no electricity or water; rooms with better quality have too high rental prices, while the amenities are not commensurate.

Mr. Kien's income ranges from 10-12 million VND/month. Rental rent and electricity and water costs account for nearly half of income, the rest is for food, travel, medicine, recreation... there are months when there is still a shortage. Many workers earning 10 million VND/month or students from other provinces studying in Hanoi will find it difficult to "receive" the current rental rate. This is the reason why many people are forced to live together to share costs. As for Mr. Kien, because he could not find a person to live with, he had to "carry" all the room rent alone for nearly a year.

Not only apartments, affordable rental houses have also increased in price "milestone" in recent times. Ms. Nguyen Thu Ha - a student at the University of Law - is renting a room on Lang Street (Dong Da District) for 5 million VND/month for a 25m2 room. At first, Ms. Ha planned to temporarily rent for a few months and then find a cheaper place, but for the past month, she has not been able to find a lower rental room.

According to the survey, small rental houses with an area of 12-15m2, rental price of 2-2.5 million VND/month are almost gone. If there is, the price will also be pushed up by at least 200,000 VND. Rooms with 25m2 or more recorded unusually high prices.

In Yen Hoa area (Cau Giay), 15-25m2 rooms currently have a rental price of 2.5-3.5 million VND/month, an increase of 300,000-500,000 VND compared to before. A 35-40m2 room costs 6-6.5 million VND/month. Xuan Thuy area (Cau Giay) also recorded a sharp increase in rental prices, about 4.5-5 million VND/month for a 28-30m2 room.

In Hoang Mai district, the rental price of 20-25m2 rooms in Truong Dinh, Dinh Cong Thuong, and Giap Bat wards has increased from 2.2-2.8 million VND to 2.7-3,3 million VND/month. In Thanh Xuan District, the rental price for 20-30m2 rooms ranges from 2.5-5 million VND/month, the most common being 3.5-4.5 million VND.

In My Dinh area (Nam Tu Liem), the lowest 15m2 room is also from 2.8 million VND/month, the room over 20m2 costs from 3.5 million VND or more.

The type of room rented for less than 2 million VND/month is currently very rare, usually just a small room under 15m2, located deep in a narrow alley, lacking amenities, without furniture, or shared by a host.

Rental prices are high, but finding a place to stay in the past has been extremely difficult for students and workers. Many people are forced to accept staying in poor quality rented rooms.

Renting people accept the risk of low-cost accommodation

According to Mr. Do Anh The - a rental broker in Cau Giay, currently rental houses under 3 million VND/room are very scarce. If any, they are all old, low-quality houses. Many people, due to limited finances, have to accept renting and looking for friends to share expenses, but their quality of life has declined significantly.

There are currently no mandatory regulations on the rental price framework for boarding houses. However, to implement Directive 19/CT-TTg of the Prime Minister dated June 24, 2024 on strengthening fire prevention and fighting (PCCC) for multi-storey houses, multi-apartment houses, individual houses combined with business, many landlords have announced an increase in rental prices due to investment in repairs to meet regulations. Boarding houses that do not meet safety standards will be forced to stop operations after March 30, 2025.

According to the review, Hanoi currently has about 37,000 establishments selling mini rental houses and apartments. Most of these have been built a long time ago, with degraded infrastructure, and do not meet fire prevention and fighting requirements. After the authorities tightened management, many landlords only had time to add some basic fire prevention and fighting items, and to meet the standards, they would be forced to temporarily suspend operations.