These days, Ms. Nguyen Minh Ngoc (born in 2008, Phu Tho) and her family came to Hanoi to find a boarding house after receiving the news of university admission. Ngoc wants to find a mini apartment in the Cau Giay area with a rent from 3 - 4 million VND/month. However, finding a boarding room is not easy at all.
Ngoc said that in just one morning, the family went to see more than 10 mini-apartments but still could not find a suitable apartment. Most mini-apartments have only 1 bedroom, and are rented by homeowners at prices ranging from 4.2 - 6.5 million VND/month.
Rooms under 4 million VND/month in the Cau Giay area are advertised online, but when viewed in reality, they are quite small, stuffy, without windows or balconies. Not to mention, homeowners charge many service fees such as electricity bills of about 3,800 - 4,000 VND/kWh, water bills of 100,000 VND/month, other service fees (hallway electricity, garbage bills, parking fees... ) of about more than 200,000 VND/month.
Ngoc calculated that if she stayed alone, she would have to pay about more than 5 million VND per month. For first-year students, this is a very large number.
Also in a similar situation, Mr. Tran Duc Manh - a third-year student in Hanoi - is looking for a mini apartment to conveniently go to school and work. After more than a week of searching, most of the mini apartments he sees are quite expensive. There are small apartments but because they are fully equipped with furniture, they are rented at prices from 5.5 - 6 million VND/month.
Mr. Manh is considering a plan to find a roommate to reduce the monthly cost burden.
Through Lao Dong's survey, the price of rented rooms and mini-apartments around universities in Thanh Xuan, Cau Giay, Ba Dinh and Dong Da areas is still maintained at a high level. Rooms with air conditioning and basic furniture are being rented at prices from 3.5 - 9 million VND/month.
For mini apartments, the rental price is quite high and it is very difficult to find an apartment under 3 million VND/month. With a price of under 4 million VND/month, the room area is usually quite small, with little furniture. Meanwhile, large apartments are often located quite far from schools.
Through searching on social networking groups and actual surveys, most mini-apartments are offered for rent at prices above 4 million VND/month.
For example, a 30m2 mini-apartment on Kim Ma street (Giang Vo ward), with some basic furniture, is being rented for 7 million VND/month, excluding service fees. Another rented room on Tran Duy Hung street (Yen Hoa ward), with an area of about 25m2, is being rented for 5.7 million VND/month.
Mr. Tran Van Tuan - the owner of a mini apartment rental in Hanoi said that the rental price of a mini apartment in Hanoi is currently high and may continue to increase in the near future.
Mr. Tuan added that currently many landlords invest in furniture for rented rooms, so rental prices are difficult to reduce. At a time when the demand for renting is high, students need to carefully consider the rental price, incurred costs and actual conditions of the room before deciding to rent.
