For more than 1 month, Ms. Tran Thi Minh (a student in Hanoi) has been looking for a convenient boarding house to go to work. She wants to rent a room in the Dong Da area for about 3 million VND/month. However, finding a room in this price range is not simple.
When visiting a mini-apartment with basic furniture on Lang street, Ms. Minh was surprised when the homeowner announced a rent of 5 million VND/month, excluding service fees. The room is a studio style, located in an alley.
In some other boarding areas in the vicinity, rental prices range from 3.5-5.5 million VND/month, also not including service fees.
Mr. Nguyen Van Hung (23 years old, working in communications in Hanoi) said that for more than a week now, he has searched for many boarding rooms online. According to him, many rooms are advertised as having a large area, rental prices below 3 million VND/month, but when they come to see, the actual area is very small. The room is only enough to have a bed, lacking basic amenities, while the surrounding conditions are also not good.
Meanwhile, rented rooms and mini-apartments with full amenities such as air conditioning, washing machines and elevators often have a rental price of over 4 million VND/month. For new graduates, this is a fairly large cost, exceeding their ability to pay.
Currently, when looking for a rented room, I find it very difficult to find a satisfactory room. I am considering the option of finding a roommate or finding rooms far from my workplace to have a more suitable price" - Mr. Hung said.
A reporter's survey shows that the price of rented rooms and mini-apartments around universities in Thanh Xuan, Cau Giay and Dong Da areas is still maintained at a high level. Rooms with air conditioning and basic furniture are being rented at prices from 3.5-6.5 million VND/month.
For example, a semi-boarding room in the Nguyen Luong Bang area (Dong Da ward), with an area of 22 m2, fully equipped with basic furniture, is being rented for 4.6 million VND/month, excluding service fees.
Another mini-apartment in the Kham Thien market area, with an area of 25 m2, is also fully equipped with furniture, and is being rented for 6.2 million VND/month. Tenants must pay an additional 4,000 VND/kWh for electricity, 100,000 VND/person for water and 200,000 VND for general service fees.
In the Cau Giay area, rented rooms or mini-apartments without common owners, equipped with basic furniture, also have relatively high rental prices.
Specifically, a mini-apartment of about 25 m2 in an alley on Cau Giay street is being rented for 5.7 million VND/month. In addition to rent, tenants must pay 4,000 VND/kWh for electricity, 4,000 VND/m3 for water and 200,000 VND/month for service fees, including hallway electricity, elevators and garbage collection.
Mr. Tran Minh Tuan (owner of a boarding house in Cau Giay ward, Hanoi) said that currently many homeowners have invested in facilities and furniture, so it is difficult to rent out at low prices.
According to Mr. Tuan, if rented at a price below 3 million VND/month, the room area will be limited and lack equipment and furniture. At that time, tenants must pay for basic furniture expenses themselves.
