Difficult to find cheap motels
According to reporters of Lao Dong Newspaper, at the beginning of the year, the demand for finding new rented rooms in Hanoi began to increase sharply, especially in central areas or near schools and industrial parks. This may make it difficult for many students and young workers to find satisfactory rented rooms or have to accept renting houses at higher prices.
Despite diligently searching on groups, Tran Nam Cuong (a student in Hanoi) still could not find a cheap boarding room with commensurate quality. After many years in the dormitory, entering the new year, Cuong wants to find a budget boarding room to be more convenient for his work.
Through social networking groups, Cuong has tried to see the reality of a few rooms with rental prices below 2 million VND/month. However, you cannot help but be disappointed when witnessing these rooms being too small, with poor material conditions and having to share ownership. Up to now, Cuong has not found an apartment suitable for his financial capacity.
Just like Tran Nam Cuong, Nguyen Thu Ha (Hanoi) has just found a new job in Cau Giay ward. For more than 1 month now, Ha has searched all over groups and looked at many boarding houses in this area with financial levels ranging from 3 - 4 million VND/month.
However, completely different from the advertisements on social networks, rooms priced under 4 million VND/month in reality have a very small area, just enough to fit a bed or lack basic amenities such as wardrobe, kitchen, air conditioner, windows. Not to mention, service fees here are very high: electricity bills in many places up to 4,000 - 5,000 VND/kWh, water bills 35,000 - 40,000 VND/m3 and many other fixed costs. Therefore, Thu Ha decided to find a new room 7-8km away from her workplace at a more affordable price to save costs.
Rental price level remains high
A field survey by Lao Dong Newspaper reporters shows that the price of rented rooms and mini-apartments around universities in Thanh Xuan, Cau Giay, Dong Da areas is currently at a fairly high level. Rooms with air conditioning and basic furniture range from 3.5 - 5 million VND/month, while mini-apartments usually cost 5.5 - 7 million VND/month.
For example, a mini-apartment in Cau Giay ward, nearly 20m2 wide on the 5th floor, with a mezzanine bed and some basic amenities, is being offered for rent by the landlord for up to 5.5 million VND per month. Regarding services, electricity bills are calculated at 4,000 VND/kWh; water bills 35,000 VND/m2 and other service fees are 350,000 VND/room. Or another rented room in Yen Hoa ward, with an area of more than 15m2, is also rented for 4.3 million VND/month excluding service fees.
Mr. Tran Manh Hung (a landlord in Cau Giay ward) said that at the present time, finding a rented room priced under 5 million VND/month is very difficult and takes a lot of time to find. Most apartments in this segment are often quite small in area and lack amenities.
Conversely, in areas far from the center such as Dong Anh, Gia Lam, Hoai Duc, Nhon... rental prices are significantly lower. A 15-20m2, closed room can be rented for 1.8-2.8 million VND/month; a 30m2 mini-apartment is about 3.5-4 million VND/month. This difference forces tenants, especially students and low-income workers, to consider accepting high costs to live near the center, or saving rent but spending time and travel costs.
Mr. Nguyen Quoc Anh - Deputy General Director of Batdongsan. com. vn - said that tenants in Hanoi tend to accept renting less furniture and prioritize renting smaller places to cut costs. In addition, some other options are chosen including renting places with fewer amenities and shared accommodation.
In addition to the rental price, according to Mr. Quoc Anh, parents and students also need to pay attention to the convenience of travel and security of the area around the rented room. The issue of fire safety is also very noteworthy.
