Recently, Lao Dong Newspaper had a series of articles informing about the electricity price at many rented rooms in apartment buildings and mini-apartments currently at 4 - 4.5 thousand VND/kWh, higher than regulations on normal domestic electricity prices in Cau Giay ward (Hanoi).
According to the boarding house manager at alley 191 Nguyen Khang (Cau Giay, Hanoi), if they agree to rent a room, they should "understand" the landlord because on the invoice, the electricity bill will be recorded according to the State price, and the difference will be shown in the "other expenses" section so that the total amount paid by the renter will still correspond to the level of 4,500 VND/kWh as agreed.
Talking to Lao Dong Newspaper, Lawyer Tran Tuan Anh - Director of Bright Legal Law Firm said that the retail price of domestic electricity is currently applied according to Decision No. 1279/QD-BCT of the Ministry of Industry and Trade and Circular No. 60/2025/TT-BCT. The calculation of electricity prices for tenants depends on the lease term and residence registration status.
If the tenant does not sign an electricity purchase contract directly with the electricity retailer, the total amount of electricity collected by the homeowner must not exceed the amount recorded on the monthly electricity bill issued by the electricity industry.
In case the homeowner sets a fixed price to collect from all tenants, regardless of the method of determining electricity prices according to regulations, or collects an amount higher than the amount allowed to be allocated according to the electricity bill, it is an act of violating regulations on the implementation of electricity selling prices.
For this act, according to Article 13 of Decree No. 133/2026/ND-CP dated April 6, 2026 of the Government stipulating penalties for administrative violations in the field of electricity, landlords may be fined from 20 - 30 million VND; and at the same time, measures may be applied to force the lessee to return the amount of money collected not in accordance with regulations.
Assessing the situation of landlords collecting electricity bills exceeding regulations that is still quite common, Lawyer Tran Tuan Anh said that the cause not only comes from landlords but also from the specific characteristics of the current landlord market.
“Most tenants are students, workers or migrant workers. They often rent houses for a short time, the general psychology is to be afraid of contacting homeowners because they are worried about affecting renting or having to find new accommodation. From the perspective of state management, current inspections are mainly based on feedback or complaints from people. Meanwhile, the number of rental houses is very large, dispersed and frequently fluctuates, so management agencies have difficulty in conducting periodic inspections of each rental establishment.
Lawyer Tran Tuan Anh said that to overcome this situation, first of all, it is necessary to strengthen propaganda so that both homeowners and tenants understand the legal regulations on electricity prices for rented houses. When both parties understand their rights and obligations, the risk of disputes will be significantly reduced. In addition, it is necessary to encourage homeowners to publicly disclose electricity bills and electricity bill calculation methods right in the boarding house area or on electronic management platforms.
According to Lawyer Tran Tuan Anh, ensuring that tenants use electricity in accordance with regulations is not the responsibility of an agency alone but requires coordination between electricity retailers, state management agencies and local authorities.
For electricity retailers, in addition to properly implementing regulations on electricity selling prices and signing electricity purchase and sale contracts, it is necessary to strengthen guidance for homeowners and tenants on electricity bill calculation methods according to current regulations; and at the same time receive and verify feedback from people to promptly coordinate with competent authorities to handle when signs of violations are detected.
For local authorities, especially the People's Committees of communes and wards directly managing the area, it is necessary to be more proactive in propaganda, receiving feedback information, coordinating with the Ministry of Industry and Trade and relevant agencies to inspect and handle cases of signs of electricity bill collection not in accordance with regulations. This is also the level of government closest to the people, so it is possible to quickly grasp feedback arising in reality," Lawyer Tuan Anh said.
