Collecting higher electricity bills from workers, landlords have to return excess collected money and interest

Legal Consulting Office of Lao Dong Newspaper answers:

Clause 7, Article 13, Decree 133/2026/ND-CP Regulating penalties for administrative violations in the field of electricity (effective from May 25, 2026), stipulates as follows: A fine of between 20 million VND and 30 million VND shall be imposed on tenants who collect electricity bills from tenants higher than prescribed in cases of purchasing electricity at retail electricity prices for domestic purposes.

Point c, Clause 1, Article 13 of Decree 133/2026/ND-CP stipulates: Forcing the return of illegal profits obtained from administrative violations (including all costs arising from violations) to return to individuals and organizations appropriated for violations specified in Clause 7 of this Article.

The landlord must return to the landlord the amount of money collected in excess plus the interest agreed upon by the two parties in the contract. In case an individual or organization cannot be identified for repayment, the entire amount of difference shall be deposited into the state budget.

Thus, from May 25, 2026, landlords who collect electricity money from workers higher than regulations may be fined up to 30 million VND and forced to return to tenants the excess collected money plus interest agreed upon by the two parties in the contract.