September – October every year is considered the peak of the rental season, because this is usually the time when new students will go to the city to enroll. In addition to university dormitories, many students choose to rent out accommodation because of the advantages of comfortable hours, comfortable eating and quiet space for themselves. But for students in the provinces, finding a suitable hostel is an extremely difficult problem.
In fact, finding a suitable accommodation is not easy. Not to mention, there are also scams of “hanging goat heads, selling dog meat” related to motel rooms that make many students worried.
Students helplessly watch house prices increase at… sky-high
These days, many universities and colleges in Hanoi are starting to welcome new students who have passed the recent high school graduation exam. This is also the time when former students return to school. The number of people looking for accommodation and changing rooms has increased dramatically. Taking advantage of this opportunity, many innkeepers continuously increase the price of rooms, electricity and water to make a profit.
As noted, the situation of increasing accommodation prices this year in many areas of Hanoi’s inner city is becoming more and more serious, causing a lot of frustration on social networks.
According to the reporter’s observations, areas near major universities such as Dich Vong, Tran Thai Tong (Cau Giay), Nguyen Trai (Thanh Xuan), Lang Pagoda, Lang Fortress, Lang Ha (Dong Da). Almost all rental areas are full of tenants. It is not easy to find vacant apartments at this time, if there are apartments with high rents.
In Cau Giay district, where many universities and colleges are concentrated, the price of accommodation has also skyrocketed. To be able to rent an affordable room, near the school within a radius of about 1km, students have to spend an amount of 4 to 5 million VND/month.
With a budget of about 8 million VND, friend Duc Toan (24 years old) said he was helpless in finding a mini apartment for rent in Cau Giay, Thanh Xuan and Dong Da districts. Set a goal of finding rooms between 2 million and 2 and a half million, but now Toan has to accept to find rooms with a price of 3 million or less than 4 million.
“I didn’t expect it to be so difficult to rent a house. I’ve watched a lot of rooms live, but most of the room quality is not worth the price set by the landlord.
For example, under Nguyen Xien, that apartment was extremely dirty, littered with untidy hallways, messy furniture, but the price was 3 million excluding other expenses. There is a 2-bedroom apartment only divided by a plastic wall and a bed, the room is empty, but the price is 7 and a half to 8 million / month.
Toan added that most of the rooms for rent now have common hygiene, but the quality of cleanliness is not available. Renting together, so the possibility of losing things is also high. For closed places, the price is very high, the basic interior area is 15-18 square meters, but the room price has also been up to 3 million/month.
Damp inns with severely degraded quality
Similarly, spending 4 million to rent a room on the 3rd floor of a hostel near Foreign Trade University, but Mai Huong (first year student of Business Administration) is still not satisfied with the quality of service here.
“When I read online, the owner advertised that there was a hot and cold water heater, the hallway was wide, but when I arrived, the room was empty, there was no furniture. The hallway was advertised widely but just enough to book one. a small shelf with a gas stove for cooking”.
However, because she just moved from Bac Giang to Hanoi, Thu still wants to settle down first and then calculate: “Going to far away roads, I temporarily rented this house next to the school. My intention is when I can find it. Another apartment with a more reasonable price will move.”
Not having enough money to rent affordable rooms, many young people have to “downgrade”, and find accommodation in very temporary slums. Level 4 houses, without self-contained toilets, use well water instead of tap water… but the price is still from 3 to 4 million dong.
The road to many inns is damp and muddy
… And above all, the rent is not cheap.
Electricity and water prices climb to “exorbitant” levels
According to the survey, some accommodation areas in Nguyen Phong Sac, Dai La, Le Thanh Nghi … are planning to increase prices from 100,000 to 250,000 VND/month. Electricity also increased by 500 VND per kWh, water by 2,000 – 4,000 VND per m3. Private house, fully equipped, with hot and cold water heater, Internet, the increase sharply, up to 250,000 – 300,000 VND per month. In the case of row houses and common toilets, the increase is “slighter”, about 100,000 – 200,000 VND.
The price of the room rental is usually not included in the price of electricity and water.Many students who do not ask carefully are often taken advantage of by the landlord with a price … in the sky.
Thu Trang (second-year student of the Academy of Journalism and Propaganda) said that her friend rented accommodation since the beginning of the year and the price of electricity up to now has increased 3 times. At the beginning of the year, the electricity bill was about 2,500 VND/kWh, then increased to 4,000 VND/kWh and until now, temporarily stopped at 4,500 VND.
“However, when I asked about this, the owner said that electricity and water in his house must be calculated according to the price of the business household and then added electricity for water pumping, tank wear and tear, electricity meters… After a while, we finally gave up” Trang shared.
Thanh Thao (a student at Foreign Trade University) also confided that because the price of electricity is too expensive, her friend always has to pay attention to saving electricity and water little by little.
“We have two people in our room, so we tell each other, every time we wash vegetables and wash clothes, we will put that water in a bucket and use it to flush when we go to the bathroom. When we go out of the room, turn off the lights, turn off the fan, and limit the amount of water in the room. Turn on the power when not needed.
Still know that service business owners increase prices according to supply – demand is difficult to avoid. But it will be very inconvenient for students if the landlord keeps using the excuse of electricity, gas, and new food prices… to increase the price of the room, making it very difficult for us students.”
Scenes in popular student accommodation neighborhoods in Hanoi
Due to the demand that the inn is always available, the guests have to look for a place to stay, so the landlord always holds the handle. Even tenants who want to sign long-term are difficult, in many cases landlords only give a 2-month agreement so they can increase the price at any time.
Ms. Nguyen Phuong, the owner of a boarding house in Chua Lang, said that at this time, it is very crowded looking for tenants near the university to facilitate travel and study. Her dormitory with 10 self-contained rooms has been fully rented. There is currently 1 student room left, but the family has paid a deposit in advance to enroll at the end of September.
Explaining the price increase, Ms. Phuong shared: “It is said to increase the price, but we still have to repair, renovate and pay taxes every month, so calculating the profit is not worth it. Here I rent it out. price 3-4 million VND/month, a large room can accommodate 2-3 people so students like it very much, can stay together to save monthly costs, and electricity and water are calculated by number, by block, so it depends on you here use more or less to consider it reasonably.”
According to the provisions of Clause 15, Article 2 of Decree 17/2022/ND-CP: A fine of between VND 20 million and VND 30 million shall be imposed on the lessor who collects the tenant’s electricity bill higher than the prescribed price in case of buying a house. electricity at retail prices to serve the purposes of living, production, business and services.
At the same time, the lessor who earns illegal profits is also subject to the remedial measure of being forced to return the illegal profits resulting from the violation to the appropriated individual or organization.
Source: CafeF
Source: Vietnam Insider