After the mini apartment fire in Khuong Dinh, Hanoi, which occurred in September 2023, many customers have changed their mindset when looking for a place to live when hunting for mini apartments. If before, they only prioritized the price and location of the project, now the first and most important factor of concern is that the place must ensure fire safety.
Not fire safety, absolutely do not rent or buy
Ms. Vu Thi Hanh (Ha Dong, Hanoi) shared that after a long time of looking to buy both a house and an apartment but could not find one because the price was too high, she had to switch to the mini apartment segment to suit her budget. In November 2023, she planned to buy a mini apartment in Dong Da district. When she heard the broker advertise the amenities and price, Ms. Hanh was very satisfied and wanted to go see it to close the deal right away, hoping to have a new house in time for Tet.
This mini apartment building has 6 floors, each floor has 2 apartments, each apartment is 55 m2 wide. The special thing is that the investor has completed the interior, the buyer only needs to bring a suitcase to move in. The price of the apartment is 1.65 billion VND, very suitable for people with limited financial resources like Ms. Hanh.
However, when she arrived, Ms. Hanh realized that the mini apartment complex had no emergency stairs and the apartments were designed to be closed, making it difficult to escape if a fire or other incident occurred.
" Although the house is beautiful and the price is reasonable, my husband and I are determined not to buy it because if there is a fire or explosion, it will be very dangerous to our lives when there is no escape route ," said Ms. Hanh.
After the mini apartment fire in Khuong Dinh, many investors had to install fire escapes to convince buyers. (Photo: Chau Anh).
After that, Ms. Hanh and her husband bought another mini apartment. Although the price was higher and the house was older, it was designed to be airy with a balcony and a loggia, and the outside was equipped with a fire escape.
" After the tragic fire in Khuong Dinh, the previous owner of the house opened an iron frame on the balcony to become an emergency exit. My husband and I tried climbing over and found it very easy. This was the deciding factor in deciding to buy this apartment. There have been too many sad lessons about not ensuring fire safety, we cannot be subjective about our own safety, " said Ms. Hanh.
Not only buyers but also tenants are increasingly paying attention to fire safety issues in mini apartments - a type of building that is not strictly controlled.
Ms. Vu Linh (Ba Dinh, Hanoi) said that right after the fire in Khuong Dinh, her family decided to move out of the mini apartment they were living in because it did not ensure fire safety even though the rental contract still had 2 months left.
Ms. Linh said that the apartment she had previously rented was on the 7th floor but was closed off, with no windows or balconies. Too heartbroken and confused by the news of the fire in Khuong Dinh, she agreed to give up the rent she had paid to the landlord to find a new house, to ensure the safety of her whole family.
Because she cannot find a house with a rent of 4-6 million VND in the center of Hanoi, Ms. Linh still looks for mini apartments. However, if she does not see a balcony or fire escape, she will definitely not rent.
" The broker took me to see many mini apartments, but if I saw that they were not safe, I would definitely refuse ," said Ms. Linh.
Many customers are determined not to rent or buy mini apartments that do not ensure fire prevention and fighting. (Illustration: Cong Hieu).
Investors invest in fire protection equipment
In fact, since the fire in Khuong Dinh, in the face of a wave of "boycotts" from customers, investors of mini apartment buildings have been much more aware of equipping fire prevention and fighting equipment.
Mr. Le Van Hoan, owner of a mini apartment complex in Nam Du (Hoang Mai, Hanoi), said that although his mini apartment complex is fully equipped with fire extinguishers and fire balls, he recently added a regulation prohibiting electric vehicles from being parked on the first floor.
In addition, Mr. Hoan also requested that tenants not leave clutter blocking the exit doors. Staircases must also be kept clean and free of flammable materials. All rooms must always have their exit doors open, even if they were previously locked and the keys were given to residents.
According to Mr. Hoan, after the terrible fire in Khuong Ha, he and those living in the mini apartment complex realized that anti-theft is not as important as fire prevention.
" To ensure the safety of the entire residential area, I regularly go to check or ask someone to take turns supervising every day. If I see anyone violating, I immediately remind and criticize them. Since the incident in Khuong Dinh, I cannot completely leave fire safety to the residents. I have to directly manage and take responsibility ," said Mr. Hoan.
Mr. Hoan added that he is preparing to edit and renovate an additional emergency exit outside the apartment building so that residents have more escape routes in case of an unfortunate incident.
" This costs more, but I think investors should do it immediately to ensure long-term safety for the community ," said Mr. Hoan.
Mr. Le Anh Hai, a broker specializing in selling mini apartments in Thanh Xuan district (Hanoi), said that since the mini apartment fire in Khuong Ha, with each ad for selling a mini apartment, he has to post information about fire prevention, rope ladders, gas masks... to get customers to ask to buy.
“ Housing prices in Hanoi are currently too high, apartments priced at VND2 billion have almost disappeared from the market. Therefore, mini apartments priced at VND1 billion or less will still be the choice of low-income people. However, when buying, they will be more concerned about fire safety, so apartments with adequate safety factors will attract more customers, ” said Mr. Hai.
Confirming this mentality, Mr. Tran Viet Hai, Director of Viet Hai Land trading floor said: " Today's home buyers no longer only pay attention to price, but also pay special attention to the issue of life safety. Therefore, investors and mini apartments that do this well can sell their products ."
Chau Anh
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