Although there are still many vacant rooms, many landlords still increased rental prices after the recent Tet holiday - Photo: C.TRIEU
The increase varies from place to place depending on the area, size and amenities included in the room, but more or less it causes a stir, making life more difficult.
In some areas, the demand for lodging after Tet is quite high, and landlords have almost simultaneously announced price increases. Even the prices of affordable lodgings are increasing quite dramatically.
Student KHANG (living in Binh Thanh district, Ho Chi Minh City)
Many rooms are empty but prices are still increasing
Khang's excitement (a student at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University, Ho Chi Minh City) about returning to Ho Chi Minh City after the Tet holiday suddenly faded when he received a short message from his landlord: "New Year, each room will increase by 200,000 VND, everyone." The room Khang is renting in Binh Thanh district is about 15 square meters wide and costs 2.3 million VND/month for two people.
Khang said that the VND200,000 increase may not be much for many people, but for a student far from home, an orphan like him, it is a big concern. He studies and works part-time to barely cover his living expenses in the city. "I met with the landlord privately to explain my situation, and tried my best to get sympathy and keep the old rate, but it was unsuccessful," Khang said sadly.
Mr. Trung Duc (salesman, Binh Tan district) was upset because the landlord announced a 500,000 VND increase per room in early March. The landlord gave many reasons for this price increase. Such as the increase according to market price, the cost of installing equipment to ensure safety and order, fire prevention and fighting... Duc was upset because the price increase was announced quite suddenly. Not to mention that there were still many vacant rooms but the landlord still decided to increase the price.
"I see that what not many landlords think about is sharing and long-term companionship. The floor I'm staying on has 12 rooms, but seven are empty. I think what is needed is for the current tenants to sign a new contract so that at least the number of empty rooms does not increase," Duc said.
Many students and workers who are renting rooms in Thu Duc City and districts 12, Binh Tan, Tan Binh, Tan Phu... all said that their room rates have been increasing since the end of 2023. If the room rates are not increased, many landlords will also add cleaning fees, security fees, repair fees...
A small boarding house is used as both a residence and a tailor shop for a worker's family - Photo: C.TRIEU
Be careful not to get caught in the "trap"
To reduce costs, many students often look for roommates to split the cost. Of course, finding someone suitable to share a room with is also a problem. Because they have to have compatible schedules and personalities, then they will be "compatible" to live together.
Hoping to lighten her rent bill, Tran Ngoc Nga (a second-year student in Go Vap District) went to a social networking group that specializes in posting ads for rooms and roommates. Nga replied that she wanted to find a female student in Go Vap District to "share the bill" for a 24m2 room with a mezzanine, fully furnished, currently rented for 3.5 million VND/month.
As soon as Nga posted the article, she received a message from an anonymous account. This person said that he was also a student, met all the criteria that Nga had set out and was looking for a room to share. They asked Nga to send a photo of her ID card and student card as proof.
Although she said she needed him, Nga made several appointments to meet him and show him the room, but the other person made up excuses that he was busy. Annoyed, Nga said that if she wanted to, she would have to pay a deposit to hold the room, and the anonymous person immediately sent her a photo of the deposit transfer receipt. The problem was that when she checked her bank account, Nga did not see any money that had been transferred as shown in the photo.
When Nga asked to check the account carefully, the other person began to threaten that if he did not return the 1 million deposit as stated in the transfer slip, he would post online "exposing" Nga as a fraud.
"It's true that I was foolish to trust people and send pictures of my ID and student card. Now they're accusing me of fraud and taking deposits, but I've asked the bank to check carefully. No one has transferred any money," Nga explained.
On websites specializing in posting information about finding lodging, renting, and finding jobs online, there are many posts by students "accusing" and warning each other about the tricks of defrauding deposit money. Although this form of fraud is not new, the trick is often to use a number of anonymous accounts to post pictures of many rows of houses, beautiful, spacious, and comfortable rental rooms at very... cheap prices.
When the "prey" messages, they often give the excuse that they are busy with work and cannot arrange the time, then the room is being cleaned, with a commitment that "the room is exactly as pictured" and ask the customer to make a deposit to hold the room. The deposit amount these scammers require is quite low, only 200,000 - 500,000 VND, to easily lure the fish to bite the bait.
Notes when renting a room
Some things to know before finding and deciding to rent a room without an introduction:
• Determine the living area that is convenient for studying as well as personal travel and work needs.
• Choose a price that suits your spending needs and income.
• You need to go to the place to check the room. When going, you need to go with a few other people. It is best to find someone with experience in renting rooms to go with you to ensure that the landlord is the owner. You should tactfully ask for information and see documents from the landlord.
• Prepare and always ask questions about the place you want to rent.
Always support students in need
Le Nguyen Nam, Deputy Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Student Support Center (SAC), said that information about student accommodation is always posted by the center throughout the year. In addition to SAC, students can also seek support from student support centers and departments at schools to ensure greater safety.
After the recent Tet holiday, SAC has received more than 1,000 accommodations at about 300 different boarding house addresses and some accommodations at the system of 15 school dormitories in the city. The average price ranges from 2.5 - 4 million VND/room per month for 2-3 people.
When students need to find a place to stay, you can contact SAC in many ways such as phone number 028.3827.4705, website: www.sac.vn, boarding house app: http://app.sac.vn/nhatro or SAC fanpage (Boarding house): https://www.facebook.com/sac.nhatro/.
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