Ho Chi Minh City pilots bringing coffee shops and pubs into apartment buildings: Wrong and dangerous?

Recently, at a meeting between Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee Nguyen Van Duoc and the People's Committee of District 1, a representative of District 1 proposed a pilot program to allow businesses in apartment buildings, especially in areas with the potential to become economic and tourist hotspots. This proposal aims to take advantage of the space and strategic location of old apartment buildings, while promoting local economic development.

According to Mr. Du Quang Nghia, Deputy Head of the Economic Department of District 1, allowing businesses in apartments can create multifunctional spaces, serving both daily life and supporting tourism. He suggested piloting in areas such as Nguyen Hue Street, which has become an attraction thanks to its unique architecture and creative decoration. District 1 will coordinate with the Department of Finance to license and supervise, ensuring compliance with safety regulations, especially fire prevention and fighting (PCCC).

The reality of the "old town" on high ground

Mr. Nghia's proposal can be understood as bringing restaurants, pubs, and tourism services into old apartments. According to a survey by VOV reporters, many old apartments in the center of District 1 have long been spontaneously converted by residents into bustling business spaces with services such as food, fashion, and souvenirs. Apartment 42 Nguyen Hue has become a famous check-in address. On the upper floors are hundreds of business services, from spas, souvenir shops, to coffee shops, pubs. Tourists flock in and out, creating a space like a "city on high".

Apartment 42 Nguyen Hue, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City at night

However, according to residents, to tourists, this space seems attractive, but to residents, it poses many potential fire and explosion risks and affects their lives.

Mr. Le Van Dat, manager of a coffee shop in an apartment building on Nguyen Hue Street, said that the number of customers coming to the shop is very large, including both domestic and international customers. Therefore, the business premises here have long been pushed up to very high prices, bringing in no small profit.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Hoa, a tourist who just stepped down from the apartment building, shared: "The feeling of drinking high up in a space filled with the city's light is very new and unique. However, when going down, I was a bit dizzy because it was too high and too crowded."

According to real estate expert Nguyen Duy Thanh, this proposal is also feasible because it can create benefits for tourism, but it needs to be studied and synchronously found. In fact, without the proposal of District 1, the old and dilapidated apartments on Nguyen Hue Street have been transformed for many years now thanks to the use of the frontage of Nguyen Hue Street. Even the image of the shops here has become famous in the international press. Therefore, if we want to put these apartments into business, we need the consensus of the majority of residents and the approval of the apartment building conference before we can pilot the implementation. However, District 1 should only implement it in some specific apartments, not on a large scale. In particular, it is necessary to study the renaming of this type of house to avoid causing problems with other legal regulations or other areas.

The proposal is both unreasonable and impossible?

According to architect Tran Bao Chau, the author of many large projects in Vietnam, the conversion of the functions of current apartment buildings is mainly spontaneous and not consistent with the original purpose of construction. To truly create sustainable change, it is necessary to establish a professional council to evaluate and renovate the overall architecture as well as the surrounding space context.

He emphasized that considering restaurants and eateries on apartment floors as "unique" or "architectural highlights" is a misconception. The true beauty of a city does not lie in spontaneous activities but must come from a systematic overall architectural plan. Spontaneous activities are only temporary solutions, serving daily needs, and cannot become a source of pride or a valuable highlight in urban planning.

Lawyer Tran Tuan Anh - Hanoi Bar Association believes that this is an impossible and unreasonable proposal. He analyzed: "According to the Housing Law 2023 effective in 2024, apartments are areas for residents' living and resting purposes, not for commercial business. Bringing coffee shops and pubs into apartments will change the purpose of use of the apartments, thereby violating regulations on management and use of apartment buildings."

A series of restaurants, eateries, and bars test the endurance of old apartments.

One of the most serious problems when bringing coffee shops and pubs into apartment buildings is violating fire prevention and fighting regulations. Restaurants and pubs often use gas stoves, complex electrical systems, and have a high risk of fire and explosion. Meanwhile, apartments are places where people gather, ensuring fire safety is a mandatory requirement. Running these services in apartment buildings will increase the risk of fire and explosion, threatening the lives and property of residents.

According to Decree 136/2020/ND-CP on Fire Prevention and Fighting, food service establishments must meet strict standards on fire alarm systems, fire escapes, and fire prevention and fighting equipment. However, renovating old apartment buildings to meet these standards is very difficult, expensive, and not feasible.

Lawyer Tran Minh Hung, Ho Chi Minh City Bar Association, commented: "I think that allowing business on apartments is not guaranteed in accordance with the Housing Law and related decrees and circulars. Because the regulations on apartments are only for living, they are densely populated places, but the management is lax for business, posing many potential risks to social order and safety, fire prevention, environment, dust, affecting residents. Violations in apartment management have been mentioned many times before but have not been stopped, the People's Committee of District 1 is responsible. Now if District 1 wants to have its own privileges, other localities also need to have the same, it will go against the law, applying the law unfairly."

Lawyer Tran Minh Hung - Ho Chi Minh City Bar Association

Meanwhile, recently, the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee issued new regulations on the management and use of apartment buildings in the city. For normal apartments, they can only be used for long-term rental purposes, not for short-term tourist accommodation or business through platforms such as Airbnb. Rentals must be made through a clear contract between the landlord and the tenant. Thus, the issue of housing management is being tightened, the proposal to do business in apartments by the representative of District 1 is completely contradictory to Decision No. 26/2025.

Mr. Le Van Chien, a tour guide in Ho Chi Minh City, affirmed: "For tourists coming to the city, I expect to be guided to cultural tourist destinations, not completely wanting to please them to spontaneous entertainment places. Tourism activities can only truly develop when they understand and respect their culture. That is, revenue must come from collecting fees, entrance tickets to relics and culture, not from profit from serving them a glass of beer."

Thus, according to experts, bringing coffee shops and pubs into apartment buildings is both unreasonable and illegal, and does not bring many benefits to Ho Chi Minh City. Therefore, Ho Chi Minh City needs to soon strengthen inspection and supervision of business activities in apartment buildings to ensure safety as well as the rule of law.