Rents are usually the biggest expenditure for those who are from other provinces and cities. Many people return to their apartments and houses when their contracts end by Tet Holiday and have to sign new contracts and find new places to stay after the holiday. Landlords also take this chance to raise the prices.
Phuong, a student from Binh Thuan Province, said, "When my contract ended, I was in a hurry to go home. My landlord told me that I was his regular customer so I can sign new contract anytime. I thought that the rent would still be VND3.5m (USD153) a month but it has gone up to VND4m and I have to pay a deposit for two months."
According to the landlord, everyone is raising the prices so he had to follow.
Hoa from Quang Nam Province said he knew the landlord so he didn't sign any contract.
"The rent went from VND8m (USD349) to VND8.5m in two years is reasonable. But this year, I was told the new monthly rent is VND9.5m and need a two-month deposit. I'm willing to pay the deposit but I can't agree with VND1m price hike just after a week-long holiday," he said.
Hoa's rent increased by VND1m after Tet
The monthly rents in the eastern HCM City have been raised by VND150,000 (USD6.55) to VND300,000. The rents for students and poor workers in the city's southern area also increase slightly by VND200,000 to VND1.2m. Apartments at good locations near schools and markets all have higher rents while old apartments still have regular tenants and the rents have not increased much.
"The hike isn't too sudden or too high so that students and poor workers won't be affected," an investor in District 2 said.
Nguyen Van Chien, a landlord in District 9, said, "Rental properties are a stable source of incomes for investors with medium capital flows and hardly affected by the real estate market changes. However, the land lot prices in some areas like District 2 and 9 have been increasing rapidly and investors in those areas use it as a reason to increase rents by 30% to 50%. As a result, demand has become unstable."