Residents are likely to dispute the increases because they were not consulted with before the decision.
According to Tran Hop Dung, Head of the Economic Management Board of the Hanoi Construction Department, the problem at Keangnam is not about the level of service fees, but about lack of agreement between the management and residents.
“The company must discuss these issues with the residents and clearly define the benefits residents will receive for the extra charges," Dung said on April 1. “There should be a management board in charge of the issue, who would then outsource the management of the building to another company.”
Dung also said that a service charge of VND4,000 per square metre per month is the limit set by the Hanoi People’s Committee for any package of residential service charges.
Last December, hundreds of residents protested against the current management company, Chestnut Vina, after they were banned from using lifts. The residents had refused to pay the VND18,843 (89 USD cents) per square metre service charge. Keangnam was also accused of cutting electricity to families who had not paid their service fees, even though they had paid their electricity bills.
The company was compelled to reduce the service charge to VND4,000 per square metre, based on regulations set by the Hanoi People’s Committee.
Chestnut Vina recently proposed that Hanoi authorities take over the management of the building beginning on April 1, claiming that the fees were too low for such a "high-end building". They claim that the fees they collect only cover the operation of 20 elevators, and as a result they have been suffering financial losses.
