This 13-storey apartment building was built in 1960. The building is located near the center of District 1, divided into six units with 530 rooms. Its original name was Presidents Building.

Currently, the building has only nine households on the 1st to 11th floors.

Ms. Dang Thi Le Thu, 55, on the 8th floor said that living in the rundown apartment felt miserable, but her family did not want to move to the resettlement area as it was seen as unfavorable, and they were not satisfied with the compensation.

Along the hallway and inside empty rooms is rubbish.

The building is nearly out of power so at night local residents have to use flashlights to walk along the hallway.

There are some light bulbs along several corridors but it is still too dark. Mrs. Huong, who lives on the 10th floor, said her family had to send a male family member to pick up her daughter, who often came home from work late at night, from the first floor.

A toy left in room No. 509, after a family moved to a new location.

There is only one family on the 11st floor, that of Ms. Nguyen Thi Thanh Thuy, 37.

"We want to move out but the compensation is unsatisfactory so we are still trying to stay here. Our family always leaves one member at home to watch for fire, explosion or theft," Thuy said.

Thuy and her family have lived here since the 80s.

An apartment on the 8th floor. The homeowner removed all furniture and just left some clothes, waiting for compensation.

Ms. Le Thi Bich Loan, 67, has been living here for almost 30 years.