Dao Minh Nguyet, a freshman at the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam, said his landlord had informed him that his rent would rise to VND3.6 million this month from VND3 million.

Nguyet said the landlord warned of the rent increase several months ago when he installed a fire prevention and control system as requested by local authorities. As the landlord had to spend money on equipment, he decided to raise the rent.

“We tried every possible way to cut down on electricity bills to offset the rent increase. The fire prevention and control system makes us feel more secure, but this is a burden on our parents,” she said.

Tran Vy, a fourth-year student at the Academy for Journalism and Propaganda, said she has been looking for an affordable room for two months. Her roommate left for her hometown, so Vy has had to look for a room with lower rent.

Most of her time is spent at school and the café where she has a part-time job, and she just needs a room to sleep. She has contacted about 10 landlords, but the rent was too high.

“Most of the rooms were 10 sq m only, and some even didn't have a window, but the monthly rent was VND2.5 million or higher,” Vy said.

“When I told the landlord I wanted a room with rent of VND2 million, I was told such a room does not exist,” she added.

It is nearly impossible to find rooms with rent of VND2 million or lower in Cau Giay and Dong Da districts. If students want to pay just VND2 million, they have to rent far from the central area.

Electricity bills are also a headache for students. Nguyet only turns on the air conditioner at night, but still has to pay VND1.2 million a month for the bill.

“I have to pay VND4,000 for every kilowatt, higher than the electricity price level applied by Electricity of Vietnam,” Nguyet explained. That is because VND4,000 per kilowatt is a fixed price applied by many landlords.

Luong Son, a student at Hanoi University, said he earns VND150,000 from each private tutoring class, but the amount is not enough to cover room rent and electricity bills. 

Son and his roommate have tried to cut expenses by eating instant noodles for meals, and spending time in air-conditioned convenience stores to avoid the summer heat. They only use their air conditioner for three hours a night.

Son said he is looking for more jobs to earn enough to cover rent increases, because he knows he cannot count on his parents.

Most landlords increased room rent in July after the Hanoi Police inspected 37,000 guesthouses for fire prevention and control equipment.

Ha My Loan, a landlord on Tran Cung street, confirmed that she had raised room rent by VND300,000-500,000. Despite rent increases, her rooms are all occupied as demand is high. Students are returning to school as the new academic year begins soon.

A landlord on De La Thanh street in Dong Da district said he had maintained the same rent for many years but has had to raise the rent because "everything is getting more and more expensive".

After a number of fires occurred in recent months, city police asked guesthouse owners to install more fire prevention and control tools. “Smoke sensors, CO2 tanks, and escape rope ladders all cost me a lot of money. So, raising rent was inevitable,” he said.

Thanh Hung