H, a real estate broker in Thanh Xuan district in Hanoi, posted an ad offering to rent a dorm room for VND1 million/month/person. The ad says there is only one bed left, and the landlord will offer a discount to the person who wants to move soon.

Also according to H, the landlord has 10 houses for rent under the same mode, located in different districts, including Thanh Xuan, Bac Tu Liem, Dong Da and Nam Tu Liem. The rents range from VND1.3 million to VND1.5 million.

Lan Anh, a student at the Banking Academy, said she has been living in a dorm room for one year and is satisfied about her choice. She is sharing a 25 sq m room in Dong Da district with other students and pays VND1.3 million each month, including fees for parking, wifi, washing machines and refrigerators.

In addition, she has to pay for electricity and water use, about VND200,000-250,000 a month.

Dung, who now lives on the sixth floor of a building, said he is from Phu Tho and works as a e-hailing taxi driver. He can earn only VND200,000-300,000 a day, so living in a dorm room on the sixth floor is a good choice. As there is no lift in the building, the rent is just VND1 million a month, or lower than rooms on lower floors.

“As I can save money by sharing a room with other people, I can save VND3 million a month,” he explained.

A landlord said that he decided to build large rooms, 20-25 sq m each, to rent as dorm rooms instead of building small 9-10 sq m rooms as he has realized the high demand for dormstays.

It is clear that a dormstay offers advantages to tenants. As the dorm room rents are low, they can save money. And they can enjoy amenities such as washing machine, refrigerator and water heater. The cooking, washing and drying are done on the upper floor of buildings.

Loc Nguyen, on a social network, wrote that he once looked for a room to rent in Cau Giay, Lang and Nguyen Chi Thanh streets and was told there were not many choices for less than VND4 million. So, he decided to look for a dorm room as suggested by his friends.

According to a landlord in Bac Tu Liem district, most dorm tenants are students and freelancers.

Tien Anh