After you obtained your VISA to live in Vietnam or elsewhere, one of your top priorities is to find a place to stay. The process to find an apartment in Vietnam might be completely different from your home country, as each one has its own rules, procedures, and habits. So, if you are going to move in here soon, or if you are thinking or just curious about it, here are the full process and many tips to know how to rent an apartment in Vietnam!
Finding a place to live can stress you out as it is a decision that involves important expenditures and responsibilities. However, great news: in Vietnam, mainly in big cities such as Ho Chi Minh, Hanoi, and Da Nang, it can be easy, relatively affordable, and quick to find an apartment, schedule visits, and to sign a lease agreement!
First, we suggest you think about what you want and to set up in advance a list of all your criteria such as:
- What is your budget?
- Do you want to be near your work or another specific area?
- Are you looking for a shared apartment, a studio, a serviced apartment, your own apartment or a house? You will quickly figure out that Vietnam offers a variety of types of apartments!
- Are there shops, convenient stores, and restaurants around?
- Do you want an apartment fully equipped? (with A/C, Wi-Fi, kitchen…)
- Do you need parking for your bike?
- Do you want specific services included? (laundry, house cleaning, gym, pool…)
When your ideas are settled, let’s start your researches! There are many convenient ways to find a house in Vietnam:
1) Craiglist: https://vietnam.craigslist.org/
2) Companies websites that provide real estate services such as Saigon Home or Saigon Rent for Ho Chi Minh City
3) Facebook groups
However, we think the most convenient option is to look on Facebook. You can find many Facebook groups where people share their places for rent. Here are some examples:
- In Ho Chi Minh:
o Expats in Ho Chi Minh (Saigon)
o Apartment for rent in Ho Chi Minh City
o Serviced Apartment For Rent In Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) – Vietnam
- In Hanoi:
- In Da Nang:
o House, Apartment, Villa, Condo for Rent in Danang and Hoian – HNP Housing
When you see one post that might interest you, don’t hesitate to save it and contact the announcer. The main announcers are real estate agents. They will always let you many options to reach them such as Messenger, WhatsApp, Zalo, Viber, or directly their phone number so you can call or text them.
In general, they are fast. They tend to answer instantly or in a couple of hours, even during the weekend. Feel free to ask them other questions if you didn’t see the information on the post, they are here to help you. If you would like to have more choices, you can even ask them if they have other apartments to show you, as they manage many places. For information, you don’t need to pay any fees for the real estate agents, it is the owner who will pay for it.
When you will contact them, you must verify what is included in the rental price. Sometimes, electricity fees are not included. It can vary from 3,500 to 4,500 VND / kWh. For one month, the electricity bill can cost from 250.000 VND to 800.000 VND. It is up to your consumption, and the price tends to increase mainly if you overuse the A/C. Be aware that the electricity bill tends to be more expensive during the hot season (April-June).
In Vietnam, you can find your new home in a couple of days. Therefore, we recommend you book a hotel for your first days here (for 1 week for example), and to enjoy this time to do your visit by yourself and sign your lease agreement with the favorite apartment that you will have visited.
When you will visit each apartment, don’t hesitate to check that:
- The apartment respects safety standards;
- Everything is working well (hot water, A/C, lights, outlet…);
- The windows insulation is fine (it is really important mostly because if you live in a lively neighborhood, it tends to be really noisy with the traffic).
Plus, in order to prepare the lease agreement, don’t forget to ask:
- When do you have to pay the rent (by the beginning, or the end of the month)?
- Which method of payment is possible? In general, if you must pay by cash, the supplier will come every month to your door to collect the bills. But sometimes, they can let you pay by transfer.
- When you will have your deposit back?
- How many days in advance you have to terminate it before the expiry date?
Before you sign your lease agreement, make sure that all the details shown in the apartment post, and all the answers from the previous questions are written both in English and in Vietnamese. When you will sign it, you must prepare one deposit (in general it is 1- or 2- months deposit) and a copy of your passport. If you have a doubt about the translation in the lease agreement, it is better if you come with a Vietnamese friend to check it for you.
We hope that our advice will help you to rent an apartment in Vietnam! If you want to learn more about life in Vietnam and get more tips, join this group on Facebook!
