Property remains vacant for two years after landlord raises rent for over $1,300

A recent story about how a landlord lost out on VND700 million for raising the monthly rent by VND5 million has garnered a lot of attention from VnExpress readers.

These are some of the comments by other readers about the story:

Reader lehuyen12013:

"The story seems just like the case of the landlord whose office my company used to rent.

My company rented a house for VND24 million per month to use as an office in 2016. This price is too expensive for the small city we were in.

Yet, my company chose to pay the rent annually at the beginning of each year.

By the end of 2020, the landlord demanded to raise the monthly rent to VND32 million while the company was struggling.

Negotiations failed, so my company moved offices. The landlord managed to rent it out at the desired price for six months, then the tenant left, and I have seen a 'for rent' sign on that house for two years now.

Currently, the landlord is offering a monthly rent of VND15 million and still has not found a tenant.

We often say that the landlord deserved it for being greedy."

Reader tantruong2009:

"I am currently running a business in a house that I rented for VND20 million per month.

The lease was about to expire, and the landlord wanted to raise the rent to VND27 million per month despite the current contract only allowing for a maximum of 10% increase in rent.

The landlord did not agree to the rent of VND22 million per month, so I had to leave and rent another place for VND16 million.

Meanwhile, the rent of the old place was eventually reduced to VND25 million, then VND22 million.

They even called me to ask if I would want to rent it for VND22 million per month, but I had already found another place.

Then the Covid-19 pandemic hit, and the property remained vacant for a year before being rented out for VND18 million.

In total, the landlord lost out on VND200 million due to his greed."

Reader khanhhoatrinh56:

"In 2018, when I first came back to Vietnam, I rented a one-bedroom apartment in Vung Tau for VND8 million per month.

At the end of the one-year lease, the landlord raised the rent to VND9 million per month.

I refused and rented another apartment in the same building for VND8 million per month.

I have been living here for over five years while my first apartment is still unoccupied."

Reader bachphamvu, who owns two rental properties in Binh Duong Province:

"Nowadays, rental properties must have reasonable rents and the tenants’ business must be doing well to guarantee a stable long-term rental for the landlord. During economic recessions, you have to make adjustments to adapt to the situation."

Reader Fool:

"Presently, increasing rental prices means the property will likely remain vacant for a long time.

Gone are the days of fierce competition for properties. This year's economy is still challenging, and many people are unemployed. Many have left HCMC to return to their hometowns, so there is a shortage of house buyers and renters.

Landlords should stop being overconfident in the demand for houses.

Even if they have a lot of money, losing tens of millions of dong per month will still heavily impact them.

Currently, I see landlords actively reducing rental prices rather than increasing them.

There are quite a lot of vacant shops, apartments, and houses on the market."

Reader danhserayrech26:

"Currently, the rise of online shopping has led to many businesses and shops not needing a physical store. If landlords increase rents now, tenants still have many other options.

Therefore, to maintain rental income, landlords need to retain tenants either by maintaining rent prices, offering discounts for upfront payments, or providing a few months of free utilities."

So what do you think about landlords raising rent unreasonably?

*These comments were translated into English by AI. Readers’ views are personal and do not necessarily match VnExpress’ viewpoints.