Disillusioned after buying so-called high-end apartments

The 39-year-old from Thanh Xuan District bought the unit of more than 70 square meters in early 2021 at a price of VND42 million per square meter in a modern 25-story building on Ho Me Tri Street, hoping her family would have a better quality of life after living for many years in an old apartment.

It was advertised as a high-end project with modern amenities and facilities such as all-season indoor and outdoor swimming pools, a kindergarten, a supermarket, and a community hall.

However, after moving in, she has had to close off her doors and windows to avoid the stench from the landfill next door.

The developer had promised to relocate the landfill, but failed to do so. Thuy said: "The odor from the landfill makes it impossible for my family to walk around or play."

The landfill next to the apartment project on Ho Me Tri Street, Hanoi, forces residents to close doors and windows to avoid the odor. Photo by VnExpress/Nhat Minh

Disappointment with what are touted to be "high-end" apartments is not unusual in crowded urban areas such as Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.

Huu Hoang, 36, of HCMC, paid nearly VND4 billion for a two-bedroom apartment of more than 70 square meters, or nearly VND50 million per square meter, in 2017.

It is in one of two 33-story blocks at the intersection of Nguyen Van Linh - Nguyen Huu Tho, District 7, built in 2020.

At the time brokers and salespersons advertised the project as a "high-end complex with a shopping center, a cinema and a spa."

More than one year after moving in, Hoang has yet to receive the ownership documents, while the project does not have commercial amenities like convenience stores and there is water seepage and mold in its parking lot.

"I tried to earn and save money for many years to buy the apartment, but its quality is not worth the money," he said.

Though handed over just a year ago, the basement in Huu Hoang’s apartment tower in District 7, Ho Chi Minh City, is already moldy. Photo courtesy of Huu Hoang

While apartments are routinely advertised as "luxury," a recent supervision report by the National Assembly’s Law Committee said that as of 2022 there were actually only seven of them in the country, and the rest were self-proclaimed.

The Ministry of Construction divides apartment buildings into three grades from A (highest) to C (lowest). To be eligible to be classified as grade A, an apartment project needs to achieve at least 18 out of 20 criteria divided into 4 groups: planning - architecture, technical equipment and system, services - social infrastructure, and management quality - operation.

However, in the property market, projects are often classified by their price.

Some research and consulting companies classify them as high-end if the price is $2,000-4,000, or VND48-96 million, per square meter.

Vo Huynh Tuan Kiet, director of the housing division at real estate consultancy CBRE Vietnam, said advertisements claiming high-quality living and five-star amenities are often very vague. "The goal is to raise selling prices, attract buyers and persuade them to pay."

Experts said the criteria for classifying apartment projects should be periodically reviewed based on the changes in the market and ensuring occupants’ benefits.

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