Cheap rooms in Vinh city are deserted during the school year

These days, Mr. Dung in Ben Thuy Ward (Vinh City) still cleans his 6-room rental house every day in the hope that someone will come to ask about renting. Although he has announced a reduction in room rent and posted a sign saying there are still rooms available, over the past month only a few people have come to see the rooms and then left.

Mr. Dung shared: "My boarding house used to be very busy, even having to pay a deposit in advance to get a room to stay, however, in the past few years, the number of tenants has decreased significantly. Last summer, 3 students graduated and had to check out and move out. Since then, the whole boarding house has had no tenants even though I have lowered the price to a record low of only 250,000 VND/person/month."

The row of boarding houses in Ben Thuy ward is deserted, with not a single tenant. Photo: Quang An

Another landlord in block 8, Truong Thi ward also said that his house has a row of 25 rooms that have been rented out for decades; however, at this time, universities and colleges... are preparing to open but no students have come to ask to rent rooms, the whole row of rooms only has 2 people living in them...

Block 8, Truong Thi Ward is one of the areas with the highest density of rental rooms in Vinh City, serving mainly students and a few workers, however, up to this point, many rental rooms are still waiting for people. Mr. Tran Duy Khoa - Head of Block 8, Truong Thi Ward said: According to our survey, the whole block currently has 62 households building rental houses with 350 rooms, but currently only about half of the rooms have tenants, some households have stopped operating the rental house business...

Many rented rooms in Vinh City are deserted even though the new school year is near. Photo: Quang An

In Hung Binh ward, the number of boarding houses is mainly concentrated in the two blocks of Binh Yen and Truong Tien due to their proximity to Nghe An Pedagogical College, Campus 2. However, many boarding houses here are now just empty rooms.

Dirty, run-down, and filthy boarding houses are one of the reasons why tenants "shake their heads". Photo: Quang An

There are many reasons why many boarding houses in Vinh City are in a slump. The main reason is that the number of students studying at universities, colleges and vocational schools in the city has decreased dramatically, while they are the main customers of boarding houses.

Room rental billboards are posted everywhere on the streets. Photo: Quang An

To avoid the slump, landlords are now scrambling to find solutions to attract students to rent, such as reducing room rates to the lowest level. According to the reporter's records, the current rental price for non-closed rooms is only 250,000 - 300,000 VND/person/month, while about a year ago it was still at 500,000 - 600,000 VND/person/month. The rental price for closed rooms has also decreased from 100,000 - 200,000 VND/room depending on the area.

In addition to reducing room prices, many landlords also put up billboards all over the streets in the hope of getting tenants. The remaining ones, after trying everything but the situation still remains sluggish, are forced to demolish their lodgings to build houses, kiosks for business rental or other outbuildings.

Mr. Dao Mau Trinh's 8-room boarding house in Block 8, Truong Thi Ward is being demolished during the school year because of the lack of tenants. Photo: Quang An

Through research, the number of people renting rooms is decreasing but the number of people renting houses (level 4) tends to increase. These rental apartments have the advantage of being spacious, clean and safe; however, the rental price is usually over 2 million VND/month, not suitable for students or low-income families.