In early June, Tran Thi Hue, 45, traveled from Nghe An Province to the Vietnamese capital to find accommodation for her son, who is set to study at the University of Transport Technology.
She paid VND500,000 (US$19) as deposit for a room on Quan Nhan Street, but then discovered road widening work was being carried out next to it, and so was affected by dust and construction debris. She forfeited the deposit and has resumed the search for a place. But finding an affordable room outside areas slated for clearance and away from infrastructure construction sites is proving difficult.
Many alleys off Chinh Kinh and Nguyen Trai streets have been cordoned off, with buildings inside them partially demolished to make way for construction. After nearly a week of looking, Hue has yet to find accommodation for her son.
An alley on Chinh Kinh Street in Thanh Xuan Ward, Hanoi, is lined with piles of dirt and rubble, June 2026. Photo by VnExpress/Quynh Nga
The rental market has come under increasing strain in recent months as even long-term tenants are forced to seek new accommodation.
Hai Anh, 28, recently moved out of a mini apartment on Chinh Kinh Street in Thanh Xuan Ward where she had lived for three years.
She says living conditions have deteriorated after nearby residential buildings were demolished for an infrastructure project.
Dust accumulated in her apartment even when the windows were shut, electricity and internet services were unstable, the main entrance to the alley was partially fenced off and the alternative route was too narrow for vehicles, she says.
She has relocated to Tay Ho Ward, reluctantly accepting a daily commute of over 10 km. “Even though I now travel farther to work, VND5 million only gets me a 15-square-meter room with basic furnishing, nowhere near as spacious as my previous place,” she adds.
Hanoi is clearing sites citywide for more than 1,400 infrastructure works. A VnExpress survey of online rental groups in Thanh Xuan, Dong Da, and Cau Giay wards found rents for mini apartments measuring 20-25 square meters have increased by 10-15% from a year ago to VND5-6 million per month.
Hoang Dinh Thang, a rental broker in Hanoi, says the price rise is due to two reasons: The removal of older rental buildings has forced a large number of people to look for new accommodation at the same time, and landlords have raised rents to cover the cost of upgrading fire safety systems mandated by new regulations.
“For about a month now, the first question tenants ask has been whether the property falls within a site clearance area and whether access is affected by construction nearby.”
Hai Anh (black shirt) views a rental room in Ba Dinh Ward, Hanoi, May 2026. Photo courtesy of Hai Anh
Properties near such sites are finding few takers.
Tuan, 57, who owns a row of rental units in Alley 90 off Chinh Kinh Street, says the alley entrance is earmarked for road widening and access is blocked.
Dust and noise from nearby construction have caused many of his tenants to leave, pushing vacancy rates up by 30% over the past month. He has lowered rents for front-facing rooms from VND5.5 million to VND4.5 million a month and created a temporary access route for tenants to enter and exit.
Pham Thi Mien, deputy director of the Vietnam Institute for Real Estate Market Research and Evaluation, says rental housing shortages are severe and widespread also because some landlords have temporarily stopped leasing out to upgrade fire safety systems.
“Rental demand is increasingly concentrated in inner-city and near-central wards with well-developed infrastructure such as Thanh Xuan, Cau Giay and Dong Da, where established livelihoods and social networks already exist.”
A person searches for rental accommodation in Cau Giay Ward, Hanoi. Photo by VnExpress/Nga Thanh
People earning medium incomes and paying rents of VND4-6 million in downtown Hanoi are choosing to share an apartment unit for better security and amenities or are moving to suburban areas in search of lower rents.
Minh Phuong, 55, began searching for a rental house early this year after her house on Van Kiep Street in Hong Ha Ward was designated for clearance for building the Tran Hung Dao overpass. She managed to find a three-story, 40-square-meter house in March for VND7 million a month and agreed to pay in advance to reserve it, she says.
“I was lucky to find a place early. By April, every rental property around the clearance site was fully occupied. At that point no amount of money could get you a house.”
