Huyen Trang, a first-year university student in Hanoi, rents a sleep pod, commonly called a “sleep box” in Vietnam, in an apartment on Tran Duy Hung Street.
She pays a monthly rent of 3 million VND (US$125) and has access to all amenities, including the swimming pool and shopping center.
The pod next to his is rented for the day for around 200,000 VND.
After the sleeping cabin model appeared in townhouses and became very popular, apartment owners in Hanoi and HCMC also installed bunk beds in dormitories or homestays.
Many of their tenants say they prefer them because of the modern living space and the amenities and services available to them.
In Hanoi, this arrangement has become common in a 24-story apartment tower on Nghiem Xuan Yem Street, a 32-story tower in Dai Kim Ward, Hoang Mai District, and a 29-story tower on Tran Phu Street , Ha Dong district.
They are rented by the owners themselves or by tenants who renovate the apartments and sublet sleeping cabins and bunk beds.
The rent for each is 1.6 to 3 million VND and includes maintenance costs and all utilities.
In some places, where it is difficult to find long-term tenants, owners also rent the pods by the day.
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An apartment with several sleeping boxes. Photo courtesy of apartment owner |
Quoc, a seasoned real estate investor in HCMC, did the math to explain to VnExpress why this model has become very popular with owners over the last two or three years.
He said the average rent for a two-bedroom apartment is VND12 million per month in HCMC, excluding electricity, water and utility fees. But if the landlord installs three or four bunk beds per room to accommodate 12 to 16 people, the total monthly rent could be VND20 million to VND28 million, he said.
Tran Khanh, chairman of the Hanoi Building Management Operating Club, said more and more apartments are being transformed into dormitories, guesthouses and dormitories due to demand from low-income people and those who just Needed a place to sleep at night.
Some also like the comfort of an apartment without paying too much, he says.
Trang said many students like her want to have a good place to live.
For the rent she pays, if she had to rent a house alone, she would have to live far from the city center or in a rundown place, she stressed.
Still, there are downsides, like having to share a few toilets with dozens of people, she said.
The anger of the neighbors
But his discontent is nothing compared to that of the neighbors, because the population of their building is exploding due to the presence of a dozen occupants per unit.
Ngan, who lives in a 31-story building on Nguyen Xien Street in Thanh Xuan district, said residents have repeatedly complained to the building’s management that the overcrowded apartments have risks of fires and explosions and even threats to social order and security.
A recurring problem is overcrowding of elevators and parking lots, she said.
In early October, some occupants blocked the entrance to the parking lot to protest management’s inability to control the situation.
Conflicts between residents and sleep-box tenants became so frequent and violent that the real estate developer had to call a meeting with the owners and local police.
It was agreed that people renting bunk beds and pods would liquidate all contracts within a month and then limit the number of tenants to six adults in the case of a three-bedroom apartment and five in a two bedroom apartment.
Khanh said that to obtain approval for construction, apartment developers carefully calculated the expected population size to ensure it was suitable for local conditions and that technical and social infrastructure could be provided in a manner adequate.
So, a large increase in population disrupts things and affects the quality of life.
Chu Thi Minh Ngoc, head of property management at real estate consultancy CBRE Vietnam, said dividing apartments into smaller units is not approved by the management agency and therefore poses risks.
Khanh said it was necessary to clearly stipulate the maximum number of people allowed to live in each apartment before they were handed over to owners.
