Following the ban announced this month, several apartment complexes such as Icon 56, The Tresor and Millennium have barred home owners from leasing to short-term tenants.
Hoang Tuan, an operator of hundreds of Airbnb-like apartments in several HCMC districts, anticipates losses of hundreds of millions dong because of the ban (VND100 million = US$3,925).
Tuan has been in the business for around six years, and rents apartments from owners at VND15-25 million a month each.
He then leases them back to short-term renters to earn up to VND60 million per unit per month.
“We have put down deposits for many units and our monthly income is expected to plummet due to the new policy.”
Quynh Huong offers Airbnb-like services at her two apartments in HCMC, which she bought expressly for the purpose.
She invested billions of dong, including from loans, to acquire the units and almost VND1 billion in renovating them.
She makes up to VND30 million in an average month from the two apartments, and uses it to finance her family’s living expenses and pay the debts.
But she only began recently and the ban has sparked fears of losses.
“If the building management requires me to cease short-term rents, I will have to switch to long-term lease which is not as profitable and recouping my investment will take longer.”
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Buildings in District 4, Ho Chi Minh City. Photo by VnExpress/Quynh Tran |
Manh Duong, who manages 25 Airbnb-like apartments, is concerned that he might not be able to pay his debts without the income from them.
“Many people like me have poured big bucks into these units for short-term leases, and we are facing substantial losses.”
But not everyone is unhappy with the ban.
Dinh Minh Tuan, southern regional property listing platform Batdongsan, said it would foster safety and order in apartment complexes while steering the market toward genuine housing needs rather than speculative investment.
He expected capital to shift to professional serviced apartments and hotels.
Real estate analyst Le Quoc Kien said investors might pivot to long-term rentals, boosting supply in this segment.
This would bring down rents, he said.
In the short run some investors could sell their apartments, increasing secondary market supply and potentially driving down prices, especially in areas with many Airbnb units.
Luxury apartments would bear the brunt since buyers, who often own homes elsewhere, buy them as an investment.
With short-term leasing banned, demand and market liquidity are likely to plummet, he said.
Vo Hong Thang, deputy general director of property consultancy DKRA Group, said the ban would not hurt tourism given the high availability of hotels.
He noted that at properties where managers imposed a ban on short-term leasing rents often fell by 15-20%.
But some analysts wondered if the ban could be enforced efficiently, pointing to the fact that many landlords ignored the restrictions on short-term leasing in the past and managed to conduct their business surreptitiously to avoid taxes.
