How to rent long-term in Vietnam

First, the money

The database holds 2,180 live listings of long-term housing from 46 sources. The median monthly rent is $462; half the market sits within $274–1,079. In the last 24 hours: +628 listings. Data as of August 16, 2026, sample 2,180 active listings.

The advertised price is a starting point, and what moves it is the term: a year instead of six months, and a couple of months paid ahead, do more than negotiation ever will. The cheapest and the most expensive quarter of the market are about three times apart, so it is worth checking “expensive” against the median rather than against a feeling.

What counts as long-term here

There is no separate “long-term” contract in Vietnam: one month and three years are the same residential lease under the Housing Law 2023. Three thresholds, however, change quite a lot for you.

• Six months — from here you are usually quoted the local price rather than the tourist one, and asked for one month as a deposit instead of prepayment for the whole term.
• A year — twelve months in the lease means household electricity pricing. Not a favour from the landlord but a rule of Circular 60/2025/TT-BCT — and at eleven months it does not apply.^S6
• Your legal stay — the fine for an undeclared tenant is paid by the landlord, so a long lease against a short visa is something he will almost always want to discuss separately.^S5

How it goes, step by step

1. You find a listing and message the owner or an intermediary.
2. You go and see the place. Viewing before any money is the only defence against the most common scheme: “pay a little to hold it”.
3. You negotiate: the term and the months paid ahead are your main arguments.
4. You hand over the deposit (đặt cọc), usually one month — by receipt or as a contract clause.
5. You sign a paper contract. No trip to a notary.
6. The landlord declares your stay to the police — his duty, not yours.
7. On move-in day you write down the meter readings and photograph the flat.

The contract: paper without a notary

The contract has to be in writing, and the law spells out what must be in it: names and addresses of both sides, a description of the housing and the land, the price and how it is paid, the term, the rights and duties of both sides, signatures and the date (Housing Law 2023, Art. 163). Everything else is what you two agree.^S1

Notarisation is not required: Article 164(2) exempts leases, and people go to a notary only when both sides want to.^S1S2

The law does not demand a Vietnamese text either, but you will need one — for the residence declaration, for a direct electricity contract and for any dispute. It is easier to make the contract bilingual from the start and say which text prevails.

The deposit: one month and one rule

One month is the usual ask. In law it is đặt cọc, a deposit under Article 328 of the Civil Code, and its rule is asymmetric: if you back out, the landlord keeps the money; if he backs out, he returns it and pays the same amount again on top. That is the default until the contract says otherwise.^S3

Which leads to a simple consequence: cash handed over on trust is protected by nothing, because there will be nothing to prove. You need either a clause in the contract or a receipt. What may be withheld and how to get the money back is in the guide on the deposit and the contract.

Electricity: where the landlord no longer has the right

A flat rate such as “4,500 dong per kilowatt” in the contract looks like a local custom, but since December 2025 it is a violation. Circular 60/2025/TT-BCT says it plainly: a tenant may not be charged more for electricity than the utility's invoice.^S6

• A one-year lease and a registered stay — you may sign a contract with the power company directly, or be billed at household tiers, where every four residents count as one household.^S6
• A shorter lease, or no declared residents — the whole volume is billed at the second household tier.^S6
• The landlord charges above the invoice — since 25 May 2026 that is a fine of 20–30 million dong plus repayment of the difference. Complaints go to the ward people's committee (UBND phường/xã) and to the power company.^S7

In practice: ask to see the meter and the last utility invoice, and write billing by meter into the contract. Arguing about that four-and-a-half thousand is much easier before signing than after.

Who goes to the police — you or the landlord

The landlord. A foreigner's temporary residence is declared by the owner of the property, and he has twelve hours from check-in to do it (twenty-four in remote areas). It is filed online through the provincial immigration department's portal: Article 33 of the 2014 Law on Entry, Exit and Residence of Foreigners and Circular 53/2016/TT-BCA.^S4

Sometimes a landlord offers to skip it and shave the rent. Refusing is not about being law-abiding, it is self-interest: without registration at your address you will hit a wall at visa extension, at the temporary residence card and at that direct electricity contract. The fines are his; the inconvenience is entirely yours.^S4S6

What the landlord must have to rent to a foreigner

Asking to see documents often feels rude. It is in fact a check on whether the deal is lawful at all: Articles 171–173 of the Housing Law 2023 allow renting to a foreigner only housing that has an ownership certificate (sổ hồng / sổ đỏ), is a detached house or a self-contained apartment, is supplied with electricity, water and sanitation, and is not under dispute.^S8

If the person signing is not the owner but a “manager” or a relative, you need a notarised power of attorney. Without it you are making an agreement with someone who has no right to dispose of that flat.

Commission and tax: why the form of the contract gets negotiated

An intermediary's fee runs from half to a full month's rent, and up to two months on long contracts. It is normally paid by the landlord, so if the same fee is asked of you, you are paying for work already paid for on the other side. Ask who pays the commission in the first conversation, not on signing day.^S9

The other thing that explains odd requests about cash and about “putting the contract in another name” is tax. From 2026 a landlord pays neither VAT nor income tax until rental revenue passes 500 million dong a year; above that it is 5% VAT on all revenue and 5% income tax on the excess. Registering a business is optional for him.^S10

What to check before the money moves

1. Ownership certificate and the landlord's ID — one and the same name.
2. A notarised power of attorney if the signer is not the owner.
3. A paper contract with everything Article 163 lists.
4. The deposit: amount and return conditions written down, not spoken.
5. Electricity by meter and never above the utility invoice.
6. A clause on the residence declaration: the landlord's duty, with a deadline.
7. Photos of the flat and meter readings on move-in day.
8. How and in what currency you pay, what late payment costs, how either side exits early.

Where to go next

• Vietnam
• Da Nang
• Da Lat
• Vung Tau
• Ho Chi Minh City
• Deposit and contract
• Renting without an agent
• Catalogue with filters
• Methodology

Text last reviewed on August 14, 2026. The figures come from the daily snapshot of the database; links to laws and official documents are attached to every fact.