Is There Sufficient Ground to Prohibit Apartment Rentals in the Style of Airbnb?

The Synthesis of Problems, Inadequacies, and Recommendations from the Bureau of Inspection of Legal Documents and Administration of Administrative Handling states that the Law on Housing 2023, guiding documents, and Official Letter 4757 from the Ministry of Construction prohibit the use of apartments for non-residential purposes. The nature of the Airbnb short-term rental service is that tenants use the apartment for living purposes, and there are no current regulations defining short-term rentals or prohibiting owners from renting out their apartments. In reality, long-term apartment rentals are permitted, while short-term rentals (less than 30 days) are prohibited, which is unreasonable.

Therefore, the Bureau of Inspection of Legal Documents and Administration of Administrative Handling believes that banning Airbnb rentals is unreasonable. When the apartment owner is not occupying the unit, they have the right to rent it out as it is one of their property rights according to the Civil Code.

The Bureau also suggests that while the Airbnb rental model can cause inconvenience to other residents, instead of a ban, there should be solutions for management. For instance, landlords should be required to register their business, meet security and fire safety conditions, and not affect the community within the apartment building.

Based on the above analysis, the Bureau proposes the following direction: Comprehensive measures should be taken by relevant authorities, including issuing specific legal regulations for the management of apartment buildings regarding short-term accommodation activities. In the event of a continued ban on short-term accommodation activities in apartment projects, state management agencies may also consider deterring sanctions for violations.

Regarding the above recommendation, the Department of Housing and Real Estate Market Management stated that the management of apartment use is currently governed by the 2023 Housing Law and its guiding documents. The Department acknowledged, studied, and reviewed the recommendation and will report to the competent authority for amendments and supplements in the future.

Previously, according to statistics from the Ho Chi Minh City Real Estate Association, there were 8,740 apartments for short-term accommodation via the Airbnb application across 24 apartment buildings and complexes in several districts and Thu Duc City, with a total investment value of about VND 43,700 billion (equivalent to USD 1.74 billion). Assuming a credit ratio of 70% with an interest rate of 9%/year, the total debt of these landlords would be VND 30,590 billion, and they would have to pay interest of about VND 2,753 billion/year. Therefore, the ban on using apartments for short-term accommodation has caused significant difficulties for apartment owners, including contract termination compensation, loss of tourist and transient guests, loss of revenue affecting loan interest and repayment, and potential job loss for 8,740 – 17,480 people.