Safety in a Vietnamese rental rests on three papers: the owner's title document, a lease in a language you can read and a handover report. Everything else is habit: no payment before the lease, payment only to whoever is in the lease, and photographs of everything at move-in. Below: what the owner must show, what you should hold at each step, how we handle your data and what to do if something goes wrong.

What the owner must show

  • The title document, the sổ hồng, or a power of attorney from the owner if a representative is letting. The name in the document must match the name in the lease.
  • The owner's ID with the same name.
  • The apartment itself: it exists and matches the photos, and only a viewing shows that.
  • Readiness to register the tenant with the police: it is the owner's duty by law.

What you should hold

  1. Before signing: the full lease in a language you read, photos of the owner's documents, the address down to building and floor.
  2. At signing: your copy of the lease with both signatures, a receipt or transfer confirmation for the deposit with a payment reference.
  3. At move-in: a handover report with photos, a list of furniture and appliances and meter readings, signed by both sides.
  4. After move-in: the temporary residence confirmation from the owner; why it matters is in the temporary residence guide.
  5. At move-out: a check against the report and the return of the deposit within the period in the lease.

We provide the lease in two languages, English or Russian alongside Vietnamese. What must be in the lease and what to cross out is in our guide to the lease and deposit.

Money: three rules

  1. Nothing before the lease. No "bookings", "viewing fees" or "confirmations of intent".
  2. Only to whoever is in the lease: the owner at the account details in the lease, or in cash against a receipt in person. Not to a "manager's" card, not to a wallet.
  3. The deposit is one month, two in the pricier apartments; the first month at move-in, once the keys are yours.

What a scam looks like when renting remotely and how to recognise it is in our guide to renting before arrival.

Your data

Your passport and visa are needed for the lease and the registration; we pass them to the owner and, through the owner, to the police, and to no one else. Correspondence and requests are kept while the search and the lease are in progress and deleted on request. In full in the privacy policy.

If something goes wrong

  • The apartment does not match the video or the photos: do not sign the originals and do not pay the balance; write to us at once.
  • The owner does not register you: remind them, and if that does not help, go to the ward police with the lease; the procedure is in the registration guide.
  • A deposit dispute at move-out: open the report and the photos; that is what they were made for.
  • You cannot reach the owner on something urgent: write to us; the details are on the contact page.

Who we are and how we earn is on the about us page; how the whole deal runs is on the how to rent page; what to check in the apartment at the viewing is in the viewing checklist.