Landlord Electricity Price in Ho Chi Minh City

Until EVN's next price adjustment, your landlord bills the household step tariff, VND 1,984 to 3,460 per kWh before VAT, with one quota per 4 declared people. If the landlord does not declare everyone, the whole reading is billed at tier 3, VND 2,380. Overcharging is fined VND 20,000,000 to 30,000,000. Report it on 1900 54 54 54.

By Vincent Nguyen

One tenant using 100 kWh in a month is billed VND 268,625 on the step tariff. The same 100 kWh costs VND 238,000 at the tier 3 flat price and VND 500,000 at a flat 5,000 VND per kWh. All three are before VAT, and the difference is how the landlord bills.

A May 2026 report says many boarding houses in Ho Chi Minh City still charge a flat 3,800 to 5,000 VND per kWh. This guide gives the tiers, the rule that applies to you today, the fine and the numbers to call. A tier is a block of monthly kWh with its own price. A quota is the set of tier limits one household gets each month.

The household price now (in force since 10 May 2025)

The household tariff has six tiers, in VND per kWh before VAT:

Decision 1279/QĐ-BCT was issued on 9 May 2025 and took effect on 10 May 2025. The EVNHCMC price page, read on 13 October 2026, still shows the prices dated 10/05/2025 next to the previous prices dated 11/10/2024. Tier 3 went from 2,271 to 2,380 VND per kWh.

The household step tariff is in force since 10 May 2025, and the price table above carries that date. VAT is added on top of these prices; the rate is printed on your bill.

Which rule applies to you today

Until EVN’s next average-price adjustment, the earlier student and worker rule stays in force. Circular 60/2025/TT-BCT, Article 20, keeps it alive. Its new tenant clause starts only from that adjustment. EVNHCMC’s price page shows no adjustment since 10/05/2025.

Find your case in this table:

At each rental address the seller makes only one electricity contract. The landlord has to give the seller the residence information of the tenants there. Friends or colleagues sharing a flat count as students or workers, not as one household, so 4 people share one quota.

Foreigners qualify like anyone else: the quota counts people by residence registration at the address. EVNHCMC accepts a passport as ID. It treats a house lease of at least one year with the owner’s consent as proof of the contract party. Registration takes no more than 3 working days, or 7 where a pole or underground cable is needed, and costs nothing.

How the quota works for tenants

Each household gets one quota of electricity at the household price per month at one place of use. Where several households share a meter, the shared quota is each tier’s quota multiplied by the number of households.

For students and workers renting a home, EVNHCMC sets the quota at 4 people as one household. If the landlord declares all users, the seller counts 1 person as 1/4 of a quota. Two people count as 1/2, 3 people as 3/4 and 4 people as one full quota. The landlord notifies the seller when the number of tenants changes.

cứ 04 (bốn) người được tính là một hộ sử dụng điện để tính số định mức áp dụng giá bán lẻ điện sinh hoạt

Every 4 people count as one household for the quota at the household retail price. Circular 60/2025/TT-BCT, Điều 20, which keeps the earlier student and worker rule (as worded in the 2023 amending circular)

The quota registration file is one of these papers: the household register, the temporary-residence book, or the local police confirmation of temporary residence. If the landlord declares a wrong number of people and gets a larger quota, the seller may demand compensation and a contract penalty. If the seller gives a lower quota than the regulation sets, the buyer may demand the same.

Four ways to bill the same electricity

Bill by the step tariff: a flat average price is unfair between low and high users. The examples below show why. All figures are before VAT, at the prices of 10 May 2025.

One declared tenant uses 1/4 of the quota, so the tier limits shrink to 12.5, 25, 50, 75 and 100 kWh. For 100 kWh the step bill is VND 268,625. Billed at the tier 3 price on the whole reading, 100 kWh costs VND 238,000.

At a flat 3,800 VND per kWh, 100 kWh costs VND 380,000. At a flat 5,000 VND it costs VND 500,000. That is VND 111,375 and VND 231,375 more than the step bill.

Two declared tenants use 1/2 of the quota, so the tier limits double to 25, 50, 100, 150 and 200 kWh. At these volumes the tier 3 bill is lower than the step bill. So the safe test is simple: the landlord collects no more than the seller bills.

What a landlord may not add on

From the next price adjustment, a landlord who does not sign for you may collect no more than the electricity money on the seller’s monthly bill.

thì tổng tiền điện chủ nhà cho thuê thu của người thuê nhà không được vượt quá tiền điện trong hoá đơn tiền điện hằng tháng do đơn vị bán lẻ điện phát hành

The total electricity money the landlord collects from the tenant may not exceed the electricity money on the monthly bill issued by the retail seller. Circular 60/2025/TT-BCT, Điều 12 khoản 5 điểm c

The city already applies that cap in its checks. Landlords who charge 3,500 to 5,000 VND per kWh to cover losses and running costs do not comply. Those costs include lifts, corridor lights, cameras and a shared washing machine.

Costs such as water pumping, corridor lighting, security cameras or shared equipment may be charged separately as a service or management fee agreed with the tenant. They may not be added into the electricity price.

The fine and the refund

Decree 133/2026/NĐ-CP fines a landlord VND 20,000,000 to 30,000,000 for charging a tenant more than the regulated household price.

Phạt tiền … đối với người cho thuê nhà thu tiền điện của người thuê nhà cao hơn quy định trong trường hợp mua điện theo giá bán lẻ điện để phục vụ mục đích sinh hoạt.

A fine of VND 20,000,000 to 30,000,000 applies to a landlord who collects electricity money from a tenant above the regulated amount, where electricity is bought at the household retail price for daily living. Decree 133/2026/NĐ-CP, Điều 13 khoản 7

The landlord must also refund the excess collected, plus interest as agreed in the rental contract. The chair of the commune-level People’s Committee holds the power to fine. The limit is VND 50,000,000 for an individual.

Check your bill and report an overcharge

Compare what your landlord charges with the seller’s monthly bill for the meter. Ask for the meter reading and the bill. If the total is higher, report it. Use these contacts:

• 24/7 support lines 1558 or 1900 54 54 54.
• The 1900 545454 call centre, the email cskh@hcmpc.com.vn, the website evnhcmc.vn and the EVNHCMC mobile app.
• The head office building at 35 Ton Duc Thang, Sai Gon Ward.

The commune-level commerce office has the duty to check retail prices at boarding houses regularly and to handle violations. On 08/5/2026 the city department asked the chairs of ward, commune and Con Dao special-zone People’s Committees to step up checks, with the electricity company.

By April 2026 the electricity sector had checked prices at 145,974 boarding-house visits. EVNHCMC has given a quota to nearly 1.94 million students and workers at 110,322 boarding houses, and 109,717 owners have signed a pledge to sell at the regulated price.

The contract guide shows where to write the electricity clause, and the deposit guide covers the final bill at move-out. For the other monthly costs, see the cost of living guide. The apartment guide covers the rest of the rental process.

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Not confirmed: The next average-price adjustment switches on the bill cap and renames the 101 to 200 kWh block "tier 2". Check the EVNHCMC price page; its newest column is still 10/05/2025. From that date, expect your landlord's bill to be capped at the seller's bill.

General information checked against the sources listed above, not legal advice for your situation. Rules and office practice change; confirm with the immigration office or a licensed adviser before you act. See how guides are checked.

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