Rental Contract in Ho Chi Minh City: Clauses and Notice

A home lease in Ho Chi Minh City must be in writing. It lists the parties, the home, the rent and how it is paid, the lease term, each side's duties, the dates and the signatures. It does not need notarising unless you want it. A side ending it alone gives at least 30 days' notice, unless you agree otherwise.

By Vincent Nguyen

A lease for a home in Ho Chi Minh City must be made in writing. The Law on Housing lists what that written contract contains, from the parties’ names to the signatures. This guide reads that list and the Civil Code lease rules clause by clause, so you know what to ask for before you sign.

What the law says a lease must contain

Article 163 of the Law on Housing says the parties agree the contract and put it in writing. For a rental, these are the items that apply:

• the parties’ full names and addresses;
• a description of the home;
• the price, if the contract sets one; where the State sets a lease price, you follow it;
• the payment term and method;
• the hand-over time and the lease term;
• each side’s rights and obligations, the parties’ commitments and any other agreements;
• the date the contract takes effect and the date it is signed;
• the signatures and full names of the parties.

Hợp đồng về nhà ở do các bên thỏa thuận và phải được lập thành văn bản bao gồm các nội dung sau đây

A housing contract is as agreed by the parties and must be made in writing, containing the following. Law on Housing 27/2023/QH15, Điều 163

The landlord and tenant may agree the lease term, the rent and whether rent is paid periodically or in one payment. Where the State regulates rent, the parties follow that regulation. A housing lease runs under the Civil Code, the Housing Law and other related provisions.

A foreign individual who rents must belong to the class of people entitled to own housing in Vietnam under the Housing Law. That class includes a foreign individual permitted to enter Vietnam. A foreign tenant does not need residence registration where the home is.

Clauses to check line by line

The Civil Code fills the gaps a lease leaves. Write each point below into the contract in plain words, so that the default rule does not decide it for you.

Record the condition of the home when you receive it. At the end you must return it in a condition similar to when you received it, except for natural wear and tear, or in the condition agreed.

Rent figures to test the rent clause

These are January 2026 one-bedroom benchmarks for first-hand contracts, which come straight from the landlord or housing company. Use them to test your rent, not as today’s quote.

The city-wide one-bedroom range is VND 9,000,000 to 27,000,000. The apartment guide has the two-bedroom figures and the October 2026 listing averages.

Write the rent in dong

The Ordinance on Foreign Exchange bars writing prices in contracts in foreign exchange, except where the State Bank allows it. From 1 December 2026 the same ban moves into the State Bank Law as Article 31a. Exceptions need a law, a National Assembly resolution or the Governor. Write the rent in dong before and after that date.

Papers to ask for before you sign

City Police advise asking to see papers proving ownership or the right to lease the property, and checking the landlord’s personal details. Housing law does not make an ownership certificate (Giấy chứng nhận) mandatory for a lease. If the landlord is not the owner, ask for the owner’s written consent to sublet or the owner’s authorisation to manage the home.

Check these points against the home itself:

• The home has electricity, water supply and drainage, and ensures quality and safety for the tenant, unless the parties agree otherwise.
• The home is still within its ownership term, if the ownership is time-limited.
• The home is not seized to enforce a judgment or a binding administrative decision, and is not under a court or agency order.
• The home is not under a land-recovery decision or a notice of clearance or demolition.

If your landlord is a tenant too, a tenant may sublet if the owner agrees. Ask to see that consent. A known scam rents a room and sub-lets it, taking deposits from several people at once.

Do not leave your passport with a landlord as a guarantee. That is travel advice, not a Vietnamese rule. Showing the passport for the stay declaration is a different thing: the law asks you to show it to the accommodation, not to leave it there.

Notarisation and language

Notarisation or certification of a lease is not required, unless the parties want it. The lease takes effect as the parties agree, or when signed if they agreed nothing.

If you do notarise, the language of notarisation is Vietnamese. A document in another language is translated into Vietnamese. A person who is not fluent in Vietnamese needs an interpreter.

No source read sets a language for a private lease. Ask the landlord for a Vietnamese copy next to your English one, and keep both signed.

Ending a lease early

During the agreed term, the landlord may not end the lease on their own and reclaim the home, except in the cases the law lists.

Trong thời hạn thuê nhà ở theo thỏa thuận trong hợp đồng, bên cho thuê không được đơn phương chấm dứt thực hiện hợp đồng thuê nhà ở và thu hồi nhà ở đang cho thuê

During the lease term agreed in the contract, the lessor may not unilaterally terminate the lease contract and reclaim the leased housing, except in the cases at clause 2 of this Article. Law on Housing 27/2023/QH15, Điều 172 khoản 1

If the landlord wants out

The landlord may end the lease and reclaim the home in these cases:

• you do not pay the agreed rent in full for 3 months or more, without a reason agreed in the contract;
• you use the home for a purpose other than the one agreed;
• you break through walls, extend, renovate or demolish the home on your own initiative;
• you convert, lend or sub-let the home without the landlord’s consent;
• you disturb public order or environmental hygiene, seriously affecting those around you, and have been recorded for it three times without fixing it.

For a home, plan on the Housing Law’s 3 months. The Civil Code’s general rule is three consecutive unpaid periods, and it gives way where the law provides otherwise. A tenant who returns the home late owes the rent for the delay and compensation, and a late-return penalty if one was agreed.

If you want out

You may end the lease on your own in these cases:

• the landlord does not repair the home when it is severely damaged;
• the landlord raises the rent unreasonably, or without the prior notice agreed in the contract;
• your right to use the home is restricted because of a third party’s interest.

If there is a dispute over ownership and you cannot use the home stably, you may end the contract and claim compensation.

Notice

Bên đơn phương chấm dứt thực hiện hợp đồng thuê nhà ở phải thông báo bằng văn bản hoặc bằng hình thức khác theo thỏa thuận trong hợp đồng cho bên kia biết trước ít nhất 30 ngày, trừ trường hợp các bên có thỏa thuận khác

The party unilaterally terminating the lease contract must notify the other side at least 30 days in advance, in writing or another form agreed in the contract, unless the parties agree otherwise. Law on Housing 27/2023/QH15, Điều 172 khoản 4

If the contract fixes no term, it ends 90 days after the landlord notifies you of the termination. The lease also ends when the term expires, when the parties agree to end it, or when the home no longer exists. If the home is severely damaged or under a clearance decision, the landlord gives you at least 30 days’ written notice, except in force majeure or unless agreed otherwise.

Sale, death and sub-letting

• If the owner sells the home while the term runs, you may keep renting to the end of the term.
• If the owner dies, you may keep renting to the end of the term, and the heir continues the contract unless the parties agree otherwise.
• If you die, whoever lived with you may keep renting to the end of the term, unless the parties agree otherwise.
• If the landlord renovates with your agreement, the landlord may adjust the rent when one third of the term or less remains.

Address and ward in the contract

The district level stopped operating on 1 July 2025. The city now has 168 commune-level units: 113 wards, 54 communes and 1 special zone. Listings still use old district names, so match the ward before you write the address.

• The former Thao Dien ward was merged into the new An Khanh ward.
• The former Tan Phu ward of District 7 and the rest of Phu My ward became Tan My ward.
• The former Ben Nghe ward, with parts of Da Kao and Nguyen Thai Binh, became Sai Gon ward.

Write the new ward in the lease address, and add the old district as a note. The address format guide shows how to write it on forms.

Stay declaration and your own electricity account

A foreigner staying in Vietnam declares the stay through the person who directly manages the accommodation, to the ward police. The accommodation asks the foreigner to show a passport and residence papers first. The person who files is the accommodation’s owner, its legal representative or someone authorised.

A foreigner who does not show the passport or residence papers is fined VND 3,000,000 to 5,000,000. Show your passport when the accommodation files, and keep it afterwards. Put in the lease who files and when. The temporary residence guide covers the procedure.

For electricity, a house lease of at least one year with the owner’s consent counts among the papers that establish the contract party at the address. A passport is among the accepted identity papers. Put in the lease who pays the electricity company and at what price. The landlord electricity guide gives the tiers and the fine for overcharging.

Fake contracts and other scams

Some renters were caught by fake contracts: the scammers prepared papers with forged signatures and seals, collected the deposit and even added a management fee. City Police advise not to transfer a deposit before you have been to the place and met the owner in person.

A room priced far below the market that also asks for an urgent deposit often carries a scam risk. The apartment guide lists the other patterns, and the deposit guide covers who keeps the money.

If there is a dispute

The limitation period for a court request on a contract dispute is 3 years. Grassroots mediation respects the parties’ voluntary will and is not forced on them. It applies to disputes and violations except the cases the law excludes.

The court list below comes from the Supreme People’s Court’s decision on court headquarters of 1 July 2025. It shows the area each regional court is listed for. Start with the court listed for the home’s area.

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Not confirmed: Language: no source sets the language of a private lease for a ward office or a court, so get a Vietnamese or bilingual copy. Court: the table lists each regional court's area; the rule on which court takes a lease claim is not in it.

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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