Close-up of "mini apartments" located in narrow alleys

The "mini apartment" housing type has flourished in recent years, considered suitable for people with average incomes due to reasonable prices, compact areas... These houses are small projects invested by the owners themselves, building high-rise buildings on relatively small land areas for business purposes. Many young families also choose to rent to live, when the rental price is several million VND/month.

According to National Standard TCVN 9411: 2012, in all cases, townhouses must not be higher than 6 floors. In alleys with a width of less than 6 m, townhouses must not be built higher than 4 floors .

The 2014 Housing Law allows households and individuals in urban areas to build houses with two or more floors, each floor is designed and built with two or more apartments in a closed style, with a minimum floor area for each apartment according to construction standards and regulations, etc., and the State recognizes the ownership of each apartment in that house. In fact, to be licensed to build and put these houses into operation under the 2014 Housing Law, it is necessary to go through many strict regulations. For that reason, many people have "dodged" by building houses higher than the permitted number of floors, then calling them "mini apartments" for rent.

Within a radius of 2km from the scene of the tragic mini apartment fire that killed more than 30 people, in narrow alleys and small streets, there are many similar buildings springing up. These buildings are built with small areas, ranging from 6 to 11 floors, located in residential areas, invested by private individuals and businesses with the initial reason of being housing, then converted to renting or selling apartments, leading to high population density, difficult to ensure fire prevention and fighting conditions, and many potential risks of fire and explosion.

Although it is not suitable when compared with current regulations, however, in this article, we will temporarily call these mini apartments according to the common way of calling of people today.