Even during peak enrollment season, landlords still complain about low occupancy rates.

There is a shortage of affordable rental rooms near the school.

A week ago, Vo Thi Kim Mai (a new veterinary student in Can Tho City) spent several consecutive days searching but still couldn't find a room to rent due to scarcity.

"Due to difficult family circumstances and the need to travel by bicycle, I need to find accommodation near the school, at a price of 1 million VND per month. I've been looking for a room for two days straight, checking six different boarding houses, but every place was fully booked," Mai said.

While waiting to find a room, Mai chose to stay with a family she knew, and then registered to temporarily live in the school's dormitory.

"Renting accommodation far away means I'll have to cycle quite a bit, and I also want to study while working part-time to earn money to cover my expenses. For now, I'm staying at a friend's house, waiting for a room to become available before moving out," Mai said.

Affordable rooms for rent near the school are always in short supply. Photo: Bich Ngoc

Ms. Mai Huong, the owner of a boarding house on Nguyen Van Cu Street, Ninh Kieu District, Can Tho City, said: "Most students come here because they are looking for a place near the school at a cheap price of 800,000 - 1,200,000 VND. Within a radius of about 5km, almost every boarding house is in short supply; everyone wants to find a convenient place, so how can there be any vacant rooms?"

The rows of rented rooms are still waiting.

According to our investigation, contrary to the scarcity of rental rooms near universities, within a radius of more than 10km, even newly built rental housing complexes still have quite a few vacant rooms.

Ms. My Hoa, the owner of a boarding house on Nguyen Van Linh Street (Binh Thuy District, Can Tho City), said: "My boarding house currently has 4 out of 10 rooms vacant, priced at 2-3.5 million VND/month, and no one has rented them for the past two months. Some students have come to view the rooms, but when I quoted the price, they refused because they couldn't afford it."

As for the row of rental rooms owned by Mr. Nguyen Van Phi (Ninh Kieu district, Can Tho city), despite being fully furnished and spacious, 7 out of 15 rooms are still vacant.

"The rooms are fully furnished with air conditioning, refrigerators, and even tables and chairs, but the reason why my rental property is still vacant is because of the difficult access, its distance from the school, and the high price, making it not a top priority for students," Phi said.

According to Mr. Phi, the demand for student accommodation increases significantly during the enrollment season. For students with financial difficulties, renting expensive rooms is unaffordable for long-term stays, so everyone wants to find a place nearby that is cheap. This is why some places are short of rooms while others have plenty that no one is renting.

Source: https://laodong.vn/giao-duc/cao-diem-nhap-hoc-chu-nha-tro-van-than-e-1385718.ldo