Ho Chi Minh City: Short-term apartment rental services in apartment buildings are about to resume?

(NLDO) – Ho Chi Minh City is developing and implementing a tax policy for room rental activities via sharing platforms, especially short-term apartment rentals in apartment buildings.

On June 6, information from the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism said that it is coordinating with the Department of Science and Technology and related units to research and develop a "Policy to promote the development of the sharing economic model in the field of tourist accommodation in Ho Chi Minh City".

This solution aims to implement the policy of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee on developing a sharing economy in the area in the period 2025-2030.

According to the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism , in recent times, the sharing economy model in the accommodation sector - the Airbnb model (especially short-term stays in apartments) has developed strongly in Ho Chi Minh City, meeting the diverse needs of international tourists, experts, short-term workers and young people who love homestay experiences.

However, this model has many shortcomings: difficulties in managing security and order, failure to ensure fire prevention and fighting conditions, lack of strict monitoring mechanism, and potential risks for tourists.

In particular, this type of accommodation does not have a clear service contract or legal invoices, affecting the image of the city's destination.

Many apartment buildings in Ho Chi Minh City have posted signs prohibiting short-term rentals. Photo: Son Nhung - Hoang Trieu

By February 2025, the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee issued Decision 26/QD-UBND, regulating the management and use of apartment buildings in the area, including regulations on the management of the exploitation of apartments as tourist accommodation facilities in apartment buildings, and conditions for exploiting apartments as tourist accommodation services. This regulation has a direct impact on households that have been operating under the Airbnb model in the past.

Regarding the development of a complete and practical legal framework, regulations on business registration and licensing for short-term accommodation business owners, the Department of Tourism said it is developing and implementing a tax policy for room rental activities via sharing platforms, in line with the tax system of Ho Chi Minh City and the national tax system. Establish a coordination mechanism between local authorities and sharing platforms to monitor activities and promptly handle violations related to security and order, fire prevention and fighting.

"Build and perfect an intelligent management and monitoring system; develop an integrated electronic information portal that allows individuals and organizations to register and declare taxes easily; an information portal that connects data between relevant agencies and localities, ensuring transparent management and continuous updates" - said a representative of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism.

In addition, applying information technology in monitoring business activities, building a system using big data to monitor and analyze tourism demand, number of tenants and market trends.

In addition, the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism said it will develop and pilot a coordination mechanism between state management agencies, clearly assigning responsibilities to each agency in managing and developing sharing economic activities; strengthen supervision, establish regular communication channels to promptly detect and handle related issues.

Source: https://nld.com.vn/tp-hcm-dich-vu-cho-thue-can-ho-ngan-ngay-o-chung-cu-sap-hoat-dong-tro-lai-196250606112339276.htm