Yearly holding costs of a rental apartment: management fees, maintenance, tax

Basis: Housing Law No. 27/2023/QH15 (Article 151 on management and operation service prices, Article 152 on the 2% maintenance fund); Regulation on management and use of apartment buildings issued with Circular 05/2024/TT-BXD; Ho Chi Minh City apartment management and operation service price framework applied from 21/10/2024; Decree 141/2026/ND-CP (rental revenue threshold of VND 1 billion/year); Circular 18/2026/TT-BTC replacing Circular 40/2021/TT-BTC from 05/03/2026 · Updated 24 October 2026.

Apart from loan interest, a rental apartment costs about 0.8–1.3% of its value a year in the reference example below. Most of this is not the management fee but months without tenants, the cost of finding new tenants and replacing furnishings. This article separates each item, states the basis, then combines them into a cash-flow table.

Quick answer: what percentage a year

Assumptions: a 2-bedroom, 70 m² (net internal area) apartment in an apartment building with a lift in Ho Chi Minh City; price VND 4 billion; rented at VND 11 million/month; revenue below the taxable threshold. These are illustrative figures, not the rent or fees of a specific project.

Scenario	Cost / year	% of apartment value	% of rent if let 12 months
Light: tenant pays the management fee, no furniture replacement fund set aside	about VND 30 million	about 0.8%	about 23%
Full: landlord pays the management fee all year, sets aside a furniture replacement fund	about VND 51 million	about 1.3%	about 39%
Bad: as "full" but vacant for 3 months	about VND 73 million	about 1.8%	about 55%

Details of each item are in the sample calculation table at the end of the article.

Management and operation fee: charged per m² of net internal area

• Who pays: owners and users of an apartment building pay monthly or periodically, including units that have been handed over but are not yet lived in or rented out (Regulation on management and use of apartment buildings, Circular 05/2024/TT-BXD). In months when the unit is vacant, the landlord still pays.
• Fee level: agreed between the parties under the principles of Article 151 of the Housing Law 2023. In Ho Chi Minh City, the framework applied from 21/10/2024 is VND 1,800–7,000 per m² of net internal area per month for buildings with a lift and VND 600–3,500 per m² for buildings without a lift. This framework is used when the parties have not agreed; the fee actually charged in each building may differ — ask the building management for the published fee schedule.
• Not included in the management fee: fire and explosion insurance; the maintenance fund; parking; electricity, water, gas; TV and internet; fees for the Management Board; services specific to each unit; VAT (if any).
• Example: 70 m² × VND 7,000 = VND 490,000/month, about VND 5.9 million/year. The lease should state which party pays the management fee and parking fee — if the tenant pays, the landlord only bears the vacant months.

The 2% maintenance fund: a one-off payment, not an annual fee

• Buyers of apartments from the developer pay a maintenance fund equal to 2% of the apartment's value, calculated separately from the purchase price and stated in the sale contract (Article 152 of the Housing Law 2023). For a VND 4 billion apartment → about VND 80 million, usually paid before handover.
• This fund is used only to maintain and replace shared-ownership parts (lifts, pumps, generators, fire-protection systems, etc.) under plans approved by the apartment building conference. Failures inside the unit — air conditioner, water heater, private pipes — are paid by the landlord.
• When the fund is not enough for a major maintenance job, owners contribute more in proportion to their floor area.
• Buying back a handed-over unit: the seller paid the 2% at the first purchase. Ask for a copy of the receipt / confirmation of maintenance fund payment before signing, so you do not pay again when registering as a resident.

For this reason, in the calculation table the 2% is counted in the initial capital, not in annual costs.

Tax and procedures for rental landlords

• Presumptive tax replaced by self-declaration: Circular 40/2021/TT-BTC (presumptive tax, return form 01/TTS) ceased to be effective on 05/03/2026, replaced by Circular 18/2026/TT-BTC; individuals renting out property declare on Form 01/BĐS.
• Rental revenue of VND 1 billion/year or less (total of all properties of the same person): no VAT or personal income tax on rental activity (Decree 141/2026/ND-CP, applied from 01/01/2026) — but you must still declare revenue, once by 31/01 of the following year at the latest, or twice (31/07 and 31/01 of the following year), via eTax Mobile or the portal dichvucong.gdt.gov.vn.
• Above VND 1 billion/year: according to guidance quoted in the press, VAT of 5% on all revenue and personal income tax of 5% on the part above VND 1 billion.
• Tenant is a company: the contract may agree that the company declares and pays on the landlord's behalf. Companies usually need documents to account for rent — ask the managing tax office about invoices before signing.

An apartment rented at VND 11 million/month has revenue of about VND 132 million/year — below the threshold, so the tax cost in the example is zero, and only the effort of declaring remains. Detailed regulations: tax and paperwork when renting out an apartment.

Vacant months, repairs, furnishings, brokerage

• Vacant months: the gap between two contracts, time for cleaning, repairs and waiting for viewings. Each vacant month loses a full month of rent and the management fee is still payable. Allow at least 1 month/year; a newly handed-over unit in a project with many units offered for rent at the same time should allow longer.
• Brokerage / rental service: paid each time a new tenant is found. The calculation table assumes 1 month's rent per 12-month contract — the real fee is stated in each party's service contract.
• Repairs and upkeep inside the unit: cleaning the air conditioner, replacing bulbs and taps, touch-up painting after each tenant. Assumed at VND 8 million/year.
• Furnishings: a unit handed over in basic finish needs air conditioners, a water heater, lights, curtains, beds and wardrobes before renting (interior finishing costs). The first purchase is initial capital; replacement after a few years should be set aside gradually each year. Assumption: furnishings of VND 150 million used for 10 years → set aside VND 15 million/year.
• Insurance inside the unit (if bought): fire and explosion insurance on shared-ownership parts is bought by the building; insurance on property inside the unit is optional and not counted in the example.

Sample calculation: from rent to net cash flow

Assumptions as in the first section: 70 m² unit, VND 4 billion, rented at VND 11 million/month, vacant 1 month/year, landlord pays the management fee of VND 7,000/m²/month all year, brokerage fee of 1 month's rent, repairs VND 8 million/year, furniture replacement set-aside VND 15 million/year, revenue below the taxable threshold, no loan.

Item	Amount / year
Rent if let for 12 months	VND 132 million
Less 1 vacant month	− VND 11 million
Management fee paid by landlord (70 m² × VND 7,000 × 12)	− VND 5.9 million
Brokerage fee (1 month's rent)	− VND 11 million
Repairs and upkeep inside the unit	− VND 8 million
Furniture replacement set-aside	− VND 15 million
Rental tax (revenue below VND 1 billion)	VND 0
Total holding costs	about VND 51 million (about 1.3% of the apartment's value)
Net cash flow before loan interest	about VND 81 million (about VND 6.8 million/month)
Net yield on the apartment price (81 ÷ 4,000)	about 2.0%

Initial capital beyond the apartment price (one-off, not counted in the annual table): 2% maintenance fund of about VND 80 million if bought from the developer, 0.5% registration fee of about VND 20 million, furnishings of about VND 150 million.

With 3 vacant months instead of 1, costs rise to about VND 73 million and net cash flow drops to about VND 59 million/year. If you buy with a loan, subtract the interest from net cash flow — see safe bank-loan leverage and gross and net rental yield. To put in your own unit's numbers: rental income calculator.

Management fees at some HPR-advised projects

HPR does not yet have an official published management fee schedule for the projects below, so no figures are given here. When you ask about a specific unit, an HPR specialist will request the fee schedule currently charged from the building management.

• The Marq (Tân Định ward, former District 1): Savills handles management and operation; the management fee has not been publicly announced.
• Leman Luxury (Xuân Hòa ward): no public information on the management fee — ask whether the rent includes the management fee.
• Vista Verde (Cát Lái ward): no public information on the management fee and the current operator.
• Habitat (Bình Hòa ward — Thuận An, former Bình Dương): the sale price does not include the 2% maintenance fee, paid before handover; units handed over in basic finish should allow extra for furnishings before renting; no document on the phase 3 management fee.

This article is for reference only and does not replace legal / financial / tax advice for a specific case. Figures in the examples are illustrative assumptions.

1. Ask the building management for the management fee currently charged (VND/m² of net internal area/month) and the parking fee; multiply by the net internal area in the contract.
2. Check whether the 2% maintenance fund has been paid (bought from the developer: stated in the contract; bought back: ask the seller for the receipt).
3. Take the rent from real lease contracts in the same project and same unit type — not the asking price in listings.
4. Estimate the number of vacant months per year (at least 1 month) and the brokerage / service fee each time a new tenant is found.
5. Add repairs inside the unit and the furniture replacement set-aside (furniture cost ÷ years of use).
6. Add up the total rental revenue of all units in your name to see whether it exceeds VND 1 billion/year; file Form 01/BĐS on time even when no tax is due.
7. Total annual cost ÷ apartment value = holding cost ratio; rerun with 3 vacant months to see the bad scenario.
8. Buying with a loan: compare monthly net cash flow with the repayment at the post-promotion interest rate.

• Pháp Luật TP.HCM (Tuổi Trẻ) — Giá dịch vụ quản lý vận hành nhà chung cư ở TP.HCM tăng ra sao?, 26/10/2024 (HCMC People's Committee price framework applied from 21/10/2024: with lift VND 1,800–7,000/m² of net internal area/month, without lift VND 600–3,500; items not covered by the framework).
• LuatVietnam — Quyết định 86/2024/QĐ-UBND TP.HCM khung giá dịch vụ quản lý vận hành nhà chung cư, accessed 24/10/2026.
• Thư viện Pháp luật — Việc đóng kinh phí quản lý vận hành nhà chung cư được thực hiện như thế nào?, accessed 24/10/2026 (Article 30 of the Regulation on management and use of apartment buildings, Circular 05/2024/TT-BXD; Article 151 of the Housing Law 2023).
• Thư viện Pháp luật — Người mua căn hộ chung cư có bắt buộc phải đóng phí bảo trì chung cư không?, accessed 24/10/2026 (Articles 152, 155 of Housing Law No. 27/2023/QH15).
• Thư viện Pháp luật — Chính thức Thông tư 40/2021/TT-BTC về thuế hết hiệu lực từ 05/03/2026, accessed 24/10/2026 (Circular 18/2026/TT-BTC dated 05/03/2026).
• Vietnam Financial Times (Ministry of Finance) — Doanh thu cho thuê bất động sản dưới 1 tỷ đồng/năm, cá nhân không phải nộp thuế, 12/06/2026 (Decree 141/2026/ND-CP, Circular 50/2026/TT-BTC, Form 01/BĐS).
• Vietnam Lawyers Magazine — Một số chính sách thuế mới cần lưu ý đối với hộ, cá nhân cho thuê bất động sản, 13/05/2026 (declaring and paying on behalf when the tenant is an organisation; filing periods, place of filing).