Frequently Asked Questions

Mostly, you will find these options:

• Flat/apartment
• House, shared house
• Villas
• Hotel/Airbnb

Following the experience you want to live, you can decide to stay alone/with people you know or in a shared accommodation.

There are many real estate agencies in Saigon. You could find them on Craiglists, Airbnb, Facebook Groups.

It depends on what are you looking for. You’d rather live in the city center, just around it, or in a more quiet neighborhood like District 2. Here are brief overviews of the main Districts in HCMC:

• DISTRICT 1: The strategic position of this district is the most attractive reason for people who choose to live there. Most foreign embassy offices or government offices are located here, as well as the night nightlife. District 1 provides a wide range of facilities and recreation facilities such as restaurants, bars, shops, malls etc. It is known as the most expensive district in Saigon.
• DISTRICT 2: Located a little further from the downtown core, District 2 is a less crowded and less expensive district to live in. A big community of expatriate people has decided to live in District 2 for several reasons. There are a lot of villas and high class apartments available at more affordable prices than in central districts such as District 1. District 2 is more suitable for middle-aged and expats who prefer fresh air, less crowded places, and a peaceful life. 
• DISTRICT 3: It is a good district for young people with a limited budget (students, interns, young persons etc.) who want to live near the city center at a cheaper price.  Not so far from District 1, District 3 can be reached easily by motorbike or by taxi at a cheap price. District 3 is suitable for those who stay in Ho Chi Minh City just for a short time and travel on an economic basis. There are also various kinds of recreational activities: coffee shops, movie theaters, parks (Tao Dan Park, Le Van Tam Park), which makes this District very attractive.
• DISTRICT 7: Like District 2, District 7 provides many accommodations for foreigners. However, District 7 is a little bit far from the city center and can be compared to the suburb of a big city. District 7 is growing fast and more and more fully equipped condominiums are built in this area. Since it was planned to be a Western district serving high-income people in Ho Chi Minh City a long time ago, there are a lot of high-quality villas adapted for expat people, available for long-term leasing. For instance, Phu My Hung area offers high living standard apartments which can be either bought or rented.
• PHU NHUAN DISTRICT: It is one of the most densely populated districts of HCMC. Located close to both the center of the city and the airport, Phu Nhuan has a strategic location for people who wish to live there. It has several parks, nice places along canals, which make it an enjoyable place to live.
• BINH THANH DISTRICT: This District is located between District 1 and 2, halfway from both the center and the suburb of Saigon. Binh Thanh is famous among people and especially English for its cheap houses. This district is well for people who want to live close to the local life, with numerous small lanes and back alleys.

No. Absolutely not. We manage directly specific shared houses. We assist and follow up communication between housemates and landlords.

In every kind of shared properties, you would have a higher financial risk. For example, in a typical house share model, if your housemates leave, you would have to pay for their rents as well. However, with Terranova, your rent is always fixed regardless of how many people staying in the house.

Our rent is kept at a reasonable rate. At other places, they may accept short-term stay, but they would increase your monthly rent.

Our houses are located in the most convenient areas such as D2, D3, D4, Phu Nhuan and Binh Thanh District which take around 10-15 mins to the core of the city.

They are exchange students, workers, interns, volunteers who are generally in their early 20s to early 30s coming from all over the world.

We encourage our housemates to get involved with viewings.
We are happy to give you every opportunity to choose who you live with, however, we will need to approve of any potential housemate prior to moving in.

We welcome all backgrounds and genders.

Yes, absolutely. We usually limit to 5-6 housemates per property to make sure there is enough parking space and everyone could enjoy the shared amenities.

No. You need to find a replacement and leave no damages at the checkout to get back the deposit. Details are in the contract.

First, we get the real invoices from the service providers (internet, water, electricity, house cleaning products, drinking water, gas, cleaning service, and other unexpected fees). We use last month actual expenses as a forecast for the current month and housemates are asked to pay in advance. Later, when we get the actual expenses, we will compare with the forecast. Whatever the difference is, it will be added/deducted to/from next month.

We do not make any profit on this. If there is any concern regarding the fee, you could always ask us for the invoices to justify the amount. Everything is transparent!

These services are used and shared equally by all housemates. They are there to keep not only your private room but also the common areas like living room, rooftop, kitchen tidy and clean. 

It is the third of every month. A late fee of 100,000 VND is applied for each day late. You’re asked to leave the property if the payment is not settled by the 10th.

Yes, it’s possible. Local transfers could be done easily. We don’t recommend international transfers because of high fees.

Please check with your bank for more information. For instance, transfer fee from Europe to Vietnam is about 25EUR.

The fees will be divided by the number of people in the house. If there are two people in the room, we will ask the fees for 2. 

You need to notify us in advance if you have guests because of (1) security reason: we need to register the guest to the local police (2) security and privacy of other housemates (3) fee update: your guest does not pay for more rent but he/she needs to share the fees with others to keep it fair for everyone.

However, please remember that we always base on the majority opinions of the housemates to act if there is a problem arises from your guest(s).

If your guest stays overnight for more than 3 days, she must leave her passport in order to be registered. An overnight stay is defined as any stay within the hours of 11:00 pm and 8:00 am. The cost for registering guest is 500,000 VND/pax. Overnight stays without registration for one guest are limited to 3 (three) days.

If it is a short visit (2-4 days), you guest could stay for free if there are no complaints about fee increase from other housemates.

Longer than that, 200,000 VND per day + remember that you have to notify us in advance so we could inform the local police about the presence of the guest to avoid future problems.

In Vietnam, both locals and foreigners are required to register their stay to the local authority. It is mandatory and for security reason.

For most cases, the stay registration deadline is the same as your visa expiration. So if your visa has expired, we need to redo the stay registration with your new visa expiration date

It usually takes 5-7 business days depending on the landlord and the local authority schedule.

We do not have pet restriction. However, please take good care of your pets and be considerate for other housemates in the house. Please remember that the maids are not responsible for taking care of and cleaning up after your pets. The only case that we would refuse a pet is when we get too many complaints from other housemates, the problems stay unsolved for too long or the furnitures get damaged.

There is no curfew. Every housemate has their own keys so they could go home anytime they want. It is highly advised that you keep your noise down at a reasonable level especially after 10 PM to not disturb the neighbors.

You are free to buy more furniture for your room but all items of furniture provided at the beginning must be kept and taken care of. As long as the decoration does not cause later damage or change the structure of the room, it is allowed. Anyway, if you are unsure, please consult with us first.

A cable subscription is usually paid in advance and for one year. Most of our housemates do not watch TV; therefore, they think it is unfair that they have to share this additional fee. However, if you want to pay for your own use, you are free to do so.

If you lock yourself out of your house/room during office hours, you can borrow room keys from Terranova for a maximum of eight hours. Please come to our office to pick keys up during office hours (remember to inform your house manager before coming). If you call after 5:00 PM on the weekdays or at any time of the weekends, you will be responsible to pay a minimum $25 fee.

Please contact your house manager if you need help.