Hanoi (VNA) - Service fees at residential buildings in Hanoi,ranging from 700 VND (3 US cents) to 16,500 VND (72 cents) per square metre,under the capital’s newly-issued decision are thought to be unrealistic.
The decision, approved by vice chairman of the capitalPeople’s Committee Nguyen Doan Toan late last week, said that the service feewas 700-5,000 VND (3–22 cents) per square metre in a building without anelevator and 1,200-16,500 VND (5-72 cents) per square metre in a building withelevators.
Service fees exclude fees for swimming pools, saunas, cabletelevision and internet, the decision said.
Nguyen Thanh Hung, deputy head of the Vietnam BuildingManagement Association, told the Thanh Nien (Young People)newspaper that the range for the service fee was not “close” to the currentfees in local residential buildings.
In reality, a service fee of 8,000 VND (35 cents) per squaremetre was often applied in luxurious residential buildings in Hanoi, he said.
For some residential buildings, fees of 10,000 VND (44cents) per square metre had included fees for swimming pool or gym centre, hesaid.
According to Hung, only a few residential buildingscollected service fees above 15,000 VND (66 cents) per square metre, while mostbuildings in the city collected service fees under 10,000 VND per square metre.
However, service fees were up to 20,000 VND (88 cents) persquare metre in the Indochina Plaza Residential Building in Cau Giay District,but residents are willing to pay the fee because of the good service.
“The above examples show the service fees the city issueddoes not match with reality and is unnecessary,” he said.
Agreeing with Hung, a real estate expert said the cityadministration should use the list of residential buildings classified by theMinistry of Construction before issuing service fees.
This would make the service fees closer to the reality, hesaid.
In response to the complaints, a representative from theconstruction ministry said the issuing of service fees at residential buildingsin Hanoi and other localities came after several residential buildings in Hanoiovercharged, prompting complaints from residents.
Therefore, the administration regulated the highest servicefee to fix the problem, he said.
Based on the regulated service fee, managers of residentialbuildings and residents could decide a suitable fee for both sides, he said.-VNA