Your Hanoi lease is in Vietnamese. Here is what to check before you sign.

Most Hanoi leases are written in Vietnamese. Signing something you cannot fully read is the root of many disputes.

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The five clauses to check

These five settle most disputes, so read each one, or have it read to you in full, before you sign.

• Deposit amount and the exact conditions for getting it back
• Notice period and any early-termination penalty
• Who pays for repairs, and the electricity rate basis
• Annual rent increase, capped or open
• Whether the landlord registers your temporary residence

The deposit

The lease should say how much the deposit is and in which currency, what the landlord may take it for, and the date, or the number of days, by which it comes back. Check whether it can count towards your last month’s rent. Our guide to getting your deposit back covers what to do on move-in day and at checkout.

Notice and early termination

Look for how much notice each side must give, and whether the landlord’s notice is the same as yours. Find out what you owe if you leave early: a lease may take the deposit, ask for rent for the rest of the term, or say nothing at all, which leaves you to argue it later. Ask what happens to your lease if the owner sells the home.

Repairs and electricity

The lease should say who pays for repairs to the building, the fittings and the appliances, and how quickly the landlord must act. It should also say how electricity is charged: at the rate the state sets, or at a rate the landlord sets. Our guide to electricity rates and landlord markups explains the difference and how to check a bill.

Rent increases

Check whether the rent is fixed for the whole term or can be raised during it, and by how much and with how much notice. A clause that leaves the increase open should be replaced with a number or a limit, written into the lease. Read what happens when the term ends too: whether the lease renews on the same terms, and who has to say so first.

Registration of your residence

Ask who registers your stay with the local police, and when. This is tạm trú, and our guide to it explains what the law says and how to check it was done. Make the landlord’s part in it a line in the lease.

Who is on the lease

The lease should name the owner, or a person the owner has authorised in writing, with their full name and identity number. Ask to see the ownership document, the pink book, or the written authorisation, and compare the name on it with the name on the lease. Our guide to apartment scams explains why this check matters.

Details that are easy to miss

Small errors in a lease become large arguments later. Check that:

• Names, passport or identity numbers and the address of the home are spelled the same way on every page
• The rent, the currency, the day it is due and the way it is paid are all written down
• The start date, the end date and the date the keys are handed over are clear
• A list of the furniture and appliances that come with the home is attached and signed by both sides
• The lease says which language version counts if the English and the Vietnamese say different things
• Each page is initialled and each side holds a signed copy

Protect yourself

Get a faithful English translation, not a summary, and make sure the English and Vietnamese say the same thing. Never rely on a verbal explanation of a clause you cannot read.

If the landlord’s side offers the translation, ask someone you trust to read it against the Vietnamese; a translator who works only for you is better still. When a page is changed, read the changed page again, in both languages, before you initial it.

If a clause does not make sense

Ask before you sign, in writing, and keep the answer. A clause nobody will explain is a reason to slow down, and a clause that is unclear can be reworded or taken out.

The Nest standard

We translate every lease into your language before you sign, walk you through these exact clauses, and negotiate the risky ones on your behalf.