Fire safety for mini apartment buildings and rental houses: rules and actions

The fire at a mini apartment building on Khuong Ha street, Hanoi, in September 2023 killed 56 people. Since then, mini apartment buildings and multi-unit rental houses have been subject to regular fire safety inspections, and the legal framework has changed considerably.

Current legal framework

2023 Housing Law (effective from 1 August 2024), Clause 3, Article 57. Individuals who build multi-storey, multi-unit houses for rent must meet:

• The construction requirements for multi-storey, multi-unit houses of individuals set by the Minister of Construction.
• The fire safety requirements of fire safety law for this type of building.
• Road access conditions for fire-fighting vehicles, set by the provincial People’s Committee.

2024 Law on Fire Prevention, Fire Fighting and Rescue, and Decree 105/2025/NĐ-CP (effective from 1 July 2025). Points that matter for owners:

• Housing in centrally governed cities must be equipped with a fire alarm transmitter connected to the fire safety database.
• City People’s Committees must complete the equipment and connection of all housing in their area no later than 1 July 2027.
• The head of household is responsible for keeping the device working and pays the maintenance costs.

The specific conditions for each building (escape routes, fire separation, fire alarm and fire-fighting systems) depend on its height, volume and function. The most reliable approach is to work with the local fire authority.

Risks specific to rental housing

Three things make rental housing riskier than a family home:

• Nobody sees the first sign of trouble. Tenants are out at work all day and units are empty. A kettle, an iron or a charger left plugged in stays live.
• Electrical load beyond the design. Each unit has an air conditioner and a water heater, sometimes an electric vehicle charger as well, on wiring originally sized for a single household.
• Occupants change constantly. New guests do not know the escape route or where the fire extinguisher is.

What to do now

1. Ask the fire authority to inspect and follow its instructions, especially for buildings built before the 2023 Housing Law took effect.
2. Keep escape routes clear. Do not lock emergency exits from the inside, and do not let vehicles or belongings block the stairs.
3. Separate and check electrical loads. Give each unit its own circuit breaker, and inspect wiring and electrical panels regularly.
4. Cut power to sockets and heating appliances when a unit is empty, without affecting the refrigerator and devices that must run continuously.
5. Brief tenants on the escape route, the location of fire extinguishers and emergency numbers as soon as they move in.
6. Buy fire and explosion insurance for the building and its contents.

The role of remote alerts

A remote operations system does not replace a code-compliant fire alarm system or the fire alarm transmitter required by Decree 105/2025. It is an extra layer that lets the manager know early when nobody is on site.

With TingStay:

• When a unit has smoke, heat or water leak sensors, alerts go straight to the phones of the manager and the area technician.
• Empty units cut load automatically according to scenes set by the owner: air conditioner, water heater, non-essential sockets.
• You know whether a unit is occupied. In an incident, the manager knows whom to contact and which units have people in them.
• Scenes in the unit run on the TingEdge and keep working when the internet is down.

Further reading: Saving electricity in rental units: start with air conditioning.