Build one basket for both homes
Use identical rows for homes A and B: rent, tenant-paid management charges, parking, electricity, water, internet, transport and recurring services you need. Write 'included', a documented amount or 'unconfirmed' beside each item.
Start from your ordinary household and record differences between candidates. Compare West Heights and another Smart City option using your intended contracts, not a development-wide fee assumed from a listing.
Separate monthly spending from cash availability
List the planned deposit and rent paid in advance in a separate move-in cash section. A deposit expected to be returned under agreed conditions is not the same kind of item as a month's consumed electricity. Read the conditions rather than assuming the return.
Keep the money's timing visible: amount due, recipient, due date and supporting clause. Avoid adding prepaid rent to monthly rent twice. A home may fit monthly spending but leave too little available cash for the household's other commitments.
Make the electricity line explainable
Ask for the meter identifier, readings, billing period, calculation basis and an example of the underlying bill with private details protected. Clarify who receives the bill, who collects payment and which other charges are shown separately.
A government policy article dated 23 April 2026 discusses specified tenant-electricity overcharging cases. It is not a universal tariff table. Use that context to request a transparent calculation; this guide does not decide whether your landlord's bill breaches a rule.
Keep one-off costs and uncertainty visible
Add a separate list for moving, permitted setup work, necessary furniture and move-out obligations stated in the agreement. Record which are confirmed, optional or still unanswered. Do not describe every deposit deduction as inevitable or assume every furnishing will be reusable.
If a monthly amount varies, keep the source of your estimate and what could change it. Discuss an affordable allowance yourselves rather than inserting an invented local average. The most important unresolved cost may deserve a written answer before choosing the lower headline rent.
Finish a budget that supports a household choice
Copy this row for each item: category ___; home A ___; home B ___; included or separate ___; source/date ___; due frequency ___; unknown to resolve ___. Add separate totals for documented monthly spending and move-in cash; do not merge them into one misleading monthly number.
Then ask what the difference buys or costs in everyday life: a practical route, enough workspace or room for family routines. Keep the answer personal. A rental-yield calculator describes an owner's return and is not a substitute for this tenant living-budget worksheet.
Words worth knowing
- Recurring household cost
- A payment expected to repeat during occupancy, with its amount and payer checked.
- Move-in cash requirement
- Money needed at the start, including deposits or prepayments, kept separate from the monthly spending total.
Take this to a viewing
- Collect the intended rent and charge documents for each home.
- Use identical categories and identify who pays.
- Separate upfront cash, recurring costs and one-off spending.
- Ask for meter and billing-method evidence.
- Resolve the cost most likely to change the choice.
Common questions
Should a potentially refundable deposit be divided into monthly rent?
Keep it separate first, with its return conditions and timing. If you make a personal cash-flow scenario, label the assumptions and avoid counting the same payment twice.
What if the landlord cannot provide a current bill example?
Record the electricity line as unresolved and ask what document explains the method. Do not replace missing evidence with an online tariff guess or a presumed violation.
Sources
- Official summary on specified tenant electricity overchargingVietnam Government policy portalDisplayed publication date: 23 April 2026, not inferred from the URL. Specified enforcement scope, not one universal rental electricity tariff.