Eviction notice: Final countdown

Happy days are over for residents sharing villas as authorities get ready to crack the whip on offenders, with no possibility of extension beyond the October 20 deadline.

One family affair

Dubai Municipality's ‘One Villa, One Family' campaign, however, will not be enforced in freehold areas as they are beyond the civic body's jurisdiction, said Engr Omar Mohammad Abdul Rahman, Head of the municipality's Building Inspections Section.

While speculation, rants and panic are rife among residents as the deadline looms, Abdul Rahman, who heads a team of 60 inspectors, said they are simply doing their job.

Here are excerpts of his exclusive interview with XPRESS.

Why did the municipality start this ‘One Villa, One Family' campaign?

Dubai Municipality planned the city and allocated certain areas for specific activities; residential areas, commercial areas, warehouses, industrial areas, labour accommodation etc.

For residential areas, the municipality made all the services and utilities, from water, electricity, sewage, waste management, even the roads and parking spaces, based on that plan.

From a long time ago the municipality has stipulated that the villa is to accommodate one family, be it the owner or a tenant.

In the last three years or so we have seen a boom in people seeking refuge in villas, because in villas you can easily make changes to the structure and add rooms and such, without obtaining the proper building permits, to accommodate more people.

These villas and houses have been used in ways that are illegal. Consequently, these actions create a wide range of hazards.

From an environmental and safety point, no building, be it a temporary or permanent structure, is built or a villa partitioned or any other construction work done without the prior approval of the municipality.

The villa is partitioned, in most cases additional kitchens and toilets are built. You can't have a villa with five or 10 families without building additions.

Each family wants their own kitchen or pantry, which means multiple gas cylinders in one area which is a safety hazard.

Also, most of these additions have been built using banned materials, such as asbestos whose use as a building material is illegal in the UAE.

Again, some partitions are built from wood, drywall and other flammable material, which is absolutely not allowed.

This is one of the reasons that led to the Naif fire, for example.

People cry out about human rights violations, but if they look closely they will see that this law actually does more to protect human rights, because we protect your health and safety from these imminent dangers.

Why is the municipality enforcing this now?

In previous years we have made sweeps of villas with bachelors and multiple families covering the entire emirate.

But as I said, recently there has been an increase in these violations. So we set out handing out warnings to tenants and landlords.

However, many people come to us and say that they didn't know, even though we have announced this earlier and informed landlords and real-estate companies and they all know about this regulation, anyone saying otherwise is just playing dumb.

Even then we decided to give them the benefit of the doubt and give everyone a 30-day grace period as a chance to get their things in order.

We were actually shocked to find out that a year after the last sweep, repeat offenders now have doubled the violations they had when we initially caught them.

Do you feel that the grace period is sufficient?

The period is enough for you to vacate and move. We can't wait for disaster to strike; most of these violations are putting people's lives at risk. We can't leave the situation as it is while people haggle over a suitable price. With regard to issues between tenants and landlords, these issues can be addressed to the Rent Committee to obtain a resolution.

Who decided on this 30-day time period and why?

The grace period of one month was applied because this is the standard time given to comply with the regulation once a violation has been recorded by an inspector; therefore it's based on our standard work process and procedure. This is regardless of issues of rental contracts or payments; these are issues that should be addressed to the Rent Committee.

Will the grace period be extended?

No, we have set this time so that everyone can comply with the law. The situation has reached its limit.

With rents on the rise, where are these people supposed to go?

This campaign is concentrating on villas; these residences are planned to accommodate one family. Once that threshold is crossed, we begin to see problems with the services and utilities. Even the garbage gets out of hand.

Go to any of these neighbourhoods and you'll see it, and these are the visible side effects.

Once a small area is overpopulated the environment and habitat begins to be affected by it.

Where do they go? They should go to the places where they are allowed to stay, they should go to buildings and apartments; these are all allowed for families and bachelors to stay in.

What do you say to those who feel that this campaign is a way to fill up empty apartments?

The municipality doesn't own any buildings or real-estate properties to fill with people.

Our main goal is to enforce the laws of the emirate and get people to comply with them. Our goal is not to build or fill properties; there is no benefit for us in doing that. As I said, a villa is only for one family.

But this campaign is creating a perception that you are targeting the middle- and low-income families.

Since starting the campaign we never looked at targeting middle- or low-income people. If you look at it closely you'll see that this is affecting landlords and owners as well.

For example, today the landlord rents out the villa to ten families or bachelors making Dh300,000, tomorrow he has to rent it to one family for Dh100,000. But as I said earlier, we do not take any financial issues into account in this section, this is totally out of our field and we do not address it.

Do you believe this campaign will help reduce villa rents in Dubai?

This is really not our goal. I'm not a property analyst or anything like that to be able to make such a conclusion. It may reduce, but I don't think I'm qualified to say anything like that.

There is a perception that this measure will help developers to fill up empty properties in freehold areas.

I don't think it will have that effect. I don't think that people who vacate these areas will resort to freehold properties. They will just comply with the law; they can go to areas that are regulated for bachelors; villas that had 10 families will have just one and those who can't afford that can go to apartments and such.

Why target families who may have children to care for?

It is not a matter of concentrating on families. We are addressing both families and bachelors.

It's true that most of the violations are caused by bachelors and they cause serious safety hazards, but families also have a number of violations which should be addressed.

Will this campaign cover gated communities and properties run by Emaar and Nakheel?

Freehold areas have their own inspection and security teams.

Areas that fall under our jurisdiction will be enforced by us, but areas belonging to Emaar and Nakheel and other developers have their own teams to enforce their regulations.

What are the areas that you will be concentrating on once the grace period ends?

We will cover the entire emirate, but we will start in areas that have a higher concentration of violations – Al Rashidiya, Al Jaffiliya, Abu Hail, Al Hamriya and Jumeirah 1 are some of the places that are overpopulated with shared villas and that's where we will begin the campaign.

Why not go after labourers living in cramped spaces in villas in Naif, surely they are a bigger safety threat?

We are focusing on these people, and we are working on demolishing houses that are not structurally sound.

These are commercial areas where bachelors are allowed to live. But in cases regarding overcrowded areas, we are aware of them and I have reports on about 400 such cases.

We have already sent out warnings and requests to cut the utilities and vacate the areas.

What kind of trouble will violators face?

We are prepared to use everything, within the limits of the law, to get people to stop these violations – from cutting off utilities to suspending the business licence of real estate companies and landlords. We will take action accordingly.

Bottomline

• Bachelors are not allowed to live in villas
• Only one family per villa is the rule
• Cousins or extended family members are not allowed
• Emiratis are not exempted from the crackdown. Nationality has nothing to do with the municipality's campaign

This law is very cruel to poor families. Do not do this. It will affect children’s studies. Please extend until 2009.
Anonymous, UAE - Dubai
Posted: October 26, 2008, 10:50

I’ve been here for 25 years, and Dubai was not like this before. It’s good to see a country improve, and I don’t think that there is a city like Dubai anywhere. I respect the laws of the country and obey them, but where should we go? The flat’s rent is too high. First, In our family only 2 are working because of the high rent. Now, three of us are working, but we still cant make ends meet. Where can we get a new family member to earn for us? I request that the authorities make a law to lower the rent to accommodate lower-income families.
Anonymous, UAE - Dubai
Posted: October 22, 2008, 18:08

I imagine that Dubai municipality has good intentions for implementing this rule, but if there are no alternatives or better solutions for poor families, the result is inhumane treatment. Dubai is blooming because of the work of the expatriates...
dnik, UAE - Dubai
Posted: October 22, 2008, 16:56

Goodbye Dubai!
Lhoia, UAE - Dubai
Posted: October 22, 2008, 14:05

Today (October 20) I saw hundreds of people standing outside in Mankhool because their electricity was cut. Kids were crying and people could not live in their homes. Please find a better solution. Talk to the landlords rather than letting the tenants face the music. These tenants in villas are poor and they need time to relocate. It was really sad what I saw today and I hope someone can feel their pain.
Anonymous, UAE - Dubai
Posted: October 21, 2008, 19:08

This is in relation to the article released in a UAE newspaper on October 21, saying residents can share villa with relatives. The authorities are not allowing people to share villa unless they are all relatives. Needless to say, this is only for those people who can afford the villa. There is no a clear indication that the government has a favourable plan for the middle-income expatriates. Please note that the reason why thousands of middle-income families share villas is lack of affordable hocusing facilities.
If those families can’t get any support from the government, where else can they look for help? This will force them to send their families back home. And Dubai will end up with more and more bachelors. This will create further problems because a bachelor definitely cannot bear a rent of Dh60,000 for studio type or Dh80,000 for one bedroom in International City (The most affordable place in Dubai – the developers claim!)
We hope and we pray that the authorities in Dubai should consider different aspect of this issue.
Melvin, UAE - Dubai
Posted: October 21, 2008, 15:12

I would like someone to answer this please. If the head of the family passes away and his wife and children are all above 21 years old, who gets to stay at the rented house, under the same conditions?
Anonymous, UAE - Dubai
Posted: October 18, 2008, 02:10

Disgusting!
Anonymous, UAE - Dubai
Posted: October 16, 2008, 07:33

I request you to re-consider the decision because of the high expense and low income of some residents.
Manu, UAE - Dubai
Posted: October 15, 2008, 22:31

I think you should first oblige the companies to provide accommodations to their employees. Because the fees and expenses are rising and salaries are still a problem. How can people survive if they will not live in sharing accommodations? Is anyone thinking of those employees who are getting low salary? Sharing is the only way we can survive. I think its better you let companies provide accommodations for their employees.
Anonymous, UAE - Dubai
Posted: October 15, 2008, 18:15

If the authorities can give us or tell us where to rent a room, a bed space or flat for only Dh 500-700 a month, we are ready to leave the villas, but if they cannot, we have a problem. They should not just arbitrarily decide this. Coordination with all concerned to solve the problem is the best way forward. Do not add to the problem. If the policy will be strictly enforced then all the citizens of the USA, UK and the UAE will have to construct their own buildings, dig their own roads, clean their own flooded septic tanks, and do all the jobs that the low income groups do since all those labourers will have to leave the UAE.
Anonymous, UAE - Dubai
Posted: October 15, 2008, 17:57

It seems the authorities are not doing any survey in Naif, Deira, Dubai. It is a complete mess. Where are the safe and hygienic conditions out there? The rents have shot up so high that you can’t afford them. If you need to stay in the interior of Sharjah, you pay, at least, Dh3500 per month to get a flat. A bunch of those buildings don’t have water and electricity. Landlords are not living up to their commitments for the supplies. Why there is no restriction on the rents. Why are the landlords not being questioned? It means that in the UAE if you have property, you can ask any amount for rent. The government has to develop new areas to accommodate all the middle class families and bachelors. Please authorities, relax the rules for a few more years while another solution is worked out.
Abdul Hameed, UAE - Dubai
Posted: October 15, 2008, 17:01

My only request is to extend the deadline to 2009.
Abdul, UAE - Dubai
Posted: October 15, 2008, 15:50

The message is very clear: Stay with family if you can or send them back. But, the big question remains unanswered, why only villas?
Jahangir, UAE - Dubai
Posted: October 15, 2008, 14:40

Following this action of evicting groups of people, is the Dubai Municipality going to request that government owned companies like Dubai Properties build affordable housing?
Bob, UAE - Dubai
Posted: October 15, 2008, 13:37

How do they expect the bachelors to rent a flat which has a minimum cost of Dh 5000, whereas they are only earning around Dh3500. Don’t they know the range of housing rent s in Dubai? Instead of making this "One Villa, One Family" policy the best thing they could do is to make some policy on how to lower down the cost of rents. If they could do that then their new policy could work!
Anonymous, UAE - Dubai
Posted: October 15, 2008, 13:24

It sounds good when they say that law is being implemented. Let us look at the following economic aspects: 1)The end of Visit Visas has set a low demand in the market; 2) Economic meltdown is on the anvil-Dubai depends heavily on foreign capital including the money brought in by low income people. 3)The number of tourists have declined substancially--55% from EU and rest from Asia 4)Inflation has increased, cos cannot afford to increase salaries All these points to disaster in Dubai. If the Villas which are people's alternatives to low cost housing are evicted then in a month's time we'll see 75% of lower tier employees of top companies leaving this country! And then the Arabs of this country will force the government to slowdown the Dubai Municipality! The rules change here like water changes its shape when put into different container. I don’t think this law was thought out, and I hope good sense prevails.
Anonymous, UAE - Dubai
Posted: October 15, 2008, 11:21

Every month there is a new rule. Municipality knows “One family, one villa,” but they don’t know “1 villa, Dh300,000.” May I request the authorities to tell us where I’m supposed to rent a studio flat with a salary of Dh5,000 and manage other things as well. Why do these guys think everyone in Dubai is earning 15k a month?
Anonymous, UAE - Dubai
Posted: October 15, 2008, 09:47

I understand the responsibility of the Dubai government, but what is the option for those who will not be able to live in a cheaper place than villas. Is there such a law that regulates the increase of the rentals since the owners and real estate agents have taken advantage of increasing demand of housing? Is there a humane option that does provide for the poor expats?
Anonymous, UAE - Dubai
Posted: October 15, 2008, 08:50

Total disregard to human anguish.
Anonymous, UAE - Ras Al Khaimah
Posted: October 15, 2008, 00:28

It’s dangerous the way the apartments/villas are used when shared. The lack of hygiene is pathetic. My concern is does the authority have some alternate accommodations for those who are affected? Dubai has seen economic growth since 2000. The basic needs like housing and transport should have been given similar priority. There should have been strict rent controls. The buildings which do not have parking area, swimming pools, gyms and are old are charging the same rent as the new buildings which have all of those things. There needs to be a rent cap as per the condition of the building and the facilities it provides to its tenants. This simple solution will definitely solve the problem. Today’s need is to have affordable houses available all over the UAE as the country is developing.
Sanjay, UAE - Dubai
Posted: October 14, 2008, 15:48

It's a very good article, very accurate questions and answers.
Anonymous, UAE - Dubai
Posted: October 14, 2008, 14:34

I am not against this campaign but if families can't afford to rent a villa/apartment without any sharing where are the middle class supposed to go?
Reginald Joseph, UAE - Dubai
Posted: October 14, 2008, 08:56

This is an excellent idea. I think that the authorities are doing great job. I only wish that such a measures would be introduced and enforced in other countries as well. UAE is a beautiful country and it also have some very clever people running it!
Anonymous, United Kingdom
Posted: October 13, 2008, 19:58

This is utterly ridiculous. Why don't they just ensure that proper wirings are installed rather than force people out of their houses? It's not as if flats are cheap! Where are the bachelors supposed to stay when some of the flats don't accept friends sharing a flat?! They should start building a place for bachelors and make it reasonably priced. Also, instead of concentrating their efforts into filling up all the condos they're building, why don't they create a law protecting the tenants who are victimized by abusive landlords who can just raise the rent without justification and notice. And how come they're supposed to receive a 5% commission from the lessee when they should be getting it from the lessor?! What kind of arrangement is that? So I adamantly believe that the authorities should re-evaluate their policies regarding this issue.
Anonymous, UAE - Dubai
Posted: October 13, 2008, 17:52

If the issue here is overcrowding, why not simply install a maximum occupancy regulation? And the landlords will benefit since they charge a certain rent to a tenant, and then the tenant sublets the property out. Once the existing tenant is kicked out, the landlord will simply jack up the rent. The comments made by the municipality in this article are not fooling anybody.
Shezanne, UAE - Dubai
Posted: October 13, 2008, 17:50

What will the government do about those people who rent flat’s and make money out of it by giving a higher rent in each room? For example: One family rented one room for Dh3,500 a month, another rents a room for Dh6000 a month, and another family rents the other room for Dh4,500 a month. If you add it all up the renter makes a big profit, almost the same price of the flat from real estate. This is one of the reasons why the rent are high in a sharing situation.
Anonymous, UAE - Dubai
Posted: October 13, 2008, 16:43

The municipality’s new rule for villas is to be appreciated, but a period of 6 months will be a better deadline for those sharing families living in one villa because many of the children will lose out on days at school with the current deadline. Consideration should also be given to those poor families with a salary of Dh5,000 or below.
Ashiq, UAE - Dubai
Posted: October 13, 2008, 16:42

Maybe these people wouldn’t have to live together in such cramped environments if NOC's did not prevent them from getting better employment to accommodate inflation and higher rents!
Bec, UAE - Dubai
Posted: October 13, 2008, 16:32

Last August we were forced to move out from our flat in Satwa because our landlord didn’t renew her contract as the flat is soon to be demolished. With one month notice, it is very difficult to find a new place to live in. Rent is so much more expensive. I’m now living in Hamriya in a villa with my uncle’s family because I can no longer afford to rent a flat or apartment considering my salary. This eviction news is a major headache. I don’t know where I should go now... I understand their concerns, but how much will it cost us? I have more reason now to quit my job and go back home and try my luck in other places. The salary I’m getting here will no longer cover all my expenses, nothing will be left for my family... Every year the rent is getting higher and higher. Transportation is also a big problem here... Sometimes they should consider the situation of people living and working here. Not all of us have a good salary.
Anonymous, UAE - Dubai
Posted: October 13, 2008, 16:08

There are rooms in buildings that are worse than in villas, in terms of spaciousness. There are studio flats available where u have kitchen at the entry. Anybody who enters must pass through kitchen. You just have a concrete slab to use as kitchen. If there is fire in kitchen, there is no way to escape. The standard cost of such flats is around Dh38,000 a year.
Anonymous, UAE - Dubai
Posted: October 13, 2008, 15:48

The municipality is not thinking of poor people. By kicking all of us out of villas, the government gives us no option to stay in Dubai with our families.
Senthil, UAE - Dubai
Posted: October 13, 2008, 15:28

Is this crackdown only in Dubai? Here in Al Ain there are too many villas shared by Pakistanis and Indians... The leaseholder is imposing an expensive rent from these bedspacers or bachelors.
Anonymous, UAE - Abu Dhabi
Posted: October 13, 2008, 14:33

I think it is a very good move, and will help in reducing rent prices. Old villas are being renting for 4 to 5 times the price because middle men are renting them, dividing them and subletting rooms to families and singles and there fore are able to make a profit. We’d taken our villa for Dh44, 000, but the landlord asked us to vacate and raised the rent to Dh180,000. It was taken by a middleman and rented out to more than 20 people as bed space.
Anonymous, UAE - Dubai
Posted: October 13, 2008, 14:21

There’s so much outcry for the shark stuck in Atlantis, but there is not even a single authentic soul to raise a voice of concern for the people living in villas and stuck with the municipality rules.
Prakash, UAE - Dubai
Posted: October 13, 2008, 14:13

Everyone would like to live in a flat by themselves. Asians have never stayed in shared accommodations before. It is here, in the UAE, that we saw what the meaning of sharing was and how people sacrifice to live in bed spaces. Please, before you push people out from sharing, check why it is this many people are sharing. What is the reason behind the sharing? Be a human being and think twice before you pull out people from their shelters. Don’t be so harsh.
Anonymous, UAE - Dubai
Posted: October 13, 2008, 14:05

With rents on the rise, where are these people supposed to go? Look at the answer they have given. It says it all.
K, UAE - Dubai
Posted: October 13, 2008, 14:00

It’s very unfair because the landlord has already collected the rent from us. What should we do? Pressurise the landlord to give us back our rent for this month?
Manyma, UAE - Dubai
Posted: October 13, 2008, 12:50

The reasons the Dubai Municipality cites for eviction are very much understandable in the case of overpopulated villas/apartments. But as the authority that take cares of the health and the conditions of people living in Dubai, why doesn't it control the rents prices? Or regulate the salaries and make apartments affordable to people to live in decent conditions? I'm sure that everybody would be happy to spend one thousand dirhams, or slightly more, and improve their life quality! People who is being sent out from the villas have now to look at spending more than double of what they used to and the cannot afford it! Or the second option is to overcrowd villas in free hold zones!
Emanuela, UAE - Dubai
Posted: October 13, 2008, 12:04

I appreciate the authorities' point-of-view. However, I would like to ask them if they really have options for the low/ middle income families and singles living in the city? Isn't it like Salik- where there are no options for alternative affordable modes of transport but the tax is levied?? A lot of people, as a result of this crackdown, have started sending their families back. Which also means, you again have more single men in the city, who will again be ready to compromise on their living conditions by living in worse, cramped rooms with 10 other men. The authorities need to understand that no one likes to share a living space with others but where are the options? They cannot disappear into thin air. So, I don't think this drive has any real meaning and will yield anything unless the whole vicious circle is converted into a thoughtful real exercise with the true intent of improving quality of life for everyone in Dubai.
Anonymous, UAE - Dubai
Posted: October 13, 2008, 10:34

Where do they expect people to go? People who are trying to make ends meet! People who have families back home who depend on them financially? The cost of living in Dubai has gone up dramatically! Food prices and rent has gone up! But salaries did not! Where in Dubai can you find an accommodation that is cheap? The authorities should do something about providing low-cost housing. This I strongly believe would solve the problem.
Anonymous, UAE - Dubai
Posted: October 13, 2008, 10:15

In this crack down on villas, the most- affected section is low income group. These are the office workers who usually try to live near their offices, trying to reduce time and cost in transportation to office. The authorities should understand the effect of their action on such people unless there is a proper alternative.
Anonymous, UAE - Dubai
Posted: October 13, 2008, 09:44

Real estate agents make money out of this rule. Govt. should ensure that flats are available at affordable prices. Nobody wants to live in cramped villas, and people are forced to live in these places due to affordability factor. A one bedroom flat in Karama costs 110K & which can't be an affordable option for a person who earns 5-7000 K per month. Real estate agents make money out of this new rule & middle class employees are forced to send back family to their native.
Mani, UAE - Dubai
Posted: October 13, 2008, 09:12

Please take into consideration the effect of this on the people. Those who have school-going children are going to be the real victims. It is easy for bachelors to move out with just their basic things but what about the hundreds of children who would have to change their schools? Students will also have trouble with their bus routes. As it is the traffic is taking its toll on so many children and their families. The families should be given time till the end of the school term so as to decide whether to send their children back home to their native countries or to find suitable accommodation where their school life is not disrupted.
Anonymous, UAE - Dubai
Posted: October 13, 2008, 08:54

One Villa On family campaign may be good, but an average middle class family cannot bear the huge rent of a villa. They can not even afford a flat without sharing with other families. This action would certainly spoil the quality of manpower in the UAE. On the other hand, conditions in countries like India, which is a major source of manpower, are improving.
Syed Ali, India
Posted: October 13, 2008, 08:04

Fight to reduce the rents, not moving people from villas!! People are suffering in this part of the world. Building owners are increasing rents as they wish and no one is talking sense to them.
Ahmed, UAE - Dubai
Posted: October 13, 2008, 07:46

The same old question. Where could a low-income person (say Dh1500/- per month) find a place, as per the rules, to stay in Dubai?
Anonymous, UAE - Dubai
Posted: October 13, 2008, 07:31

I stay in Al Baraha. The building opposite to us on the 13th street houses at least 100 bachelors. Worst thing is that they cook on the top floor with no safety. Two building away , a large building houses only bachelors and they make the streets very dirty. They even throw cigarette butts down while we walk. Can someone help us?
Anonymous, UAE - Dubai
Posted: October 13, 2008, 06:13

Finally. I have been coming to Dubai since 2004 and every time I see the overcrowded areas getting worse and worse. The beautiful Dubai is looking more and more like a rundown city and it’s a shame. That’s one of the reasons less tourists are coming to Dubai. I really hope you will take care of this situation once for all.
Anonymous, Sweden
Posted: October 13, 2008, 02:33

Dubai is only for the wealthy and famous. It is better to go back home where is free to the way one wishes to.
Danilo, UAE - Dubai
Posted: October 12, 2008, 19:50

I have read your article on shared villas and feel the same sentiments. However, I would also like to bring to your notice that the tenants of buildings on main streets of Dubai also keep sharing flats with 2 or 3 families and thus stay for free and enjoy all the added advantages. A rule should be introduced that where a tenant (family) which pays the rent of one bedroom (around 10-45K) should be staying as one family and not be allowed to sublet. The tenants indulge in subletting even though the landlords are against it.
Anonymous, UAE - Dubai
Posted: October 11, 2008, 21:19

I have just 1 question to all the government departments. I suggest you all should sit down and answer this question. How will a 35K annual income be able to pay the 35K annual rent, besides taking care of food, transportation, communications and other miscellaneous expenses? Labour, RTA, Planning Department and all other departments involved in this should jointly handle the situation.
Suta, UAE - Dubai
Posted: October 11, 2008, 14:02

The Dubai Municipality shouldn’t be telling a villa owner or a landlord how many persons should live in one villa. There is not a single example in the world where the civic body fixes the number of peoples that can stay in one villa -- it is totally against human rights. The crackdown on villa sharing will render most of the low-income families homeless and adversely affect their children’s studies. The municipality seems unaware of the salary packages here. The authorities should pass a law for companies to provide accommodation as there isn’t sufficient number of houses for low-income families.
Anonymous, UAE - Dubai
Posted: October 11, 2008, 09:31

I think this will create a number of problems.
Traffic: Most people will go out of Dubai, so in the morning there will be a disaster, because they all work in Dubai.
Economic: Most of the little shops depend entirely on these communities.
Morality: Most people think of sending their families home and stay alone !
Guda, UAE - Dubai
Posted: October 10, 2008, 12:33

The Dubai Municipality’s point of view is correct in regard to human safety and health. However, the truth is this that the authorities have not done anything for the accommodation of the middle-income group.
In the past, there were lots of accommodation units made available for this group (such as Shaikh Rashid Colony Al Qusais) which are now getting demolished one by one.
No peace loving person would like to break the law. It is the situation that has forced people to break or bypass the law. With the rents for flats and apartments soaring sky-high, how can the residents sharing villas go there to live? The rent there is almost double, even triple the amount they are paying now.
The authorities should have made enough accommodation units for this middle income group living with their families before they impose their eviction rule and set a deadline. They should do a rethink and relax their stand and extend the deadline. At the same time, they should also consider constructing new buildings to accommodate those being forced out of villas.
Nowadays, Dubai is a place only for the high-income and lower-income groups -- the middle-income group, which is the majority, has no place.

Suresh, UAE - Dubai
Posted: October 09, 2008, 17:15

Do they speak sense...
Anonymous, UAE - Dubai
Posted: October 09, 2008, 16:46

I don’t know why they do this every after 3 days they make a new rule. My salary is Dh3700 now. I am paying Dh1500 for room, 1000 for food and 500 for car lift. I save Dh700 per month. Now tell me how I can rent a flat that costs Dh5000 per month? You have to think about that also Mr Mohammad Abdul Rahman, Head of the municipality’s Building Inspections Section.
Anonymous, UAE - Dubai
Posted: October 09, 2008, 16:45

Dubai Municipality’s 'One Villa, One Family' campaign is appreciated. Will they now start the one apartment one family drive?
Anonymous, UAE - Dubai
Posted: October 09, 2008, 13:53