Residents Complain Of Abnormal Hikes

Even as speculation is running high that the economic slump will have a calming effect on property rents in Dubai, some residents were in for a surprise when they got their contract renewal notices for this year. Rents were increased by more than 100 per cent! Tenants said the exorbitant rent hike in the wake of the current economic crisis came as a shock to them. "Everyone is talking about rents coming down in Dubai and we have been slapped with a rent increase of about 100 per cent said a resident of Ghusais. According to him, the rent for his one-bedroom apartment in Al Twar had gone up from Dh25,000 to Dh45,000 this mont. We have been living in this apartment for 20 years and every year the real estate company used to increase the rents by 5-7 per cent. But this 100 per cent increase is an absolute violation of rent laws in Dubai," said the tenant who did not want to be named.
Another tenant of the same building said he was planning to take the issue to the rent committee. "We are not looking for a new place. We have no issues if the landlord increases the rent as per the regulations. But the proposed increase is against all logic, said the tenant. Mohammad Ishaq, a tenant of a building in Bur Dubai said his landlord had also proposed a Dh20,000 increase this year. My contract is due for renewal in February and the landlord has increased the rent from Dh50,000 to Dh70,000. His argument is that the five per cent rent cap was applicable only until last year," said Ishaq, an employee of a private company. Prasad and his family have also been slapped with an increase of more than 30 per cent for their two-bedroom apartment in Al Nahda. Everyone is talking about rents falling in Dubai. Companies are cutting down benefits and everyone is feeling financially insecure. I am not in a position to spend more on rents, complained Prasad, a sales manager working in Jebel Ali. Responding to complaints of rent increases in one of their buildings, Saif Ahmad, the property manager of Nasser Lootah Real Estate, said, they had increased rents in keeping with the current market rate. There is a disparity in rents among tenants who live in the same building. People who have been living there for the last 10 or 15 years are paying as little as Dh20,000 to 25,000, while the new tenants are paying Dh45,000 to 60,000," said Saif. Commenting on the five per cent rent cap in Dubai, Ahmad argued that the rent committee permitted an increase in rent so long as it is in keeping with existing market rates.