Who would be a bachelor boy?

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Visitors to the UAE would be forgiven for thinking that the only subject on the minds of the five million people living in the Emirates is property prices. Everyday, new figures are banded around claiming the boom has only just begun. Prices will keep on rocketing, while another few billion dollars' worth of new developments are rolled out each week. But, as in Hollywood where most of the ‘stars' are pumping gas, in Dubai most would-be property moguls are renting. And even that may not be for much longer.

Dubai Municipality unleashed a fresh wave of publicity last week, as it continues its campaign for the removal of bachelors and labourers from residential villas designed for families.

Mohammed Abdul Rahman, head of building inspections at Dubai Municipality, said the body is sending letters to all Dubai real estate agencies, warning that it may cancel trade licences if agencies rent villas to single people: "We have had problems for several years. Families in villas with bachelors or labourers as neighbours complain to us. The rule is now that only families are allowed to live in villas."

The term bachelor is defined as a single person whether married or unmarried, male or female. This means single women are also not allowed to stay in villas meant for families.

Rahman said the Municipality would send one warning notice to owners or relevant agents where it believed the villa rules were being broken. It said it would then cut water and electricity supply if the accommodation was not vacated. Fines depending on the scale of the rule breaking would also be issued to the real estate agency, landlord or owner.

Additionally, villa owners who pass the responsibility of the property rental to another party, such as real estate companies are liable for fines up to US$13,600, should they flout the rules. In this scenario, the trade licence of the real estate company could be cancelled, according to Rahman.

"These rules do not apply to communities or commercial buildings and apartments managed by private developers," he adds.

Billy Rautenbach, director of operations at Better Homes, calls the latest measures ‘bizarre'. "We can't understand what's going on. I've asked our legal department to make an appointment [with the Municipality] to clarify the issue.

"Recent media reports regarding the issue, and conjecture on whether the rules apply to private developers, or simply landlords and real estate managers, has resulted in a very confused issue," she says.

"I've been checking my Oxford dictionary for the definition of ‘bachelor' and it's a man. This situation is completely unclear so our official statement would be that it's all too ambiguous and we have no idea where our responsibility lies, either as a real estate manager or as a real estate broker."

Rautenbach also queries the situation for government-owned developers such as Nakheel and Emaar, and whether the same rules apply to all private developers.

"The issue should be how many people are residing in the villas, rather than concerns over the status of the residents," she adds.

"It needs more thought. A lot of people come to Dubai for short periods, like six months. These people are single, without families and want to stay in villas. They are teachers and doctors and can't share accommodation, even though they find it expensive here.

"For a lot of people, coming to Dubai and sharing accommodation is the only affordable option."

Rautenbach says she understood the overcrowding concerns behind the rules, but that she believes a blanket rule was inappropriate.

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READERS' COMMENTS

Bachelors eviction
Posted by mumeenchowdhury@yahoo.com on Tuesday 21 August 2007 at 08:00 UAE time

This is a miserable truth which these GCC Govts unfortunately enjoy doing. Neither they would allow a big enough salary so that these poor bachelors can bring families, nor will they allow them to stay as and where they like. Bachelors seem to them like parasites, not human beings. The only human beings are perhaps themselves,i.e., these GCC/Arab people. Who will teach them the rules of fairness, of fair pay? We urge through your paper and these comments that the developed countries' conscience be awakened.

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