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Discuss this article (14 Comments)DM rules out extending 'one family' rule to flats
by This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it on Tuesday, 18 November 2008
RULED OUT: Dubai Municipality has no plans to extend the 'one villa one family' rule to apartments, Rahman said. (Getty Images)
Dubai Municipality has ruled out extending its unpopular 'one villa one family' rule to apartments, allaying fears of thousands of tenants that they could also be forced out of their shared accommodation, a senior official told Arabian Business on Tuesday.
The municipality on Oct. 21 brought in a ban on bachelors and multiple families sharing villas in Dubai on health and safety grounds after several labourers died in a fire at an overcrowded villa in the Naif areas of the city in September.
Officials have said previously the crackdown could be extended to shared flats at a later date.
Since the deadline thousands of tenants across the emirate have had to move out of apartments, with the municipality threatening fines of 50,000 dirhams ($13,600) for landlords and tenants found in violation of the rule.
"There are no plans for this [to extend the 'one villa one family' rule]," said Omar Abdul Rahman, head of building inspections at the municipality. "They [bachelors and multiple families] can stay in apartments."
Rahman said while the 'one villa one family' rule was not being extended to apartments, the municipality would act on individual cases if tenants were found to be in breach of environmental or health and safety regulations.
READERS' COMMENTS
Stop the sharing - seconded!
Posted by Makes sense to me !, Dubai, United Arab Emirates on Friday 21 November 2008 at 22:11 UAE time
I thought mine was a lone voice! I'm pleased to see that I am obviously not the only person in Dubai who thinks that the high price of villas, in particular, these days has a lot to do with the economics of multiple families or individuals, collectively paying into the landlord's rental pot for a single villa and thus doubling or in some cases tripling it's price. In addition, to the person who thought it odd that one would be required to rent a two bedroom apartment if employing a maid... well, there really is no answer to that, except that where would you have the poor employee sleep? In your kitchen? On the balcony? In your one bedroom? If you can't afford a room for a maid you can't afford a maid. Domestic helpers need their space and privacy too. And seriously why would anybody need to employ a maid to look after a one or two bedroom apartment? Sounds like a prison of a job to me. Finally, I cannot believe how many people are still flouting what is now clearly the law in Dubai - and in this regard I mean specifically the young, single, easily mobile, professional types I see living in villa shares in Jumeirah and Umm Sequiem, who could easily afford to rent an apartment if their cars are any indication of disposable income. (My heart does go out to families with the difficult logistics of schooling, location and affordability).Finally I would say that flouting the law on smaller issues often leads to flouting the law on bigger issues - personally I'd do three strikes and you're out. Deported! This law is simple to understand - one villa one family. It can't be made more plain than that and it is the law.
Posted by Makes sense to me !, Dubai, United Arab Emirates on Friday 21 November 2008 at 22:11 UAE time
I thought mine was a lone voice! I'm pleased to see that I am obviously not the only person in Dubai who thinks that the high price of villas, in particular, these days has a lot to do with the economics of multiple families or individuals, collectively paying into the landlord's rental pot for a single villa and thus doubling or in some cases tripling it's price. In addition, to the person who thought it odd that one would be required to rent a two bedroom apartment if employing a maid... well, there really is no answer to that, except that where would you have the poor employee sleep? In your kitchen? On the balcony? In your one bedroom? If you can't afford a room for a maid you can't afford a maid. Domestic helpers need their space and privacy too. And seriously why would anybody need to employ a maid to look after a one or two bedroom apartment? Sounds like a prison of a job to me. Finally, I cannot believe how many people are still flouting what is now clearly the law in Dubai - and in this regard I mean specifically the young, single, easily mobile, professional types I see living in villa shares in Jumeirah and Umm Sequiem, who could easily afford to rent an apartment if their cars are any indication of disposable income. (My heart does go out to families with the difficult logistics of schooling, location and affordability).Finally I would say that flouting the law on smaller issues often leads to flouting the law on bigger issues - personally I'd do three strikes and you're out. Deported! This law is simple to understand - one villa one family. It can't be made more plain than that and it is the law.
Stop the sharing
Posted by Mohannad, Dubai, United Arab Emirates on Friday 21 November 2008 at 11:09 UAE time
Think about this rule positively, I have been living in this country for the last 25 years, the sharing phenomena is increasing day by day, because many people are coming to the country accepting low salaries, accepting to live in any condition and affecting others who want to have normal life!, sharing is not normal, and causing increasing the rents in the country that affected everybody, if the 4 families whom can collectively pay that 500k rent stop giving such huge amounts to landlords, the landlord will have no options by to accept lower rents or keep his villa empty. I totally support applying the rule on apartments, single should live in a studio or 1 BR, 1 family should live in a flat or villa. This is the normal rule everywhere!
Posted by Mohannad, Dubai, United Arab Emirates on Friday 21 November 2008 at 11:09 UAE time
Think about this rule positively, I have been living in this country for the last 25 years, the sharing phenomena is increasing day by day, because many people are coming to the country accepting low salaries, accepting to live in any condition and affecting others who want to have normal life!, sharing is not normal, and causing increasing the rents in the country that affected everybody, if the 4 families whom can collectively pay that 500k rent stop giving such huge amounts to landlords, the landlord will have no options by to accept lower rents or keep his villa empty. I totally support applying the rule on apartments, single should live in a studio or 1 BR, 1 family should live in a flat or villa. This is the normal rule everywhere!
One family one villa
Posted by Makes sense to me !, Dubai, United Arab Emirates on Thursday 20 November 2008 at 15:19 UAE time
Most families prefer to live in villas and most children want to play in a garden not on a high rise balcony, so the one family one villa rule makes perfect sense to me, in terms of a sensible sharing/distribution of currently available housing/villa stock. Any relocation agent will confirm that there are simply not enough villas, especially in the more desirable areas of Dubai - Jumeirah, Umm Sequiem, Meadows etc and probably in that order in terms of traffic issues and accessibilty to schools. It is rarely mentioned in this debate, but the UAE also needs to attract and retain professionals at a certain, often very senior level in their careers, and by the time people get to that level of seniority, they have generally started families ! Which means they usually want to live in an attractive villa with a garden, in a neighbourhood that feels safe, steady and family orientated as opposed to a neighbourhood/street that feels transient, noisy and with people coming and going to their villa share at all times of the day and night - some of the many downsides of a constantly rotating room share/villa share operation - often along with bad parking, litter and noise when most families are asleep. Villa shares also create a general lack of neighbourhood cohesion - there's always somebody moving in or out. In my experience, families generally stay put for a few years. I know for a fact that many senior professionals, which Dubai also needs, will simply not relocate to Dubai at present because the quality housing, (which for them usually means villas with gardens and ideally a pool, (shared or communal), in a centrally located established neighbourhood close to good schools, is either simply not available or totally overpriced. And the overpricing often comes from the villa share problem. A villa can yield so much more, usually atleast double the income , from the renting out of several rooms than from the rent gained by the rent from an individual family, so villa shares vastly inflate the rental market too. they can double the price of villas. I am aware of villas in Jumeirah and Umm Sequiem, for example, that are STILL housing multiple single status occupants, young single people who simply do not need to be living in a villa with a big garden, (which they rarely use and a child could safely enjoy), and could just as happily live in an apartment with a balcony as happens in cities all over the world. I also know of recently relocated families with children who have reluctantly accepted to start off in an apartment because the garden villas in central areas which they want are simply not available or affordable. The families I mention above will not stay for more than their first year if the villa availability situation does not change and the Dubai economy needs these senior professionals and their long years of experience and expertise too. So yes, one villa one family, at least for the forseeable future. Makes sense to me!
Posted by Makes sense to me !, Dubai, United Arab Emirates on Thursday 20 November 2008 at 15:19 UAE time
Most families prefer to live in villas and most children want to play in a garden not on a high rise balcony, so the one family one villa rule makes perfect sense to me, in terms of a sensible sharing/distribution of currently available housing/villa stock. Any relocation agent will confirm that there are simply not enough villas, especially in the more desirable areas of Dubai - Jumeirah, Umm Sequiem, Meadows etc and probably in that order in terms of traffic issues and accessibilty to schools. It is rarely mentioned in this debate, but the UAE also needs to attract and retain professionals at a certain, often very senior level in their careers, and by the time people get to that level of seniority, they have generally started families ! Which means they usually want to live in an attractive villa with a garden, in a neighbourhood that feels safe, steady and family orientated as opposed to a neighbourhood/street that feels transient, noisy and with people coming and going to their villa share at all times of the day and night - some of the many downsides of a constantly rotating room share/villa share operation - often along with bad parking, litter and noise when most families are asleep. Villa shares also create a general lack of neighbourhood cohesion - there's always somebody moving in or out. In my experience, families generally stay put for a few years. I know for a fact that many senior professionals, which Dubai also needs, will simply not relocate to Dubai at present because the quality housing, (which for them usually means villas with gardens and ideally a pool, (shared or communal), in a centrally located established neighbourhood close to good schools, is either simply not available or totally overpriced. And the overpricing often comes from the villa share problem. A villa can yield so much more, usually atleast double the income , from the renting out of several rooms than from the rent gained by the rent from an individual family, so villa shares vastly inflate the rental market too. they can double the price of villas. I am aware of villas in Jumeirah and Umm Sequiem, for example, that are STILL housing multiple single status occupants, young single people who simply do not need to be living in a villa with a big garden, (which they rarely use and a child could safely enjoy), and could just as happily live in an apartment with a balcony as happens in cities all over the world. I also know of recently relocated families with children who have reluctantly accepted to start off in an apartment because the garden villas in central areas which they want are simply not available or affordable. The families I mention above will not stay for more than their first year if the villa availability situation does not change and the Dubai economy needs these senior professionals and their long years of experience and expertise too. So yes, one villa one family, at least for the forseeable future. Makes sense to me!
Artificial Demand
Posted by Jacob, Dubai on Thursday 20 November 2008 at 13:45 UAE time
You know all these stupid tactics are just so that to create a demand for apartments which are not selling. I have even heard that there is a rule which requires you to rent a minimum two bedroom apartment if you want to sponsor a house maid. And above all what about the serious over crowding in labour camps. Why aren't these big construction companies penalised for treating their work force like cattle? Nothing here seems what it looks like.
Posted by Jacob, Dubai on Thursday 20 November 2008 at 13:45 UAE time
You know all these stupid tactics are just so that to create a demand for apartments which are not selling. I have even heard that there is a rule which requires you to rent a minimum two bedroom apartment if you want to sponsor a house maid. And above all what about the serious over crowding in labour camps. Why aren't these big construction companies penalised for treating their work force like cattle? Nothing here seems what it looks like.
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