We are not looking at the rent, says DM

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Villas across Dubai are being targetted in the DM’s crackdown on multiple families sharing the same accommodations.

Dubai Municipality (DM) is paying no regard to the problems faced by families forced out by the “one villa, one family” rule despite exorbitant rents in the city, the head of the DM building inspection section said.

"We are not looking at this (comparatively high rental cost)," DM building inspection section head Omar Mohammed Abdul Rahman told Construction Week.

"We are not looking at the rent. We are telling these people they have to move to a good place, but we are not looking at supplying extra places," he said.

The policy will force families that share villas to part, meaning many workers will leave Dubai, aggravating an already acute manpower shortage in the construction industry, Halcrow International regional HR director Rhyan Andersson warned.

But Abdul Rahman said the policy was being enforced due to health and safety reasons.

"These people are building additional space which is a violation," he said. "They build rooms or partition off rooms without our permission, and the (living conditions) become dangerous.

"Partitions are being made from bad materials like wood which is not allowed in Dubai or in the UAE."

Matthew Green, head of research at the Dubai branch of property consultant Cluttons, told CW, "Given the acute shortage in the villa market, the government's enforcement of the "one villa, one family rule" could not have come at more difficult time for tenants.

"Unfortunately, prospects show no sign of improving with less than 9% of new supply over the next two years dedicated to villas and townhouses," he said.

The shortage of villas has been exacerbated by construction delays over the past two years, Green added.

"In 2006 and 2007 less than 50% of the estimated units were actually handed over on time resulting in a huge shortfall," he said. "This under-supply has further driven pressure on accommodation and further stimulated rental rate increases to help reach the levels apparent today."

Multiple families staying in villas were given a one-month deadline, which came to an end on October 24, to move out before DM started disconnecting electricity and water in the violating villas.

Landlords of properties occupied by multiple families face fines of up to US $13,600 (AED50,000).

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