More than 85 percent of Arabian Business readers have slammed officials from Dubai Municipality over the crackdown on villa residents which could see thousands of people evicted.
A hotline has been set up for people to expose landlords who fail to uphold new laws regarding the occupation of villas.
Thousands of people could be forced to find new homes after officials announced on Sunday a new crackdown on more than one family sharing villas in the emirate.
Municipality chiefs have imposed a 30-day deadline for residents sharing villas to vacate them and have warned landlords that they face fines of up to $13,500 if they fail to comply.
But 86 percent of people who took part in our online poll believed municipality chiefs were wrong to be so strict about the deadline and some thought the crackdown would be the final straw for many residents in the emirate.
Fifty-six percent of respondents called the one family-one villa campaign “ridiculous”, saying people were forced to share villas because of the rip-off rents being charged by landlords.
A further 30 percent said the crackdown would force people currently sharing to consider leaving the emirate because they would not be able to afford to live somewhere on their own.
The strict deadline from Dubai Municipality comes as officials aim to prevent the sort of overcrowding that cost several labourers their lives after a villa blaze in Naif early this month.
A major advertising campaign has been initiated by Dubai Municipality and they have called on local people to use a 24-hour toll-free number (800900) to report cases that violate the ‘one villa-one family’ rule. Reports can also be submitted through the Dubai Municipality website at www.dm.gov.ae.
Adverts in the major newspapers in the emirate state that the 30-day deadline is final and no extension would be considered. The adverts go on to say that “necessary actions shall be taken and stringent punishments” would be imposed in cases reported after the deadline.
In our poll, eight percent of respondents believed more flexibility needed to be given by government officials because 30 days was not enough time to find a new place to live.
Only three percent fully supported the clampdown, saying it was necessary to prevent health and safety problems caused by overcrowding.
The focus of the campaign is on villas at the moment, although cases of shared flats could be taken up at a later date.
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