Dubai: While there are clear guidelines on when and how much rents can be increased, most respondents to an online Gulf News poll are not prepared to fight illegal demands for more rent money.
And nearly nine out of 10 Gulf News readers simply don’t know their rights when it comes to dealing with landlords and illegal rent claims.
According to your online response, 88 per cent don’t know your rights to contest higher rents.
And when faced with an increase, about half — 48 per cent — simply opt to move to another apartment or villa. A further 38 per cent don’t bother to contest the rent increase and simply write the higher cheques to the landlord.
According to the same series of readers’ polls, 14 per cent of you are paying more than half of your monthly salary on rent. The polls also suggest that half of Gulf News readers are spending 30 per cent or more of their income on accommodation.
Together, these high proportions of rental spending likely explains why so many are reluctant to fight demands for rent increases and opt to move instead.
Only one renter in seven – 13 per cent of 2,253 respondents – opted to actually take the increased rent claim to the appropriate legal and regulatory authorities. For the small minority that do contest the higher rents, the split on winning and losing the case is pretty even – 6 per cent winning, and 7 per cent losing.
While there are regulations in place that prevent rents from increasing – normally providing for no increase in the first two years of a tenancy depending on the emirate – half of 3,588 Gulf News poll respondents say they have been asked to pay higher rent after just the first year of a tenancy. A further 12 per cent faced a rent increase after two years. Nearly one in three – 31 per cent – haven’t had to pay higher rent for three or more years.
Why are rental issues so important? According to respondents, just 3 per cent of 2,331 online respondents own their own home. For the vast majority — 97 per cent — dealing with landlords and rent issues is unavoidable.
