Dubai: Be prepared to hand over your salary certificate if you want to rent an apartment in Dubai.
Some landlords have now added a salary certificate rider to ensure that the prospective tenant earns enough to pay the rent.
But the move has not gone down too well.
“This is ridiculous,” said Indian expat Anil, who felt so disgusted when asked for his salary certificate by a property agent that he cancelled the deal.
“I had nearly finalised an apartment in Dubai Marina when I got an e-mail from the property agent asking for my salary certificate. When I enquired, the agent told me the landlord wanted the certificate to make sure I had the paying capacity, and this despite the fact that I was giving him a single cheque. I felt so humiliated I decided not to go ahead with the deal,” said Anil.
Cashing in
An upswing in the property market has seen landlords making unreasonable demands.
XPRESS earlier reported how landlords in Bur Dubai, Deira and Karama were asking existing tenants to pay a fixed annual maintenance fee and separate charges for parking. Real estate agents have also been asking up to 50 per cent more than the average updated rent index in Dubai.
Another expat said an agent in Bur Dubai told him that he could not keep his parents in his two-bedroom flat. “I was told it is not hygienic and that the apartment will be crowded if my parents live with me. I find this absurd, it is a two-bedroom apartment and we are just four people,” he said.
“In one building on Shaikh Zayed Road the landlord said he wanted two months’ cheque in addition to the security deposit. This, they told me, was to secure their rent in case the tenant fails to return after a vacation to his home country,” said Farzana, a Pakistani expat.
The situation is in sharp contrast to recent years when landlords were trying to lure tenants by offering them low rents, easy payments, discounts as well as access to various facilities in their buildings.
In areas like Marina and Palm Jumeirah, landlords have already started asking for single cheque payments, the agents said.
