Al Ain landlords 'flagrantly flouting rent cap rule'

Al Ain: Residents have asked the authorities to open a rent dispute committee branch in Al Ain to stop landlords and real estate agents from flagrantly violating the rent cap rule.

Tenants have been travelling to Abu Dhabi, some 170km away, to lodge their complaints. Many of them reportedly spent hours in search of the committee office.

The committee has been established by Abu Dhabi Executive Council to enforce the five per cent cap on the annual rental increase to bring stability to the real estate market and protect tenants from landlord exploitation.

People living in Al Ain, the second biggest city in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, have been facing a 30 to 100 per cent rental hike.

Mohammad Sohail, a private sector employee, said landlords had been committing a rampant violation of the law and the authorities had not yet introduced control measures in the city.

"People are forced to pay exorbitantly high rents or asked to vacate their homes if they do not agree," he said.

Sohail said his landlord demanded a rent of Dh50,000 instead of following the rent cap.

"I was paying a rent of Dh35,000 and my landlord was legally not allowed to increase it more than Dh1,750," he said.

Sohail said he could not go to Abu Dhabi to file a complaint and moved to substandard accommodation constructed in the backyard of an Emirati's villa.

"Its roof is made of asbestos sheeting and my family has been suffering in the hot weather," he said.

Anand Kumar, another Al Ain resident, said the city had been facing an acute shortage of flats and villas and owners had been exploiting their tenants.

"I think nobody is there to help us and I do not have the luxury of time to stand up against the injustice," he said.

He said people had to make several trips to the committee's Abu Dhabi office since they did not know the requirements of the procedure.

Kumar said the government must take immediate notice of the situation and set up a branch office for the rent dispute committee in Al Ain.

Amjad Khan, another resident, said a proper control mechanism should be placed on a city level to control the violation of the law. He also suggested that the influx of people from Abu Dhabi and Dubai should also be controlled as they have created the shortage of flats and villas in the city.

Khan said the increased accommodation allowances for government employees were also one of the main reasons for rocketing hikes in rents.

"Private companies have not increased salaries or allowances and their employees have been suffering," he said.