Dubai tenants sing the rental blues

Dubai: Maheshwar Agrawal got a nasty surprise when his landlord served him a letter notifying him that his rent would be increased by 50 per cent. He protested at first, and then pleaded with the landlord to bring it down to a reasonable amount.

The Indian expatriate's request fell on deaf ears. With his family, he moved out to Muheisna, Sector Four, where the new accommodation suited his budget.

"My life turned upside down," Agrawal said. "Now from my new place, the distance to office is about 50 kilometres and takes almost two hours. Earlier, it took about 30 to 45 minutes.

"It's also a problem for my daughter going to her school. It's so frustrating. The landlords here are making a killing."

The rent was increased from Dh35,000 to Dh55,000 for the 600 square foot, one-bedroom flat in Bur Dubai behind the Old Pakistani Consulate, he says.

The justification of the landlord, who stays in the same building along with his sons, was that he needed the flat for one of his sons.

Agrawal says he found out later it has been rented out to a new tenant.

It's the time of year when rental agreements for thousands of tenants are up for renewal and landlords and real estate management companies spring similar surprises.

Flouting rent laws

While some exceed the rent caps without qualms, there are other landlords and leasing companies who, while respecting the rent caps, add new elements which were not a part of the original agreement: service or maintenance fees and car parking charges.

And as many readers have written to us, rent increases this year have varied from Dh2,500 to Dh25,000.

"Our real estate company came up with new fees to increase the rent in an indirect way," says a resident of a building managed by Al Naboudah Real Estate.

"The name of the building is Juma Al Naboudah and it is just beside the Iranian Hospital.

"They have asked for an additional five per cent of the rent value as a service charge - service charge for what? Dh500 will be renewal fees; and Dh3,000 will be levied as parking charge.

"This is ridiculous and I think the government should protect the people from these greedy landlords."

Another Al Naboudah Real Estate tenant in one of their other rental units - Al Dana Building on Al Maktoum Street - said that the new tenancy contract added a Dh2,500 maintenance fee and a Dh500 renewal fee.

When Gulf News put forward the charges to the company, asking how they could justify the increases when it was not a part of the original contract, they asked for a couple of days to get back to us.

They had not done so at the time of going to print. The newspaper called again, but follow-up was futile.

Ajmal Real Estate, which is both a developer and a broker and manages buildings, has also added maintenance fees and car parking charges.

After the first year, in a renewal letter to S.S., the tenant of a studio, the company said the maintenance charge was going to be Dh5,000 and the car parking charge would be Dh3,000, none of which was mentioned in the original contract a year ago.

The annual rent for the studio in Al Muraqqabat is Dh53,000.

S.S. and her husband, after consulting lawyers, informed the company that the charges were illegal.

The company in the letter informed tenants that they would be charged Dh100 per day and that the contract would be terminated on account of non-renewal.

"The quality of the building is poor and the worst part is it's a new building," S.S. says.

"The air conditioning stopped working on many days last summer and it became almost a monthly problem.

"And in the first few months, the allotted car parking space was always occupied by someone else from another building and they would not take any responsibility.

"The security is never there after 9pm and the company said it cannot provide security at night," S.S. said.

After a flurry of emails and phone calls from the tenant, the company grudgingly agreed to do away with the newly added charges.

But S.S. could not help but share her "unusual" maintenance contract, which accompanied with the renewal letter.

Bizarre clauses

"It's the most bizarre I have ever seen. Imagine if there is earthquake damage, the tenant has to pay for it.

"Also, if the AC compressor or motor goes bad, the tenant has to pay. In fact this year, the AC motor had to be replaced and they had asked for Dh300-Dh400, which my husband refused to pay."

Going through the readers' mails, Gulf News has come across a number of cases in which tenants have either agreed to the new conditions to avoid the hassles of finding a new apartment or house or have left the old premises to more affordable accommodation.

When contacted, most are reluctant to have their names published in the paper. They say with their families here they are simply scared about the reactions of their landlords and companies.

And most, if not all, have not even entertained the thought of approaching the rent disputes committee to file a complaint against what they deem to be unreasonable hikes.

Commendation

Landlords and leasing companies cannot be stereotyped,
say many tenants

All landlords and leasing companies cannot be tarred with the same broad brush as being greedy and unprofessional.
In several instances, tenants gushed about their landlords or companies and in most cases, they have continued staying in the same premises for years and they have no intention of leaving their current place. All feel lucky to have such a pleasant relationship amid what is otherwise an agonising state of affairs.

Mary Jane Semine has been renting a three bedroom flat in Deira for the last nine years, after entering into a lease contract with Buhaleeba Real Estate.

"Since the time I rented, the company has always abided by the law," says Semine. "They have not increased the rent unreasonably and when the rent cap came into effect, they have increased only by that percentage of the cap. They have been very professional in dealing with tenants. I feel lucky to have entered into a contract with Buhaleeba Real Estate."
And for not charging a bit for maintenance, which is all part of the rent, Asteco comes in for special praise.

Partha Sarathi Dutta, a resident for 11 years in an Asteco Muraqqabat one-bedroom apartment, for which he pays Dh42,000 says not only have they followed the rent caps, but also the maintenance has been excellent. "In fact, they even change the light bulbs. They are very fair, very professional and we are very happy."
- G.G.