Sharing is the only way

Dubai: Denzil Nathaniel, an Indian national, lives in a Jumeirah villa with his wife, three daughters and 23 other people.

"If my family and I want to live in Dubai, this is the only way to stay and work in the city," he said.

With his rent increasing, Nathaniel will have to devote more of his salary for shelter.

Nathaniel said: "I was already on a tight budget when the rent was Dh45,000 annually, but now that it's going up to around 50,000, I'm going to have to find a way to deal with it. Even if I move to Sharjah, it will still be more expensive than what I'm paying now," he said.

Nathaniel's six-year-old daughter is studying in a school in Dubai and his two-year-old twin daughters will be starting school next year.

"If all else fails, I will have to pack up and leave the country with my family. There's no way I can send only them back to India since there's no one to take care of them."

Effects on the family unit

Eviction can have major impacts on the family unit - causing stress on relationships and worry over cash flows.

Meenaz Kassam, Assistant Professor of Sociology at the American University of Sharjah, said: "Eviction is a major life event in a family that disrupts normal routines and imposes great stress on the head of the household, which then finds its way down the family chain.

"In Dubai this stress is compounded by the fact that there is lack of affordable housing and therefore the stressful situation is prolonged alongside the breakdown of any normalcy of routine. More importantly the trauma of eviction brings about a sense of shame and confusion and this is exacerbated by the absence of the social and psychological supports.

"Most families in Dubai do not have the comfort of extended families that serve as a cushion in such time. Family breakdown is common in such stressful situations as blame and responsibility are passed on by parents to each other resulting in bitterness."