Keith is British, well educated and a Human Resources professional. He lives in Al Barsha with five other workmates in a 10-room villa and pays Dh75,000 a year in rent for a room of his own. Very soon he is going to be homeless.
He cannot afford to rent a flat on his own and his single status was a problem. He recently had to borrow the full year's rent to pay the landlord, who wanted one cheque and he had to keep up with his car and utility payments.
Keith is depressed and cannot concentrate on his job because he is terrified that if the Dubai Municipality inspectors come around and fix the now notorious Red Letter on the villa that he is living in; he will be up the creek without a paddle.
He's in debt. He does not believe his landlord will return his money, he knows that the municipality will not be responsible for ensuring that he gets his refund and he cannot live in his car because he could get arrested.
Keith is just one case. In a city with four times more males than females there are thousands like him, of many nationalities, who suddenly feel that they are not welcome anymore because they are male, middle income and single.
And yet more and more are pouring in to take up jobs that were offered to them with a proper contract that provides a housing allowance but no information attached which explains that housing actually costs more than twice that - and also that their gender and marital status make them third class tenants after families and single women.
All across the city, bachelors and families share apartments and villas because they simply cannot afford the sky-high rents. There is no formal law that says people cannot share, so why are these people being punished?
The angst felt by bachelors and middle income families is not new.
In early summer this year muni-cipality officials spray painted Red Letters on 1,200 villas marked for water and electricity disconnection. The enforcement was carried out based on "public safety, environmental issues and violation of land use regulations". A new tenancy law on March 1 of this year states the tenant may be evicted by the landlord "if he uses the premises in a way that violates planning, building and land use regulations".
This week, the landlords who have not yet evicted their sharing bachelors and families have been threatened with a Dh50,000 fine.
It has certainly not been a Red Letter week for many denizens of Dubai. Let's hope someone sees the futility of pricing people out of house and home.
