Abu Dhabi: Following complaints from numerous tenants in the capital, the Municipality of Abu Dhabi City has said that it is working to make the upgraded rental property registration system quicker and more efficient.
The computerised system is expected to become more streamlined and efficient by the second quarter of 2017, the Municipality told Gulf News in a statement.
The statement was issued after tenant difficulties were highlighted to the Municipality, including cases in which residents have been living without utility connections for weeks. Registration is required for all utility connections.
Tawtheeq certificates have been issued by the Municipality for rental properties since 2011, and they are a prerequisite to complete a number of procedures in the emirate, including visa renewal and issuance, school registration, and parking permit issuance and renewal. In addition, utility connections are provided only after a Tawtheeq-registered contract is issued.
A new computer system was implemented last month, and it is believed to be more secure. Since then however, residents have reported persistent delays in obtaining their registered rental contracts.
A British entertainer said he had moved into his three-bedroom apartment on Khalifa Bin Zayed Street on March 5, but is still living without power and water supply.
“The real estate company initially told me that the records of the previous tenant had not been deleted from the registration system, and that they could not register my tenancy until that was completed. So I have been living in the heat, camping out at a cafe for as long as I can, and regularly visiting the property agents,” J.I. said.
J.I. signed the basic rental contract a month ago, on February 22, and is finding it incredulous that a simple procedure is taking so long.
“The Municipality shouldn’t have implemented the system without first testing it out. Other tenants I have come across are having it even worse,” he added.
Gulf News found that the majority of cases are eventually resolved, but that it often takes days of waiting, and often repeat visits to the Municipality or real estate company. At the Municipality headquarters, dozens of tenants come in as early as 7 AM to get tokens, and many do not get to see municipality officials on the same day.
K.J., an Indian nurse who lives in a four-bedroom apartment, said she had to visit the Municipality for three days to finally obtain her registered contract.
Amnah, the manager of a nursery that enrols about 90 children, said she had to follow up with municipal officials for almost a month to obtain her Tawtheeq-registered contract.
“I needed it to renew the licence for my three-year-old nursery, and I found it puzzling that the officials asked me to bring documents from other government departments. I had submitted these documents three years ago when first applying for the nursery licence, so why was it not in the system,” she said.
