Bringing awareness

It’s good to open people’s eyes on matters of real estate and schools, which are the main financial strains on people (‘Renting in Dubai: what you need to know,’ Gulf News, September 21). The problem is that there isn’t much supervision to control the rising rents that people are paying and it has been rising for years. So, of course, eventually these people end up broke or in debt.

From Mr Hisham

Dubai

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Increase salaries, too!

For me, I don’t mind the increasing housing rents, the Salik fees or the increasing school fees – not even the hospital bills. I would only like to see an increase in all working people’s salaries. That’s all we want, and it’s all we need.

From Mr Khalid Bangash

Sharjah

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Monitor rent increases

This is good information to know. First of all, I don’t understand why it is necessary for rents to increase at this moment. I think that the increases in rent have to be monitored more closely.

From Mr Rajarajan

Dubai

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Legalities to increases

I have noticed landlords executing non-renewable annual contracts or making contracts that are only renewable if the rent is increased by a given percentage. I don’t think that this is legal, but they are out there.

From Mr Tauseef

Dubai

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Need more money

When the common salary is around Dh3000 and the law is ‘one room, one person’ and the room rent is around Dh4000 minimum, how are we supposed to make that work? We can’t very well find other means to make extra money.

From Mr Adil Quraishi

Dubai

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Hard to raise issues

In my experience, if a case is given against the landlord they try to make your life much more difficult. They will block your car from parking and say that it was not listed in the tenancy contract and for any general maintenance they will not tend to it. Because of this, generally people agree with landlords to not raise an issue. I wish there could be a better solution to this matter.

From Mr Saji

Dubai

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Useful law to use

This was a good story, thanks to Gulf News for that. It’s a regular scene here to see families shift like birds with their belongings. They go anywhere - here and there every single year. This should be ended so that we can all have peace of mind and to concentrate on our work more.

I mean, this trend of rent increases and eviction notices is a major reason for stress and stress related issues for the majority of Dubai residents in their daily lives. We should use this law if our landlords do not comply with the regulations. In fact, I used it in my last renewal against a verbal eviction notice, and I’m using it now, again, for a ‘non-renewable’ clause in the contract.

From Mr S. H. Z.

Dubai

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What about other expenses?

So we came here to work only to pay for our house? No, we also need to eat. My salary doesn’t even reach that amount, not even half of it.

From Ms Maryam Ducayag Castillo

Sharjah

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Handling extremism, breeding tolerance

I don’t think that Guangdong is a good model for India either (‘Gujarat a better model for India, not Guangdong,’ Gulf News, September 21). In fact, I believe that a better model could be any state because what ultimately matters is the people’s satisfaction. I am talking about satisfaction with respect to public safety, availability of jobs, infrastructure improvements, policies protecting environment and zero tolerance for corruption. The handling of extremism is crucial in all societies and if you can’t get this right, then there is no meaning of development. It must be for all states, not for only a few states. No favouritism.

Also if there is no religious tolerance, then I don’t think that the country has much of a future.

From Mr Abdullah

Dubai

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Not really free

Ultimately, when you get a free tablet you are paying indirectly as you will be getting it under an 18- to 24-month contract (‘Etisalat offers free tablet on a data plan,’ Gulf News, September 21). If you do the math, you are often paying much more. Don’t forget that most public places, like the malls have free wifi and the Metro stations will soon enough have free wifi for its travellers as well!

From Mr No’man Khalil

Dubai

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The UK may never be the same

At long last it has come to pass that Scotland will remain part of the United Kingdom (UK) along with England, Wales and Northern Ireland (‘Scotland vote a warning for Europe,’ Gulf News, September 21). However, the UK is unlikely to just return to business as usual. The UK will for sure become more federal and centralised politically.

Sadly, it may not be possible to give greater autonomy to Scotland without also devolving greater authority to local governments in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. There is much disagreement on the subject among the various political groups. One provision is that Scotland will get much more money per capita than the rest of the UK. This type of favouritism will prove very unpopular among the other territories.

From Mr Thomas Matthew Parackel

Muvattupuzha, India

Intolerant of class system

English society maintains class distinctions and privileges within the UK. Many Scots may accept serving the crown, but tolerating second class citizenship insults the proud heritage of the highlands. The case for Scottish independence would seem to be logical and rational, especially if the direction is to leave the oppressive nature of the European Union bureaucrats in a future break.

From Mr Vivek Raj

Dubai

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Stop the militants!

I think that this is a very good start. We need to let these militants of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil) see justice in order to make life safer for the rest of the population (‘France strikes Isil’s depot in Iraq,’ Gulf News, September 20). Anyone bringing up religion in this issue needs to understand that our beliefs are not in line with those of Isil. These men have been spilling people’s blood of all different religions, including fellow Muslims, and then they hide themselves under the blanket of Islam to confuse the public. This is what frustrates me the most. There is no holy book that allows people to commit these sorts of actions. These people are evil who need to be stopped with immediate effect. God protect the innocent.

From Mr Bagambire Ivan

UAE

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Reversible lanes

Sharjah’s notorious traffic jams have started again and there is a simple solution to this problem. If the authorities make Al Ittihad Road from the Lulu Hypermarket to Ansar Mall into a road with reversible lanes, they could solve the traffic flow. We have too much traffic going to Dubai in morning, so if we open one lane or two from the other side going towards Sharjah and make them go towards Dubai, there would be more movement. At the Lulu Hypermarket, the fence or barrier could be opened to allow vehicles to go towards Dubai. And at Ansar Mall, this lane could be made to join the present fast lane. By doing so, more vehicles can pass the Sharjah border and it would ease the situation. This could be a win-win situation for Sharjah and Dubai authorities.

From Mr Wilson Lobo

Sharjah

Excellent efforts through the floods

I am really concerned about the flood victims in the Jammu and Kashmir regions and salute the work of the Indian army (‘Srinagar army hospital saving lives as health infrastructure crumbles,’ Gulf News, September 21). According to the article, many have been rescued by the army, who have been distributing food packets, tents, blankets and water bottles, as well as treating patients in their field hospitals.

Through this letter, I would request each and every Indian expatriate in Dubai to donate to the Prime Minister’s relief fund for the sake of our own brothers and sisters in Jammu and Kashmir.

From Mr Hemang Dash

Dubai

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