Bachelors being evicted from villas

Dubai: Bachelors said they find it very hard to find accommodation in the city.

They are being evicted from villas in residential areas meant for families, while real estate firms are asking for higher rents to let them live in flats.

Gulf News yesterday reported that action will be taken against real estate agents or companies if they rent villas to bachelors.

Dubai Municipality has started taking stringent measures to ensure that bachelors do not stay in villas and the new steps are being taken as part of the campaign to ensure the eviction of bachelors from villas, Omar Mohammad Abdul Rahman, Head of the Building Inspections Section at Dubai Municipality, earlier told Gulf News.

Cancellation

He said the municipality will not hesitate to cancel the trade licence of a real estate company if it rents villas to bachelors.

"Action, which could also be cancellation of the trade licence, will be taken against companies if they rent villas to be used as a labour camp or to lodge executive bachelors there," he said.

All single men and women, whether married or unmarried, comprise the category of 'bachelors', according to the Dubai Municipality.

Sara, a Filipina salesgirl, who lives in Jumeirah, said she along with 15 other women were evicted from a villa in Mankhool about six months ago. "We were asked to leave after our water and electricity was cut," she said.

She said it is very difficult to find a flat because landlords or real estate agents demand more money when renting flats to single women. "Five of us shared a flat and we ended up paying double the rent which we were paying in the villa," she said.

Natasha, a 33-year-old secretary from Moscow, said it was an uphill task to find a flat. "Every real estate agent demanded more money, especially because we were women. Despite giving assurances that I will not sublet the flat, they asked for more money to rent a flat," she said.

Tasleem Rana, a Pakistani banker, said he shares a room in a flat on Al Riqqa Street and pays Dh4,000 a month.

"It is very difficult to find a decent place for a bachelor. Most of the places, which the agents showed me, were like 'labour camps' and in very bad shape.

"The real estate agent of our building increases the rent at his will and threatens to 'throw us out' if we refuse to pay him increased rent," he said.

Most bachelors, who spoke to Gulf News appealed to authorities to have residential buildings for them as the municipality does not want them to live in villas while the landlords have made it difficult for them to live in flats.

A real estate agent said that the realtors have no problems in letting out flats to bachelors but the landlords do not want bachelors in their buildings because they make them filthy.

"Also there have been complaints of drinking and other anti-social activities," he said. The bachelors, he said, also sublet rooms which resulted in crowding in the flat as they keep as many as 20 to 30 people in a flat which is meant for only four to six people.

Omar Mohammad Abdul Rahman, Head of the Building Inspections Section at the municipality, said there is no restriction on bachelors to stay in flats but 'crowding' in flats is also not acceptable.

Figures

• 1.07m of Dubai's population are male
• Out of Dubai's total population of 1.422 million by the end of 2006, around 1.07 million are males while just 349,000 are females, according to statistics.
• Figures in the report of Statistics Centre of Dubai for 2006, revealed a total increase of 292,000 people in Dubai's population last year.
• The number of male population increased from 841,000 to 1.07 million while the number of female population increased from 289,000 to 349,000.
• According to the survey in 2005, there were around 333,292 unmarried people including 237,310 males and 83,783 females.
• Also, there are 2,197 divorced men and 3,395 divorced women while some 8,387 men and 6,061 women are widowed.
• According to an estimate, around 500,000 people in Dubai live as 'bachelors.'

I think the government should pay more attention to these bachelors because they are the ones who are building this country. More then half of them are probably married, it's not like they don't want to have their families here living with them, its just they can't afford to have families here with such a low income.
Kashif
Vancouver,Canada
Posted: August 10, 2007, 14:19

It is outrageous that single people are being demonised in this way. Basically, people are being treated as second class citizens because they are not married. When did this become a crime? I am an unmarried woman, I have a good job, I am a law-abiding citizen so why am I being dictated to about where and how I can live? It is insane. Especially when tens of thousands of single people are recruited from overseas to come and live in Dubai and help build this city, yet once we're here these ridiculous restrictions are put on us. On top of this we have to cope with the criminally high rents. It is getting to the point where I am asking myself why I continue to give my service to Dubai.
Tamara
Dubai,UAE
Posted: August 10, 2007, 14:14

Bachelors have themselves to blame for this. Most of them they don't have the decency to respect the families besides them. They are seen throwing rubbish around and also smoking on the balcony and throwing butts or standing out in groups for hours outside and staring at females. It has become increasingly impossible to stay along with them. If they wanted to have a flat then they need to learn to live in it and respect the surroundings by keeping it clean and tidy and maintaining a decent atmosphere.
Ajay
Dubai,UAE
Posted: August 10, 2007, 11:53

Dubai Government needs to regulate the balance between high-end and low income housing development. It is unacceptable that every developer invests into luxury residences even though more than 1/3 of Dubai's population is low income!
Greg
Athens,Greece
Posted: August 10, 2007, 11:10

It is correct to evict bachelors from a locality where families live. But the municipality should pre-arrange accommodation facilities for all bachelors in a separate area. The Municipality hasn't done this.
JCP
Dubai,UAE
Posted: August 10, 2007, 08:52

The decision by the Dubai Municipality is not right. What will all the expatriates do with such unwise rules? How will we live in this country? Is Dubai slowly throwing out people like us? Life is becoming harsher and harsher day by day. Sky-rocketing rents, toll systems, such kind of high cost of living will leave expatriates bankrupt. The expatriates are the ones who have helped Dubai to this stage of economic reap and slowly they do not need them anymore. Does Dubai do not want them anymore?
George
Dubai,UAE
Posted: August 10, 2007, 08:33