Hor Al Anz tenants left in the lurch

Dubai: A landlord of a villa illegally cut off power, leaving more than 40 tenants in the dark and without water for more than three days.

The Asian tenants who were sharing the villa in Hor Al Anz claim that water and electricity were disconnected last Wednesday without prior notice.

They said they have received notice from the owner to vacate the premises by December 5. The tenants said they rushed to the nearest police station to complain but were told to go to the municipality.

"We tried to get in touch with the municipality, but we were being shunted from person to person. We called Dewa, only to get similar treatment. We finally gave up," said a Pakistani tenant.

The men said that with no water or electricity they are forced to sleep in the open outside the villa.

"The owner has issued us an eviction notice. We still have until December 5, then why did he disconnect the water and electricity? We are trying our best to find alternative housing. We have paid our rent until December 10."

The rent paid by each tenant ranges from Dh750 to Dh1,000 per month.

"The ownership of the villa changed hands recently. The new owner has increased our rents. It is a three room villa," said an Indian tenant. The villa owner was not available for comment.

Not responding to people's needs when they are in a dire situation should be considered a crime on humanitarian grounds. The owner should pay compensation to the people.
Emlyn
Sharjah,UAE

No one to hear the cry of the poor or helpless people.
Mathew
Dubai,uae

This is living proof that there is no implementation of laws to protect tenants. Why do landlords do this?
Irfan
Dubai,UAE

These greedy landlords have forgotten that one day they have to answer God for such behaviour.
Huda
Islamabad,Pakistan

The authorities should take serious action against the landlord and let him pay compensation to the tenants. There should be exemplary punishment for such a landlord so that others can learn a good lesson from this.
Muhammad
Dubai,UAE

Landlords like these are spoiling the reputation of Dubai. Something has to be done.
Brian
Dubai,UAE

We have the same problem. For our new room we have to pay double plus commission. Where will get this money from? We have to go back.
Imran
dubai,Pakistan

If landlords act like this, there will be a spurt in crime soon. The landlord has acted in a very bad manner with his tenants. They must realise that tenants are also human beings.
Kailash
Dubai,UAE

This is ridiculous.
Mohammad
Dubai,UAE

The landlord should have given the tenants a notice before cutting off the water and electricity supply. It's not right! Besides, they have paid rent till December 10.
Joey H.
Dubai,UAE

It is a very bad situation which should not happen in the future. The authorities have to take necessary action against those landlords and even against landlords who are increasing rent day by day.
George C.M.
Dubai,UAE

It is very bad of the people, things like this should not happen in future. The authorities have to take necessary action against these landlords and other landlords who increase rents daily.
George
Dubai,UAE

Not even humanitarian considerations. More sad stories will emerge if the authorities do not act against greedy landlords.
Jacob
Deira,UAE

There should be rent control soon. Let landlords be not greedy lke this and give the UAE a bad name.
Raveendran P.
DUBAI,UAE

Is there any rights for the tenants in this case? And why did the concerned departments not act immediately in this issue? Where is the human rights here? Dubai is a good place to live in but we dont know why these incidents happen everywhere. The landlord should be held liable for this.
Noli
Dubai,UAE

The landlord has committed an offence.He should have waited till December 5. What he has done to these tenants is cruelty.
Abdul Majeed Shehzada
Gujarat,Pakistan

It?s the same story with us here in Hor Al Anz, the new landlord has cut the electricity and water since November 15, 2006 and also he told us to leave the room otherwise he will lock the outside door. When we asked about our rent (we have paid for November) he said ?I don't know about the rent and I don't want to listen to anything.? Can this landlord live for only one day without water and electricity? No he never can. Please do something for us.
Farooq
Dubai,UAE