Rera

Falling Rents in Dubai is a myth?

Falling rents in Dubai Time and again, there are reports in media that rents in Dubai have nose-dived, giving impression that it has been a tenants’ market now.

A recent article in Arabian Business takes this to next level, quoting Jones Lang LaSalle MENA’s Dubai Real Estate Market Overview, and claiming Dubai rents set to fall further across all sectors in 2010.

With an additional 24,000 units expected to be completed in 2010 and 25,000 units in 2011, there may be an emerging opportunity for both investors and financers in the Dubai residential market as it has already seen a significant level of pricing adjustment in 2009, he added.

The comments on the article were not that optimistic. One commenter wrote:

RERA when are you going to update your rental index and calculator? My landlord has taken advantage of your outdated index to push for a further 20% increase. The landlord’s agency Al Yousuf R/Estate insists that it is legal to increase the rent

Another person was of the opinion:

I have had the good fortune of being slapped with a 20% increase in rent last June because of the hallowed RERA index. Another 20% increase is staring in my face in this year as my rent is still below the RERA index. I am forced to stay put in the same accomodation because of my childrens’ school and because i have invested heavily in furnishing the 3 BR flat I live in. Tearing them down and putting them up in a new place will involve quite a bit of effort and expense.

I have spend almost 8 years in this place. Yes, I have made up my mind to relocate to another GCC country as soon as the situation permits and not to look back at this beautiful city where most people /agencies are interested in fleecing the residents in one way or the other.
Note: I stay in one of the NAKHEEL managed properties.

Whether the market favors the tenants or its still driven by the landlords/owners, only time will tell.

Defaulters of Jumeirah Beach Residence Shunned From Parking

Residents of Jumeirah Beach Residence (JBR) are being turned away from parking in their apartments if they have not paid the hiked maintenance fees.

The property management company, Salwan, has told residents that they need an access card to use the facilities. However, the card is only being given to owners who have paid service charges hiked by 129 per cent.

“They are late in giving these cards anyway,” said Nikki, a resident of Rimal building in JBR. “These access cards were never supposed to be given on the condition that we have paid hiked fees.

“Salwan is stopping people from parking in the Shams area if they have not paid these fees. We haven’t been affected yet but there’s no reason why they won’t roll it out to every building.”

Nikki, who asked that her surname be withheld, said that she had attempted to pay maintenance fees at the original rate prior to the hike two weeks ago.

She said that her cheque was rejected and she was asked to pay the full amount.

In November last year, Salwan announced to residents that they would need to pay Dh21.75 per square foot in maintenance fees rather than Dh9.5 per square foot.

However, last week the Real Estate Regulatory Agency (Rera) announced a freeze on maintenance fee hikes by property management companies.

Under new law, a budget for maintenance charges will now be calculated by Rera under a formula, rather than by the developers. The budget will then be adjusted by the Owners Associations registered with Rera.

Spokesperson for Salwan announced that they are considering lowering the service charges. “We are working on a number of re-negotiations relating to cleaning and utilities to ensure service charges in JBR would be reduced,” the spokesperson said.

However, chairman of the Owner’s Association, Hamid Hamri, expressed doubt over the potential reduction. “If it is a reduction from the base rate of Dh9.5, that will be a victory,” he said. “If it is a reduction from anything higher than that then we are still paying too much.”

From Khaleej Times

relaxing in Dubai

Rera chief says no rent cap this year

Government, in UAE, works in strange ways. In past few weeks we have seen the mayhem and chaos Emirates ID Card registration has created, especially in the expat community.

Recent confusion is created by Rera, Dubai’s Real Estate Regulatory Authority. At end of last year Rera announced the launch of Ejari, its online tenancy registration website, claiming it is going to improval the rental exploitation scenarios. All rental contracts were required to be made through Ejari website, for a certain fee.

However, Rera chief executive has now announced that rent cap is not required in this year due to the global downturn.

“We don’t need a rent cap this year. We need to freeze everything. 2009 is a tough year and we shouldn’t interfere with rents too much,”

He thinks rental rates should be fair to both landlords and tenants. I wonder how he is going to make sure about this?

Expat community is not happy on this, here is one comment.

dubai marina

Ejari: Online Tenancy Registration Website in Dubai

Ejari
Ejari: Online Tenancy Registration Website in Dubai
Dubai’s Real Estate Regulatory Authority (Rera) has launched an Online Tenancy Registration website called Ejari, meaning ‘my rent’ in Arabic.

Ejari is launched to resolve rent and tenancy related disputes between tenant and landlord, as well as to help Rera gauge the rental market.

Rera recently urged tenants and landlords through an advertisement campaign to register tenancy contracts online from January 1, 2009, to develop a comprehensive rental index that will help it to evaluate and regulate the market better, with a Dh100 fee.

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