Sudden, steep increase in rents in Dubai, Sharjah and Ajman cited as reason
While rents are skyrocketing in Dubai, residents fleeing to the northern emirates have found a similar situation here as well.
A one-bed room apartment in Ajman, for example, used to cost Dh14,000 to Dh16,000 until a few months ago. Now the situation has become completely different.
“The landlord is now asking me to pay Dh25,000 against my one-bedroom apartment when I used to pay only Dh15,000 four months back,” said Khalid M, an Egyptian.
Sherif Al Wakeel, a resident in a two-bedroom apartment at the Nuaimiya area said he is planning to move to Umm Al Quwain because he cannot afford the more than 35 per cent jump in rent.
“I am thinking of sending my four-member family home. They have always been here with me. This is too much; I cannot afford that rent hike. There is no other option but UAQ where rents are also getting higher,” said Abu Mustafa, another expatriate from Sudan.
Abu Mohammed, a Syrian, is facing a double problem — relocation to Jebel Ali and a rent jump from Dh30,000 to Dh50,000 against his two-bedroom apartment close to a school here in Ajman.
Late last year, UAQ saw a significant rise in the number of tenancy contracts estimated at 29 per cent as compared to 2012. Obaid Al Saqal, Head of the Contracts Section at the UAQ Municipality, attributed the rise to a steep jump in rents in Dubai, Sharjah and Ajman.
Umm Abdullah, an Egyptian teacher, said she is planning to move from Ajman to UAQ. “I am currently staying in a two-room apartment at the Naimiya area where rents have shot up all from Dh24,000 to Dh35,000, excluding parking.”
Ismael A, Algerian, said he used to share an apartment in Sharjah, but had to move to a separate apartment to receive his family. “Trying Ajman, I was shocked to find that rents have shot up by 20 per cent, and hence I rented a two-room apartment in UAQ for Dh25,000.”
Hani Al Barbari, a real estate agent in RAK, said rents there, though hiked a little, are still affordable. “The case is completely different from the earlier boom before the financial crisis when a one-bedroom apartment used to cost Dh60,000 annually at the Corniche.”
He said rents have come down over the past years. A one-bedroom apartment on the RAK Corniche costs Dh22,000. “Only around Dh2,000 jump has been noticed with a one-bedroom apartments at the same area.”
