FalconBirder

Greetings!

I work in AD and am looking to rent a small 2 bedroomed Villa within commuting distance of my office.

I've been looking at various places and have recently seen a Villa in a newly constructed compound in Khalifa A. The compound has about 30 large Villas, all of which have been built with one or two separate properties on each of the three floors. These buildings have been constructed especially to let as 1, 2 or 3 bedroomed Villa apartments.

One of the previous Agents that showed me another property, mentioned the risk of renting a 'partitioned' Villa. Apparently, it's illegal to 'partition' a large Villa into smaller units and the Local Government has apparently been cracking down on this in recent times and turning people out of their rented Villas with just a few days notice, without any compensation. This Agent has now told me that he won't sell off the Villas in the new compound mentioned above because he's concerned that they might fall within the illegal activity of 'partitioning'.

I challenged the resident Agent of the new compound and he seemed very laid back about the issue saying that the whole compound is owned by a VIP and that his is the first Compound in Khalifa A to be granted formal approval by the Government to construct and sell these 1, 2 or 3 bedroomed Villas.

Apologies for the long (and boring) introduction but I'll cut to the chase now:

1. Does anyone have any first-hand experience of this Villa 'partitioning' issue please? Is it something that I should be concerned about?

2. Is it possible to seek advice from the Local Government before signing a lease and handing over cash, to check whether or not the new compound is legally approved?

3. I'm wondering if I can handle this myself or whether I should seek some professional advice from a lawyer? If yes, any suggestions please?

Thanks to anyone that reads to the end of the message. I'm hoping that there's some real experience and advice out there.

Best regards to all,

busybee2

basicially yes a lot of the villas have been illegally partitioned. its easy to find out ask for proof from the owner from The Muncipality that he has permission to partition. if no prove is forthcoming then stay away. a lot of the villas in ad are split illegally, the other way to find out is if each unit has its own water and electric meter etc. villas that are provided with water/electric included are not legal, if you have a villa that has been spilt into two but only 1 water electric meter etc or etilislat box then its illegal spilt and yes the municipality has been kicking people out just recently.

busybee2

if you need a villa go and rent at al reef, they are invididual landlords.

busybee2

also this applies to renting in a local housing area, such as al fahal, rahba, bahia, samha, baniyas etc etc. it is not allowed, its cheaper but if you were caught you would be kicked out with no compensation, have seen it happen to a few people as well.

Oyibopeppeh

One of our Brit expat employees was booted out of a partitioned villa in KCA about 6 months ago. Fortunately he lost only around 2 months rent.

csdf

There's an easy way to tell - if there's only one electricity and water meter for the whole house, it's illegal. If each partition has its own meters, then its legal.

busybee2

did i say that already

weasel decentral

Dear Busybee,
I would love to claw at your rump, like a dangerous lion wrasslin' on the hide of a hippopotamus in a mudhole. In the serengeti.

Love and regards

FalconBirder

Many thanks indeed for the prompt and helpful replies - much appreciated.

I've viewed more than a dozen Studios or 1 bedroom apartments in the last couple of months, primarily on AD island or in Khalifa A. I've also reviewed several hundred Adverts on Dubizzle and elsewhere for similar accommodation.

If the criterion being suggested (separate water and electricity meters) is true then for sure 95% of these properties are partitioned and therefore illegal?

Surely this can't be correct? Can it?

Moreover, just looking through Ads, many of them specifically state that Water and Electricity is included in the Rent.

Common sense suggests to me that if the alleged criterion is correct, it would be pretty easy for the Authorities to effectively crack down on this by simply checking Ads and sending out an Inspector to fine and close down the Advertiser.

This approach would also make sense in that it penalises the Advertiser who has either installed the illegal partition or is capitalising from it. Rather than crushing the innocent Tenant who is merely looking for a modest place to live.

The Agent I spoke to about this said that it was a complicated issue. And if it's as simple as suggested above, surely genuine Agents wouldn't touch any such properties with a barge pole?

My impression is that there are quite a few genuine Agents out there and I find it very hard to believe that all those that I've had contact with, including apparently quite big companies, are brokering properties that are obviously illegal (using the above criterion).

I must admit that I'm finding it hard to accept the separate Water and Electricity meter as realistic criterion.

Could you guys/girls be mistaken in that whilst the suggestion criterion is fine in principle, perhaps most Advertisers have obtained the necessary exemptions?

Thanks again for the comments so far - I would welcome more.

Best regards,

busybee2

YEP they are all illegal. ask the agent/landlord for the copy of permission from the municipality and see what they say. dont believe dubizzle or anything like that. take it from someone who has been here a good long while, dont trust the agents..... remember though that who owes the properties here (mostly) ..... need i say more!

busybee2

another reason they include the water/electric in the rent is that expats and locals pay different prices.

Oyibopeppeh

FalconBird

You're being rather naive here....

A landlord makes more money by partitioning a property, even when he's paying the utilities himself. Even more so when the Emirati landlord is paying a reduced rate for the services.

Genuine agents are as rare as hen's teeth anywhere you go and besides which, they themselves are not committing an offence by acting as the agent to let a property, even though it may have been partitioned illegally. Since the Emirati landlord gets a slap on the wrist and perhaps a token fine, the only person to suffer is the tenant, whether or not they are oblivious or ignorant to these facts.

Big alarm bells - shared meter or utilities included, just walk away.

busybee2

the other thing about paying your utilties yourself, if there is any problems, who are you going to call, it would be your landlord, to sort out any problems, as you dont have a bill or are paying it then the electric company will not deal with you so if you have a landlord that doesnt live here, or isnt bothered then you are stuck but hey maybe i am talking rubbish.............. oh yeh forget you dont pay for that either..... lol

Bahtatboy

Colleague is being kicked out of his partioned-villa apartment. He has a lease contract with the agent (Westlife), but the landlord doesn't recognise that, and the Municipality has been round and served an eviction notice. Colleague is still trying to get his post-dated cheque back from the agent, plus his deposit, the agent's fees and balance of his first cheque. It will be a struggle, and we're prepared to go in heavy, boys. Was given 2 months to get out, so not only is he house hunting again, at the same time he's having to deal with sorting the bastard agents out, coping with a new job, and dealing with a newly-pregnant wife. Lucky lad.

So yeah, first-ish hand experience (I've seen all the documents). Avoid. And take everything an agent tells you with a pinch of salt, and ensure you have all the right documents (eg power of attorney to act on behalf of landlord, landlord's details) before you sign anything.