Kitchens in apartments or villas are being offered by greedy landlords as bedrooms for tenants, as the search for bed spaces in the city by bachelors has become an uphill task, Emirates Today has learned.
The practice of renting what have now been termed as “bed spaces” in Dubai is being blamed by residents for unjustifiable rent rises. And in many areas of the city, where bachelors share accommodation, kitchens are being transformed into bedrooms so those subletting the property can make more money.
“A bed in the kitchen. This was the most shocking thing I’ve come across in my life,” said Pramod, an Indian newcomer to Dubai. He was looking for a room, but had to settle for bed space.
“I got the telephone number from the classifieds of a newspaper. After waiting for the real estate representative for more than one hour in the street, I got the biggest shock of my life. He showed me the bed. And it was in a kitchen,” said Pramod.
He shouted at the real estate agent and asked him why he had not revealed the nature of the “incredible” rent offer in the newspaper and informed him that the bed was actually in the kitchen.
“What does this landlord think of people? Is this a human and healthy accommodation, I asked as I left the flat. Believe it or not, he was asking for Dh1,500 per month for a bed in a kitchen,” an angry Pramod said.
He urged the authorities to stop such practices. “Unfortunately this was the fault of the real estate agency and not the greedy principal tenant,” he said. “I am tired of looking for reasonable accommodation in Dubai,” he added.
George, another expatriate, complained that the rent market remains uncontrolled.
He was looking for a flat to lease after his previous landlord asked him to vacate the premises.
George inquired about a villa in Deira and the annual rent was Dh120,000.
But George was shocked at what the landlord showed him. “It was just a room in a villa”, George said.
“Are your asking Dh120,000 for a room?” he asked the landlord.
The answer he got from the landlord was more perplexing. He said the man told him it was up to him to sublet the villa for any amount.
“The landlord told me the room can take up to 16 bed spaces… and even more. He said I could make money out of it if I charged each tenant Dh1,500 per month,” he said.
George was appalled and refused the room. “I did not take the offer… what I need is a flat to live with my wife and children and not a room to sublet,” he added.
*Emirates Today (15/1/07)
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