Sharjah fire: Landlord to pay for tenants' accommodation

Sharjah - The landlord of the building has come forward promising to bear the cost of their temporary accommodation until maintenance of the building is over.

There is finally some good news for the tenants of Al Nasser Tower who went homeless for the second time after their building caught fire 13 days ago, and Red Crescent stopped providing accommodation after 10 days.
The landlord of the building has come forward promising to bear the cost of their temporary accommodation until maintenance of the building is over.
Around 150 families were left homeless after their residential tower located on King Faisal Road was gutted. Red Crescent came forward to provide accommodation for 10 days.
From the eleventh day, the tenants were in a dilemma as some of them were not in a position to stay in hotels and pay for it.
Read: Sharjah fire: 12 days on, residents still homeless
On Tuesday, the representative of the landlord held meetings with authorities and said the landlord would pay for the shelter of all tenants until maintenance is complete.
Speaking to Khaleej Times, Abdullah Al Suwaidi, director-general of Sharjah civil defence said they held meetings with lawyers of the landlord and discussed the issue. He has agreed to pay for the accommodation and to see that maintenance of the affected apartments is completed within a week to allow residents to return to their homes.
He added that the landlord is coordinating with the Red Crescent to bring the families back to Al Salam and Al Reem hotels and that he would bear the costs.
The landlord also pledged that he will sign a contract within 24 hours with the maintenance company to carry out the maintenance work and also ensure that all safety procedures are in place. They will also allow Sewa to restore power for the building to enable residents of unaffected apartment to return home as early as possible. He said comprehensive maintenance for the whole building will take two months.
Read: 'Al Nasser Tower lacked fire safety measures'
Brig Al Suwaidi said the maintenance and installation of the fire safety and protection system will take only one week and then they will immediately instruct Sewa to restore power. Engineer Khalifa bin Haddah Al Suwaidi, Director of Engineering department at Sharjah Municipality said the validity report has revealed that the building is habitable as the main structure has not been affected by the fire.
Out of 250 residential apartments, only 54 were affected by the fire. The rest are safe for living provided power is restored.
The maintenance of the building will be under the supervision of the municipality to ensure that the contracting company instals a new front face with fire-resistant material.
He said the tenants who have any difference of opinion with the landlords can go to the rental dispute committee of the municipality to lodge complaints.
Read: Major fires in Sharjah during 2015
afkarali@khaleejtimes.com

• Sharjah