While residents complain that the increasing rents of properties and the cost of living were burning holes in their pockets, the real estate agents, on the other hand, rule out any decline in rents in the coming year.

Rise in demand

The sales manager in Sunrise Properties, who did not wish to be named, said, “There is no chance that rents will decrease in the coming year. However, this has not deterred people as the demand keeps rising each year, probably because of the heavy influx of people to the emirates.”

“The rents are literally going up almost everyday,” said the real estate agent, who went on to explain that rents in Sharjah were now almost at par with those of Dubai.

Quoting figures, he said, “A two-bedroom flat in a new building with facilities such as an in-house gym, swimming pool and parking facilities in the Corniche area of Sharjah would be rented for Dh70,000-75,000, while two bedrooms in a building without such facilities would cost around Dh50,000.

“The rent for a one-bedroom flat could be Dh45,000-50,000 for a building with modern facilities.

“New buildings are coming up fast, but the demand, too, is increasing. Sometimes, the availability remains low for people wishing to rent out an apartment of their choice,” he said.

Dream unfulfilled

For Sameer Mohammed, a Palestinian, affording an apartment of his choice remains a dream. “I have been in the UAE for over 10 years. Each year I hope that I will be able to move to a bigger and better apartment but it never happens because each year the rents increase and my salary remains the same,” he lamented.

Engineer Majid Fatih, who lives in Abu Shagara in Sharjah, said, “Sharjah issued a law in 2001 which capped rent increases at 10 per cent for the first three years of tenancy, but I am yet to see it implemented completely. My landlord keeps on increasing the rent, disregarding the ceiling.”

Steep hike

A representative of Moon Home Real Estate, Waqas M. says, “Over the last few months, the increase in rents has been quite a lot. In some areas the rent has increased by Dh10,000. In the Al Ghusais and Al Nahda areas in Dubai, the rents have again increased by Dh8,000 while in Al Barsha again, the increase has been almost Dh10,000 for one-bedroom apartments, and the existing rent is anywhere between Dh50,000 and Dh60,000.”

He said that the rents in the Marina area remained stable over the past six months as flats were freely available in that area. “In the Al Taawun area of Sharjah, hardly any flats are available while the rent has increased by Dh5,000 for a one-bedroom apartment in that area recently,” Waqas pointed out.

Bachelors in a fix

Meanwhile, people looking for shared accommodation, too, are in a fix. Muhammed Ali, a bachelor living in Sharjah, said that he was unable to find a good room at a decent rent. “I keep jumping from one apartment to another in the hope of finding good company and affordable rent, but have not found it yet.”

The conditions in Dubai are worse with the rents soaring. The rent cap of 7 per cent has made a little difference with the Dubai Rent Committee being flooded with complaints about the landlords flouting the norms.

A studio apartment in prime places like Deira and Bur Dubai is anything between Dh55,000 and Dh60,000. The cost of one-bedroom and two-bedroom in the same areas is anything between Dh68,000 and Dh80,000.

Atif Iqbal, a real estate agent, said, “Rents in Dubai are soaring. A villa in places like the Greens, Gardens, International City is nothing less than Dh100,000. The conditions are bad in places like Karama where a studio flat comes for Dh50,000-Dh60,000. The one-and two-bedroom flats cost even more. Places like the Shaikh Zayed Road are even costlier,” he said.

Personal loans

The agent said that the demand is, however, on the rise. “People, especially the families do contact us everyday. Most of them are interested in studio and one-bedroom flats.

“Most of them tend to take personal loans from banks in order to rent a flat. The conditions are expected to remain the same in the coming years too. Though new buildings are coming up, the rents will go up,” he added.