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Abu Dhabi to provide high quality houses for low income workers

Abu Dhabi - Aims to solve the problem of congested houses for bachelors, prevent illegal partitions in villas

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Housing units for low income earners and costing as low as Dh700 a month in rent will be introduced in Abu Dhabi, authorities announced on Saturday.
The Department of Municipal Affairs and Transport - Abu Dhabi City Municipality (ADM) on Saturday said they have rolled out an initiative targeting fixed income groups to meet their needs of residential units.
The move is intended to solve the problem of congested houses for bachelors and to prevent illegal partitions in villas especially for families.
Officials said the initiative also offers an investment opportunity to commercial property developers in the city as it enables individual landlords, developers and investors to construct new buildings or convert their existing properties to residential units befitting the financial means of fixed income earners.
Modifications of such buildings include redesigning and revising the stipulations governing designs of interiors.
The move stems from the Municipality's keenness to foster cooperative relationships and partnerships with the private sector towards providing suitable accommodation for all community segments, especially fixed income earners.
Also read: Dubai to build homes for low-income workers, renovate areas
It also illustrates the municipality's commitment to its social responsibility to enhance the means of providing happiness to residents of Abu Dhabi and fulfill sustainability standards.
"The initiative aims to provide high-quality and affordable accommodations for low-income groups at rents ranging from Dh917 to Dh1,563 per month. Thus, it will bridge the gap between supply and demand; offer property owners a Return On Investment of about 21-28 percent p.a., save about four million dirhams in the total building cost, and reduce the construction period by as much as eight months," said a municipal statement.
"The initiative supports the documentation of residential units through legalisation of the random splitting of houses; which will reflect positively on the community and improve the landscape of the city."
It will also eliminate the congested bachelors' accommodation; which is a huge burden on all community members.
"This initiative aims to provide proper and legal options of residential units befitting the financial means of low-income individuals and at the same time open an investment opportunity to owners of commercial properties in Abu Dhabi Emirate," said Musabbah Mubarak Al Murar, Acting General Manager of Abu Dhabi City Municipality during a workshop, which highlighted the initiative covering the investment opportunities on offer to property owners and developers of commercial buildings.
"The initiative is in line with the vision of Abu Dhabi Government aimed to provide all means of decent and stable living for all spectrums of the community. It will also offer support to fixed income groups by availing them accommodation at affordable rents that commensurate with their annual income levels."
The workshop reviewed the key objective of the initiative i.e. re-designing and assessing commercial buildings and modifying them to accommodate more families of fixed income groups.
"The workshop also reviewed the targeted categories, necessary stipulations, examples of interior divisions of buildings, associated incentives, financial return to owners, licensing process, and the anticipated results of this huge initiative rolled out by the Municipality," said Al Murar.

Targeted Categories

The targeted buildings under this initiative include existing buildings which had been divided casually in a way that falls short of the licensing conditions. It also applies to divisible buildings under extensive maintenance, those occupied by bachelors, and new buildings.
There are two targeted categories of occupants; the first category is the low-income segment earning a monthly income of Dh4,000 to Dh6,000, and their rent will range from Dh1,400 to Dh2,100 per month.
So individuals with an annual income ranging from Dh48,000 to Dh72,000 will be offered annual rent ranging from Dh16,800 to Dh25,000.
The second category is bachelors with fixed incomes. The rental value will be Dh700 to Dh1,400 per month for those earning a monthly income of Dh2,000 to Dh4,000. Their annual rent will vary from D8,400 to Dh16,800 for those whose annual income is in the range of Dh24,000 to Dh48,000.
The rental value is calculated at a rate not exceeding 35 percent of the individual's total income; with consideration given to the number of occupants, said municipal officials.
ismail@khaleejtimes.com