Indians to be kicked out of sharing accommodation

Dubai, Oct 7 (UNI) Thousands of Indians here face a bleak future as a deadline banning sharing of accommodation in villas ends on October 21.

The landlords have also been asked to remove all unauthorised partitions in their villas before the deadline. If the necessary changes are not carried out , the owners would risk a fine of up to Dh 50,000.

Many landlords said such directions were a common affair and there was nothing to worry about. But the tenants certainly are a worried lot.

''We know that the deadline is nearing. But then for moving, we first need to find a place. I earn just Dh2,500 a month and cannot afford to rent out a flat. In Dubai, the rent for a studio apartment is nothing less than Dh65,000. Till now, our landlord has not approached us, but we are living in fear. They can come to us any time and ask us to vacate. Under such a situation, where do we go?'' said Shabadullah, who lives in a villa in the Abu Hail area.

The municipality has said that hygiene and safety were the primary concerns and that action was necessary in order to avoid accidents. ''Only recently, a fire in a villa located in the Naif area killed 11 people. That was also a shared villa with many violations. The municipality needs to ensure that such incidents do not happen again. Whatever we are doing is for the safety of the people,'' said a municipality official, according to the Khaleej Times.

UNI XC ARB KP1017