Question: After the publication of the new Dubai rental index in January, rental values were aligned with market prices. However, a few weeks ago, I noticed a sudden rent drop of 22 per cent for properties I had saved exact numbers before. These include one-bedroom apartments in Downtown and Dubai Marina.
Given how the rent drop is uniform for all towers, I'm certain that it's not due to the underlying data. The new values show a range much lower than current prices, even if we look at renewed contracts.
This is a tricky situation for landlords as the index proves unreliable and will prevent many from aligning their rents with fair prices. What steps can we take to urge the Dubai Land Department to fix the index? KA, Dubai
Answer: To understand how the current rental index comes up with data, one first needs to understand the matrix used to generate these numbers.
The previous rental index was too rudimentary and did not take into consideration important factors such as the building grading, in terms of quality of materials used or facilities, etc. It relied on old data and calculated the average rent based on old rental contract figures.
The new rental index is much more sophisticated and uses artificial intelligence to gather data, not just from old contracts but new ones, too.
Building classification, a very important factor, is now a major component of the new data, and most landlords had underestimated it. By this, I mean that most landlords perhaps think the building housing their unit is better graded than it actually is.
Therefore, AI has, in some cases, downgraded the numbers after taking into consideration the building quality and facilities. This, coupled with using up-to-date rental contract information makes the index more accurate. The only way to drive up rent numbers is for an upgrade in the classification of the buildings. Owners’ associations and building management companies need to get together to ensure the grading of their building is correct.
The fact that your data shows a 22 per cent drop for two areas is a coincidence. I can assure you that the DLD has introduced this improved index to rebalance the scales more for an equilibrium between tenants and landlords, whereas the old index was in favour of tenants alone.
This new index will take time to get used to but rest assured that it is a much better version than the previous one.
Q: My tenant defaulted on his rent payment but promised to settle the outstanding amount within a month. However, this went on for more than six months and the tenant did not pay. We asked him to vacate the apartment with immediate effect. He refused and said he would vacate the property in five months when his contract ends.
We hired a lawyer and sent the tenant a notarised eviction notice. The tenant ignored this notice and the 30 days’ notice expired. We instructed our lawyer to file a case against the tenant at the Dubai Rental Dispute Centre to evict him. When the judge questioned the tenant about the eight-month arrears in rent payment, he asked for more time. The judge ruled the case in our favour and told the tenant that he had 15 days to appeal or vacate the property. After 15 days, the tenant neither submitted an appeal nor vacated the property.
Our lawyer filed a claim for rental dues and expenses incurred with the Dubai courts. The judge instructed the tenant to settle all costs incurred and vacate the property by December 25, last year. He said we could repossess the property if the tenant did not vacate by then.
On December 25, we forced open our apartment and took over possession. The property was in a very bad state, with the cost of repairs estimated at more than Dh7,000. The tenant has not handed over the keys or paid the rent due.
The lawyer said the court has put a travel ban on the tenant and frozen his bank account. However, he added that the Dubai government had passed a law a year ago that a tenant cannot be jailed for non-payment of rent.
What can we do to recover our costs? The tenant has stopped communicating with us. AP, Dubai
A: You have done all you can to collect what is owed and now you are left with a large financial hole to fill, potentially without any compensation.
I presume you hold the tenant’s rental deposit that could be used to repair the damage. I suggest you file another case to get satisfaction, given the tenant’s lack of action, despite all the judgments.
This last judge will lose his patience and potentially move to fine the individual or perhaps impose an even harsher penalty. You should finalise this with your current lawyer. In the end, there is a possibility that you may never get compensated, in which case you can take comfort that this period is finally over and put it all down to experience.
The opinions expressed do not constitute legal advice and are provided for information only. Please send any questions to mario@novviproperties.com
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
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Company name: baraka
Started: July 2020
Founders: Feras Jalbout and Kunal Taneja
Based: Dubai and Bahrain
Sector: FinTech
Initial investment: $150,000
Current staff: 12
Stage: Pre-seed capital raising of $1 million
Investors: Class 5 Global, FJ Labs, IMO Ventures, The Community Fund, VentureSouq, Fox Ventures, Dr Abdulla Elyas (private investment)
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
Price, base / as tested: Dh182,178
Engine: 3.7-litre V6
Power: 350hp @ 7,400rpm
Torque: 374Nm @ 5,200rpm
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Fuel consumption, combined: 10.5L / 100km
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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Gran Gala del Calcio 2019 winners
Best Player: Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus)
Best Coach: Gian Piero Gasperini (Atalanta)
Best Referee: Gianluca Rocchi
Best Goal: Fabio Quagliarella (Sampdoria vs Napoli)
Best Team: Atalanta
Best XI: Samir Handanovic (Inter); Aleksandar Kolarov (Roma), Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus), Kalidou Koulibaly (Napoli), Joao Cancelo (Juventus*); Miralem Pjanic (Juventus), Josip Ilicic (Atalanta), Nicolo Barella (Cagliari*); Fabio Quagliarella (Sampdoria), Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus), Duvan Zapata (Atalanta)
Serie B Best Young Player: Sandro Tonali (Brescia)
Best Women’s Goal: Thaisa (Milan vs Juventus)
Best Women’s Player: Manuela Giugliano (Milan)
Best Women’s XI: Laura Giuliani (Milan); Alia Guagni (Fiorentina), Sara Gama (Juventus), Cecilia Salvai (Juventus), Elisa Bartoli (Roma); Aurora Galli (Juventus), Manuela Giugliano (Roma), Valentina Cernoia (Juventus); Valentina Giacinti (Milan), Ilaria Mauro (Fiorentina), Barbara Bonansea (Juventus)
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Company Profile
Company name: Fine Diner
Started: March, 2020
Co-founders: Sami Elayan, Saed Elayan and Zaid Azzouka
Based: Dubai
Industry: Technology and food delivery
Initial investment: Dh75,000
Investor: Dtec Startupbootcamp
Future plan: Looking to raise $400,000
Total sales: Over 1,000 deliveries in three months
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Zayed Sustainability Prize
Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
Dust and sand storms compared
Sand storm
- Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
- Visibility: Often dramatic with thick "walls" of sand
- Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
- Travel distance: Limited
- Source: Open desert areas with strong winds
Dust storm
- Particle size: Much finer, lightweight particles
- Visibility: Hazy skies but less intense
- Duration: Can linger for days
- Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
- Source: Can be carried from distant regions
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What is an ETF?
An exchange traded fund is a type of investment fund that can be traded quickly and easily, just like stocks and shares. They come with no upfront costs aside from your brokerage's dealing charges and annual fees, which are far lower than on traditional mutual investment funds. Charges are as low as 0.03 per cent on one of the very cheapest (and most popular), Vanguard S&P 500 ETF, with the maximum around 0.75 per cent.
There is no fund manager deciding which stocks and other assets to invest in, instead they passively track their chosen index, country, region or commodity, regardless of whether it goes up or down.
The first ETF was launched as recently as 1993, but the sector boasted $5.78 billion in assets under management at the end of September as inflows hit record highs, according to the latest figures from ETFGI, a leading independent research and consultancy firm.
There are thousands to choose from, with the five largest providers BlackRock’s iShares, Vanguard, State Street Global Advisers, Deutsche Bank X-trackers and Invesco PowerShares.
While the best-known track major indices such as MSCI World, the S&P 500 and FTSE 100, you can also invest in specific countries or regions, large, medium or small companies, government bonds, gold, crude oil, cocoa, water, carbon, cattle, corn futures, currency shifts or even a stock market crash.
Points about the fast fashion industry Celine Hajjar wants everyone to know
- Fast fashion is responsible for up to 10 per cent of global carbon emissions
- Fast fashion is responsible for 24 per cent of the world's insecticides
- Synthetic fibres that make up the average garment can take hundreds of years to biodegrade
- Fast fashion labour workers make 80 per cent less than the required salary to live
- 27 million fast fashion workers worldwide suffer from work-related illnesses and diseases
- Hundreds of thousands of fast fashion labourers work without rights or protection and 80 per cent of them are women
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Essentials
The flights
Etihad and Emirates fly direct from the UAE to Delhi from about Dh950 return including taxes.
The hotels
Double rooms at Tijara Fort-Palace cost from 6,670 rupees (Dh377), including breakfast.
Doubles at Fort Bishangarh cost from 29,030 rupees (Dh1,641), including breakfast. Doubles at Narendra Bhawan cost from 15,360 rupees (Dh869). Doubles at Chanoud Garh cost from 19,840 rupees (Dh1,122), full board. Doubles at Fort Begu cost from 10,000 rupees (Dh565), including breakfast.
The tours
Amar Grover travelled with Wild Frontiers. A tailor-made, nine-day itinerary via New Delhi, with one night in Tijara and two nights in each of the remaining properties, including car/driver, costs from £1,445 (Dh6,968) per person.
PREMIER LEAGUE FIXTURES
Saturday (UAE kick-off times)
Watford v Leicester City (3.30pm)
Brighton v Arsenal (6pm)
West Ham v Wolves (8.30pm)
Bournemouth v Crystal Palace (10.45pm)
Sunday
Newcastle United v Sheffield United (5pm)
Aston Villa v Chelsea (7.15pm)
Everton v Liverpool (10pm)
Monday
Manchester City v Burnley (11pm)
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
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Hive Mind
four stars
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