ABU DHABI // Emiratis have become less happy with the amount of affordable housing available, a survey has found, despite a drop in rents over the past two years.
A report released by the Abu Dhabi Gallup Centre shows only half (51 per cent) of the UAE nationals surveyed were happy with affordable housing supply.
The level of satisfaction was down from 60 per cent in 2009, even as rents slid and government subsidies continued.
The decreased approval could reflect concerns that housing costs still seem too high. Related problems, such as poor locations or difficulties with power, may also have lowered opinions.
"People's perceptions are based on their expectations," said Mohamed Younis, a senior analyst at the Abu Dhabi Gallup Centre.
"When Emiratis are asked to evaluate their satisfaction levels, it is not likely that they are comparing it to the situation of non-nationals in their country but to how much they 'feel the pinch' of housing costs.
"Despite the housing stipend, the UAE [cities] - particularly Dubai and Abu Dhabi - continue to be among the most expensive 'high cost of living' cities around the globe."
The low marks stood out among the high levels of satisfaction for other services such as health care and education in the survey, titled The United Arab Emirates at 40: a Success Story.
It polled more than 5,100 Emiratis and other Arabs between 2009 and this year.
Abu Dhabi saw the sharpest drop in satisfaction with affordable housing among respondents, to 50 per cent in the first half of this year from 66 per cent in 2009.
The emirate has struggled with a housing shortage in recent years. As of 2009, Emiratis seeking government housing in the capital faced waiting lists of up to five years. Other families share villas to save rent, even though the authorities discourage this.
The dissatisfaction in Abu Dhabi is "due to continued high residential prices in the absence of any significant new supply", said Deepak Jain, the regional head of strategic consulting at Jones Lang LaSalle.
To ease overcrowding, the emirate's Urban Planning Council has ordered developers to allot a portion of their properties to affordable housing.
It also plans to build 50,000 villas for nationals over the next 20 years. About a quarter of those will come on to the market in the next four years but the first homes, in Al Falah, will not be ready until next year. A committee began preparing a list of recipients this week.
In Dubai and Sharjah, satisfaction levels among Emiratis and other Arabs dropped from 2009 to last year, then rebounded this year.
In those three years in Dubai they moved from 45 per cent to 30 to 47, and in Sharjah they went from 48 per cent to 33 to 54.
The drop from 2009 to last year was surprising as lower rents should have improved satisfaction, said Mr Jain.
They should have also given many residents a chance to upgrade, for example, from Sharjah to Dubai.
"The reduction in satisfaction in 2010 does not add up," Mr Jain said.
Other factors such as the quality of the neighbourhood may have influenced opinions, he said. In Sharjah and the Northern Emirates, residents may have been upset about power cuts.
Some Emiratis may have disliked living in remote locations or in areas without community facilities.
But pinpointing one neighbourhood problem may be difficult as Emiratis live in diverse areas. In Dubai, they opt to live in the villa blocks of Al Barsha and in the high rises of the Marina, said Wassim Abdallah, a consultant at the property company Better Homes.
The dip in satisfaction last year may also have reflected respondents' views on the overall property sector, said Mr Younis.
"This question may be serving as a proxy for their overall feeling of the housing market," he said.
Consistent with that explanation is that in the other emirates, where housing prices did not fall, the rating levels remained steady.
They dropped only slightly from 44 per cent in 2009 to 43 last year to 41 this year.
chuang@thenational.ae
Tomorrow, an in-depth look at the survey's findings on health
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Mia Man’s tips for fermentation
- Start with a simple recipe such as yogurt or sauerkraut
- Keep your hands and kitchen tools clean. Sanitize knives, cutting boards, tongs and storage jars with boiling water before you start.
- Mold is bad: the colour pink is a sign of mold. If yogurt turns pink as it ferments, you need to discard it and start again. For kraut, if you remove the top leaves and see any sign of mold, you should discard the batch.
- Always use clean, closed, airtight lids and containers such as mason jars when fermenting yogurt and kraut. Keep the lid closed to prevent insects and contaminants from getting in.
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
Important questions to consider
1. Where on the plane does my pet travel?
There are different types of travel available for pets:
- Manifest cargo
- Excess luggage in the hold
- Excess luggage in the cabin
Each option is safe. The feasibility of each option is based on the size and breed of your pet, the airline they are traveling on and country they are travelling to.
2. What is the difference between my pet traveling as manifest cargo or as excess luggage?
If traveling as manifest cargo, your pet is traveling in the front hold of the plane and can travel with or without you being on the same plane. The cost of your pets travel is based on volumetric weight, in other words, the size of their travel crate.
If traveling as excess luggage, your pet will be in the rear hold of the plane and must be traveling under the ticket of a human passenger. The cost of your pets travel is based on the actual (combined) weight of your pet in their crate.
3. What happens when my pet arrives in the country they are traveling to?
As soon as the flight arrives, your pet will be taken from the plane straight to the airport terminal.
If your pet is traveling as excess luggage, they will taken to the oversized luggage area in the arrival hall. Once you clear passport control, you will be able to collect them at the same time as your normal luggage. As you exit the airport via the ‘something to declare’ customs channel you will be asked to present your pets travel paperwork to the customs official and / or the vet on duty.
If your pet is traveling as manifest cargo, they will be taken to the Animal Reception Centre. There, their documentation will be reviewed by the staff of the ARC to ensure all is in order. At the same time, relevant customs formalities will be completed by staff based at the arriving airport.
4. How long does the travel paperwork and other travel preparations take?
This depends entirely on the location that your pet is traveling to. Your pet relocation compnay will provide you with an accurate timeline of how long the relevant preparations will take and at what point in the process the various steps must be taken.
In some cases they can get your pet ‘travel ready’ in a few days. In others it can be up to six months or more.
5. What vaccinations does my pet need to travel?
Regardless of where your pet is traveling, they will need certain vaccinations. The exact vaccinations they need are entirely dependent on the location they are traveling to. The one vaccination that is mandatory for every country your pet may travel to is a rabies vaccination.
Other vaccinations may also be necessary. These will be advised to you as relevant. In every situation, it is essential to keep your vaccinations current and to not miss a due date, even by one day. To do so could severely hinder your pets travel plans.
Source: Pawsome Pets UAE
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
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The 10 Questions
- Is there a God?
- How did it all begin?
- What is inside a black hole?
- Can we predict the future?
- Is time travel possible?
- Will we survive on Earth?
- Is there other intelligent life in the universe?
- Should we colonise space?
- Will artificial intelligence outsmart us?
- How do we shape the future?
The Orwell Prize for Political Writing
Twelve books were longlisted for The Orwell Prize for Political Writing. The non-fiction works cover various themes from education, gender bias, and the environment to surveillance and political power. Some of the books that made it to the non-fiction longlist include:
- Appeasing Hitler: Chamberlain, Churchill and the Road to War by Tim Bouverie
- Some Kids I Taught and What They Taught Me by Kate Clanchy
- Invisible Women: Exposing Data Bias in a World Designed for Men by Caroline Criado Perez
- Follow Me, Akhi: The Online World of British Muslims by Hussein Kesvani
- Guest House for Young Widows: Among the Women of ISIS by Azadeh Moaveni
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League quarter-final, second leg (first-leg score):
Manchester City (0) v Tottenham Hotspur (1), Wednesday, 11pm UAE
Match is on BeIN Sports
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