Initiative will target illegal housing in the capital

ABU DHABI // A week-long sweep with the support of police starting on Monday will target illegal makeshift dwellings such as rooftop "penthouses" and modified bachelor apartments. Abu Dhabi Municipality is working with law enforcement agencies to stop unauthorised construction and unlawful property extensions as part of an effort to protect the capital's image and encourage tourism. The campaign, which was announced yesterday, will also focus on properties, particularly villas, let out to bachelors in areas predominantly occupied by families. It is the first official campaign by Abu Dhabi Municipality to rid the capital of dwellings that have been illegally altered to accommodate more people. The move follows a series of fires in the capital in apartment blocks. In September, a blaze in the Al Fatima grocery store high-rise on Airport Road forced several families from the building and required helicopters to take two adults and a child to safety. It was believed that the fire started in one of the makeshift rooftop dwellings referred to as "the penthouse" by other tenants. The municipality was to investigate whether the construction was illegal, as separate housing units are required to be individually metered for power, water and gas. Afterwards, the municipality pledged to focus on removing such dwellings, while the Ministry of Interior ordered rooftop helicopter patrols across the city to spot suspicious buildings. Last summer Dubai Municipality launched a scheme called "one villa, one family", evicting families living in shared villas that had been illegally partitioned and fining offending landlords. More than 4,000 villas received eviction notices. In October, Abu Dhabi Municipality also banned the illegal partitioning and overcrowding of villas. Municipal inspectors recently issued notices to several families living in flats within partitioned villas in the capital. Many of the families had to prepare for eviction and were told that partition walls would be demolished. Abu Dhabi's new campaign could be extended depending on the success of the operations. In an interview in September, Khalfan al Nuaimi, the municipality's director of construction permits, said: "We cannot see everything. If on the top of a building you have built something, I mean, maybe we will not see it." Residents in Abu Dhabi at an apartment block that went up in flames last year supported the impending municipal and police action yesterday, but also sympathised with lower-income tenants who have little choice but to live in converted or illegally constructed flats. "I heard some stories about how upstairs there was one room for maybe 10 persons and they were cooking inside," said Mohammed Fawaz, 44, from Syria. "It's not good, but where else can they go? Outside on the street in a tent?" The lifts for the Al Fatima grocery store high-rise go as far as the 15th floor. The roof is accessible by stairwells or a stepladder. Mr Fawaz, who lives on the 15th floor with his wife and children, is one level below where the fire was believed to have started. His wife, Danya, 30, said the lack of affordable housing in the capital was to blame for the unlicensed tenements. "I think it's dangerous, but the problem is the rent," she said. "In Abu Dhabi it's too much, and I think the penthouse or roof will be more cheap." Abdulla, 33, who also lives on the 15th floor, said an accident from hastily or illegally constructed flats "could be a big disaster" for any building. He added that the municipality needs to make it a priority to provide better living options. "You cannot tell people to go now," said the Egyptian, who would only give his first name. "You have to manage people and find some places for them to live because accommodations are very expensive." Dubai inspectors also recently began inspecting villas in the Al Barsha district, reasoning that the overcrowded units within might produce too much waste and have a negative impact on the environment and public safety. mkwong@thenational.ae