Dubai to allow Rents to jump as much as 20%----article

[General Lee]

Dubai to Allow Rent Jumps of as Much as 20%
By Dana El Baltaji
December 22, 2013 4:32 AM EST 1 Comments
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Dubai Development Area
Dubai, where property prices have surged more than 40 percent this year, will allow landlords to increase rents at a faster pace as economic growth in the emirate accelerates.

Under the decree, issued by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, landlords can raise rents by 20 percent if contracts are 40 percent or more below average prices, as measured by a government index. Previous guidelines allowed for increases of as much as 20 percent for rents that were 55 percent or more below market value.

Dubai?s economy is headed for the fastest expansion in six years after output grew 4.9 percent in the first half of 2013. That?s pressuring rents and sparking disputes with landlords. The latest changes may help to regulate the market and avert evictions as landlords seek to capitalize on rising rents, EFG Hermes Holding SAE said in an e-mailed note.

?The only thing it does is make the market a bit more regulated in the sense that the rental index can become more institutionalized,? Digvijay Singh, head of Middle East equity strategy at VTB Capital in Dubai, said by phone.
The sheikhdom?s benchmark DFM General Index has risen 99 percent (DFMGI) so far this year, and is the world?s second-best performing index, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The measure was down 0.5 percent at 12:46 p.m. in Dubai.

Expo 2020

The rental price guidelines will be enforced after the decree is published in the official gazette, according to a statement yesterday on Sheikh Mohammed?s official website.

The changes will permit rents to increase 5 percent if they are 11 to 20 percent less than the average rate on similar properties, 10 percent if the rent is 21 to 30 percent less the average, and 15 percent on rents that are 31 to 40 percent less than similar properties.

The previous rent cap didn?t allow landlords to take full advantage of rising rates, prompting some homeowners to evict tenants, EFG Hermes said.
The greater ability for landlords to increase prices closer to a market rate may bring about ?a steadier rise in rents, rather than the sharp hikes, after an initial adjustment, while enabling existing tenants to remain in place,? the investment bank said.

Property prices in the emirates have risen for a second year after slumping as much as 65 percent from their peak in 2008 after the global financial crisis tightened credit. Dubai?s Expo 2020 win last month will further bolster the real estate market, Jones Lang LaSalle said in November.

The Dubai government this year established a center to settle rental disputes to replace an existing committee. The center will have the capacity to review 250 cases a week, up from 100 previously. The government also doubled property-sale fees to 4 percent to avert another property bubble.





Getting really expensive over there. I know you guys get free flats etc, but it sounds like a very expensive place to live. Is the pay and or profit sharing going up too?



Bye Bye---General Lee

 

[General Lee]

This article was found on PPRUNE, and there was an interesting response from a guy named "SMT member", supposedly an EK pilot. (Another anonymous board). I posted this article and this response to let some perspective EK pilot wannabes know what is going on in DXB. It's a big decision to uproot everyone and go over there. Here is SMT Member's post and his opinion:

"Loved the bit about a 4% tax on property transactions 'to avoid another bubble'.

Hmm, that, or paying off the neighbours down the road for the rescue when the first one burst.

But it does look like they are trying to put in writing what a landlord may do with regards to rent hikes, albeit I sincerely doubt it's done in the interests of the tenants as it is portrayed in the article. I have no insight into the benchmark they are using to determine how much a given rent is below average, but it does read as if landlords are allowed rent hikes only up to the benchmark average. If the benchmark is somewhat accurate, it then follows it is the people who have so far been paying a below average rent, who are now looking at rent hikes.

Well, if you live in Dubai you've chosen to settle in a part of the world that is ruled by a strange mix of rampant capitalism, absolute monarchy and sharia law. That such a system can, and will, throw financial wobblers at you that would be unheard of in other parts of the world should not come as a surprise. Neither should the fact there's nothing to protect you against this if it is the will of the ruler that you, the well-earning part of the expatriate, need to pay more money to him and his buddies.

The sh1tty part for loads of people on this board here is, of course, that the owner of the sand is also the owner of the flying club they keep aloft. And that means he's unlikely to give back with one hand (housing allowance increases) what he is taking with the other (rent increases). If this situation makes you feel, shall we say 'stuffed', the lesson is to offer ones backside, accept the inevitable, and say 'thank you, may I have another night turn across the Bay please'?"



Another guy asked:

"Does Emirates still stand for

English Managed, Indian Rosterers, Aussie Trainers, Everybody Shafted...?"

Looks like there are also a lot of roster problems over there.



Bye Bye---General Lee

 

[8sugarsugar]

Another guy asked:

"Does Emirates still stand for

English Managed, Indian Rosterers, Aussie Trainers, Everybody Shafted...?"

Looks like there are also a lot of roster problems over there.



Bye Bye---General Lee

A lot of whiners because they bid for very specific flights and cry when they don't get their two day layover in Milan starting exactly on January 5th. I just bid days off and sometimes a certain layover and almost always get what I want. Even bottom bid month.

PPRUNE is an even less accurate picture to what Emirates is like than what General Lee paints.

PPRUNE is also full of a lot of Emirates wannabes that have their apps and interviews scheduled and are trying to reduce the competition by creating horror stories on PPRUNE believing that are actually making a difference.

 

[General Lee]

A lot of whiners because they bid for very specific flights and cry when they don't get their two day layover in Milan starting exactly on January 5th. I just bid days off and sometimes a certain layover and almost always get what I want. Even bottom bid month.

PPRUNE is an even less accurate picture to what Emirates is like than what General Lee paints.

PPRUNE is also full of a lot of Emirates wannabes that have their apps and interviews scheduled and are trying to reduce the competition by creating horror stories on PPRUNE believing that are actually making a difference.

Yeah, everyone on PPRUNE is lying..... Riiight... And forget about "seniority", just bid a range of trips and HOPE you get them??? What??? If you are senior, you should get the trips you want. Otherwise, why even bid? Someone in charge can just give you the trips, and hopefully you like them. That sounds horrible. At least at the US legacies you know where you stand each month, there is usually a "reasons" report on why you did or didn't get specific trips. If someone senior got it, the report states that, it's no mystery. Rosters are very important for pilots and their families. They should be transparent and fair. Senior people should get senior trips, and junior people should get junior trips. Very simple, and basic.

And I think ANYONE interested in the ME airlines should take a look at PPRUNE. But remember, 8SUGARSUGAR thinks everyone there are whiners.... Everyone to him is wrong...



Bye Bye---General Lee

 

[Whip Whitaker]

Thank you for your concern with our well being over here in Dubai GL, it's very touching.

 

[8sugarsugar]

well General Lee, it works for me. You can hate my bidding system all you want, but it works for me. I never had to sit reserve in Newark for 5 years.

As socialist as ALPA is, its funny you don't have a rotating system like Emirates where even the most senior bloke takes his turn for a reserve month. Share the wealth and pain brother.

 

[CX880]

As socialist as ALPA is, its funny you don't have a rotating system like Emirates where even the most senior bloke takes his turn for a reserve month. Share the wealth and pain brother.

Why would anyone do that?

 

[PBRstreetgang]

Why would anyone do that?

Why would you rim Hulas's goats?

 

[Golden Falcon]

well General Lee, it works for me. You can hate my bidding system all you want, but it works for me. I never had to sit reserve in Newark for 5 years.

As socialist as ALPA is, its funny you don't have a rotating system like Emirates where even the most senior bloke takes his turn for a reserve month. Share the wealth and pain brother.

20 years at EK or 20 years at DL...dont have to be a genius to make that choice...DL FO will be pulling more than the EK capt..and have a life as well...

 

[Father Jack]

I know some twenty year guys at Delta. They are all sitting in the right seat asking for wind checks. And I make more money than them.
As for quality of life, there are some guys that love The Sand Pit. Emirates has at least one ex Delta FO that is living his personal fantasy dream life.