Sharjah, April 06: The number of complaints regarding rent disputes being filed at the Sharjah Municipality has dropped significantly due to the decline in rents in the country in general and the emirate in particular.
A top official at the municipality said the number of rent disputes adjudicated by the municipality’s rent dispute settlement committee in the first quarter of 2010 was 2,627, as compared to 4,704 in the same period last year and 5,689 in 2009.
The municipality’s keenness to ensure the rights of both the landlords and tenants in accordance with the laws issued in this regard has also contributed a great deal to the decline, the official, who did not want to be named, said. She pointed out that the number of cases of evacuation this year has not exceeded 10 per cent of the total cases filed.
Most of the complaints were regarding not doing maintenance works, especially plastering and painting of walls.
The municipality has already notified the owners to do maintenance works in their buildings that have not undergone maintenance for years.
The official added that the demolition section at the municipality has drawn up a plan, dividing the city into sectors to facilitate inspection of the old buildings.
The inspectors would pay inspection visits to all buildings and make it compulsory for the owners to do the maintenance works such as painting, installing glass panes and cleaning the walls and floors.
Sulafa Khalifa, a housewife who lives in Al Qasimiya, said: “We fear that the slogan (Smile You are in Sharjah) has lost its meaning in the light of buildings which are not clean and the accumulation of waste in prime districts of the city.”
Another resident, Hamid Saeed, there are dozens of newly built buildings, but the old ones distort the appearance of the city because of negligence. He urged the municipality to monitor the maintenance works done both on the outer walls and inside the buildings.
Sawsan Hakim said most of the tenants are moving from old buildings to new and cheaper ones. Most of the old buildings that need maintenance remain empty now.
Muaaz Jalil said the rents are expected to drop further following the decision of the President, His Highness Shaikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, to provide power connection to all newly constructed buildings that are waiting in the queue for three to five years.
–Agencies–