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29 March 2024

Abu Dhabi clamps down on 'shop houses'

The phenomenon of turning shops into houses has gained momentum over the past two years due to a sharp increase in Abu Dhabi's rents. (FILE)

Published
By Nadim Kawach

Abu Dhabi has launched a campaign to curb illegal practices by shop owners who turn their business places into housing to save payment for an apartment following a sharp rise in rents in the capital.

The Abu Dhabi Municipality launched the drive just before Ramadan and said it would gain momentum through the holy fasting month.

In a statement, the Municipality said its inspectors had raided many shops in various parts of the city and would cover all remaining parts, adding that the campaign targets small shops including groceries, laundries, garages, bakeries, hair dressing saloons, mobile phone shops and other small outlets.

“The campaign has resulted in the discovery of serious violations. In one shop, the inspectors found an entire family live in the attic of a small shop in an unsafe and unhealthy environment,” the statement said.

The campaign is the latest in a series of raids by Abu Dhabi authorities to end malpractices by residents and small businesses in the capital, including illegal residents, violations of copyrights, banned outdoor trading, business licence abuses,and the sale of banned products.

Several inspectors from the Municipality launched a three-hour raid on mobile phone shops on Defence Road in the city last week and uncovered massive abuses of the shops involving sale of items that violate copyrights law.

“We also found that many of them have made their shops as their homes… We found beds and wardrobes in one shop, we even found a cooker,” one inspector said. “They were all fined Dh3,000 each and given a notice that they could have their shops shut in case they repeat the offence.”

The phenomenon of turning shops into houses has gained momentum over the past two years because of a sharp increase in Abu Dhabi’s rents, which have more than doubled. Most of those small shop owners or workers earn far below the minimum monthly apartment rent while many landlords refuse to rent their flats to bachelors or a large group of people.

“I was fined Dh3,000 just because they found a bed in my shop,” said Mohammed Saleh, an owner of a mobile phone shop on Defence Road, the largest cellular phone market in the capital. “I told them I do not live here but I use the bed sometimes when I need a short break for dinner…they said no furniture is allowed in shops and decided to fine me and give me a warning.”