Abu Dhabi housing violation crackdown: More than 3 men in one room 'illegal'

Abu Dhabi authorities have launched a fresh campaign to curb housing violations involving landlords allowing more than three bachelor men to live in one room and families renting out part of their property.

The campaign also targets villas housing many families but are not recorded in the newly-created property registration section at the Abu Dhabi Municipality.

The Municipality said its inspectors would start raiding suspected housing units in the city and outskirts, including the new Khalifa and Mohammed bin Zayed cities near the Abu Dhabi international airport, around 25 km from the capital.

In a statement published in local Arabic language newspapers, the Municipality gave landlords and bachelor tenants 15 days to adjust to the new rules or evict the unit. It also gave a one-month deadline for violating families.

In villas, housing units must not be below 14 square metres per one tenant while a maximum three men are allowed in one room in buildings, it said, adding that the rules strictly ban the renting of rooms and corridors to other people by existing tenants.

“In case of families, a housing unit must be assigned for one family whether it is located in a villa or a building…families who live in one unit are not allowed to rent out property to other people except their children up to 18 years old and close relatives as well as housemaids provided they abide by the rules related to the room’s area,” it said.

In its first warning early last year, the Municipality told landlords they are allowed to rent their property to bachelors provided a maximum three men are allowed in one room, warning that violators would be deprived of most government services.

It said bachelor tenants living in one room in an Abu Dhabi apartment would not be granted attestation for their rent contract if they are more than three.

“The Municipality has started to conduct extensive campaigns to inspect apartments housing bachelor men in the emirate to ensure that they comply with the decision allowing a maximum three men to live in one room,” it said.

“The Municipality will accept any leasing document for attestation provided they respect that decision in line with the 2011 law governing accommodation units.”

Regarding villas, it said they are all governed by one tenancy contract as a single housing unit, adding that they cannot be divided into separate units for many tenants.

The statement said violators would be fined between Dh10,000 and Dh100,000 for the first offence and Dh100,000-200,000 for the second offence.

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