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Dubai landlords now asking for salary certificate

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Dubai landlords are demanding salary certificates from prospective tenants in a new move to ensure they earn enough to pay the rent, UAE weekly tabloid XPRESS reported on Thursday.

The situation is in sharp contrast to recent years when landlords tried to lure tenants by offering low rents and easy payments, the report said, adding, the new move has not gone down well with residents in the emirate.

"This is ridiculous," the newspaper quoted an Indian expat, Anil, as saying.

He snapped up an apartment deal, after becoming frustrated by a real estate agent  who asked for a salary certificate.

"I had nearly finalised an apartment in Dubai Marina when I got an e-mail from the property agent asking for my salary certificate. When I enquired, the agent told me the landlord wanted the certificate to make sure I had the paying capacity and this despite the fact that I was giving him a single cheque. I felt so humiliated, I decided not to go ahead with the deal,” XPRESS quoted Anil as saying.

PROPERTY MARKET BOOM


The recent upswing in the Dubai property market has seen landlords making increased demands. Landlords in Bur Dubai, Deira and Karama are asking existing tenants to pay an annual maintenance fee and separate charges for parking.

Another expat in Bur Dubai was told he could not allow his parents to share his two-bedroom flat.

“I was told it is not hygienic and that the apartment will be crowded if my parents live with me. I find this absurd, it is a two-bedroom apartment and we are just four people,” XPRESS quoted the expat as saying.

Farzana, a Pakistani expat, said: “In one building on Shaikh Zayed Road the landlord said he wanted two months’ cheque in addition to the security deposit. This, they told me, was to secure their rent in case the tenant fails to return after a vacation to his home country.”

Landlords have already started asking for single cheque payments in Marina and Palm Jumeirah, the report added.

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