A poster of a bed space for rent in Dubai's Al Rigga area.
PHOTO BY EXPAT MEDIA
A bed space in Dubai for Dh10? It looks unreal but posters advertising this type of living arrangement have become common in Dubai’s Al Muraqqabat and Al Rigga areas.
But what is the truth behind these ultra-cheap rentals in Dubai?
When Expatmedia.net visited Al Muraqqabat on Friday (March 10), we spotted several such posters of Dh10 bed spaces for rent plastered on walls and sidewalks.
An Asian lodger for these ultra-cheap rental spaces said that the Dh10 bed spaces are aimed at bachelors.
“The payment is Dh10 per day, and this includes Wifi, water and electricity,” the man told Expatmedia.net, requesting anonymity. This means that a bed space will cost only Dh310 if a person rents it for 31 days. There are six to ten people sharing one room, he said.
There is no deposit fee and no contract, so the tenant can leave any time, he said. The rental arrangement, he says, is popular with jobseekers and bachelors earning minimum wage who can not afford to pay in advance.
Alam (full name withheld), a Bangladeshi expat in Dubai, said he prefers the daily rental because his salary as a technician fluctuates every month. He said the room is crowded, as expected, and sometimes the shared bathroom is dirty. “But better than sleeping on the street,” he said.
For women, bed spaces are available for as low as Dh600 per month. Renting a bed space in Dubai usually means sharing a room with six to ten people, and one apartment with 20 or more occupants.
For those who want more privacy, there are so-called “partitions”, or rooms that have been subdivided into smaller rooms with their own private door. The partitions have space for a small bed and cabinet. Sometimes, they are turned to “lofts” to maximize the space. These cost upwards of Dh1,000 in downtown areas.
With average rents in Dubai upwards of Dh51,000 for an unfurnished one-bedroom apartment in downtown areas, many residents are seeking cheap accommodation amid the rising cost of living.
In recent years, enterprising sublessors have even begun offering more affordable tenancy arrangements. “In the past, even bed spacers needed to pay a security deposit, but now most people are okay with ‘pay as you go’,” a long-time Dubai resident told Expatmedia.net. “If you don’t like your flatmates, you can leave the next month without losing money,” he said.
The “migration of tenants” often gets busy towards the end of every month. “You see a lot of movers and packers every last Friday of the month because these people will have money to move to new places closer to or during their payday,” he said.
In Dubai’s highly populous areas of Deira, Karama, Bur Dubai and Satwa, is not uncommon for apartments to be subdivided into multiple rooms, or rooms shared by multiple people. Each apartment will have one or two shared bathrooms for all occupants, a common kitchen and living room.
In the UAE, it is illegal to sublease an apartment or villa without the permission of the original landlord. Authorities are also cracking down on overcrowding in apartments and villas, citing health and safety concerns. ICA/Expat Media
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