"Bed space available for Dh250 per month," screams a notice in bold print posted on a supermarket noticeboard. "Only Filipino bachelors welcome," it adds.
A person who was contacted by Emirates Today from an advertisement placed on a telephone booth in Al Rashidya area of Dubai said: "We offer bed space for Dh250 per month including electricity and water. For this money a person will also have access to a toilet, kitchen and washing machine which everybody will share." He said that the accommodation currently houses eight people in each room all men.
"I offer the room for men only, and we don't accept women at all. Also we offer it for Indians as all of us are Indians." Ayoob, a 45-year-old Keralite who has been living in Dubai for the past 20 years, is also offering bed space.
"I have bed space available for Asians at Dh425 per month including water and electricity. I work for a construction company in Dubai, and this room is part of the labour accommodation the company offers for workers. I have taken this room along with a few other rooms and have let them this is a side business for me." He said each room accommodates 10 people, who can share five double beds.
"The offer is for men only. The persons can bring their own small cupboards to keep their stuff." The Dh425 a month includes the use of a washing machine, but individuals have to cook for themselves.
Case in point
Mujeeb, a 25 year old Indian who rented bed space at one of these villas in Al Rashidya, said: "I work as a waiter at one of the restaurants. My salary is below Dh600 and thus I can't afford to rent an individual accommodation.
I rent bed space with three others who work with me and I pay about Dh250 per month. In this, we are paying for the bed space including water and electricity." Mujeeb added that it is not safe to keep his belongings and money at the villa where he lives.
"I carry my labour card and money with me all the time. I can't leave it at the accommodation as I don't have a cupboard. I keep my clothes in a bag, which I keep under my bed." Mujeeb shares the room with seven other men.
"We stay in a big traditional house, which has five large rooms and three toilets and one kitchen. In each room there are around eight men. Many fights happen between the men, but I don't get involved in all this."
He added that in the other houses, he knows some men who rent the bed space on an hourly basis. "My friends who have to work night shifts rent the bed space during the day to sleep.The situation is bad."
Municipality reaction
Engineer Marwan, head of the Building Control Department at Dubai Municipality, said: "Most cases of renting bed space takes place at residential areas. This is against the law, which says that bachelors are not allowed to live in residential areas. We conduct random checks to see these cases and if we find any we punish them." Marwan clarified that the municipality does not punish people for renting bed spaces.
"The other important thing is that we do not punish for renting bed space in these villas. We punish the owners if they add anything to the original building, which is not permitted by the municipality.
For example, if an owner adds an extra room or shelter or toilet at the original home, then we are going to punish them.The owner must get the permission from the municipality before making any additions." Hafeth Gholoum, who is employed with the Public Health Department at Dubai Municipality, said they are also involved in this issue.
"We work together with the Building Control Department of Dubai Municipality. This mainly happens in residential areas, as in many cases one person rents a large traditional villa and then rents bed spaces in that villa to many others on a monthly basis." Gholoum pointed out that the main problem with this is that it leads to many health problems in that area.
"There is a maximum capacity for each house. For example, if about 40 people live in a house that accommodates a maximum of 10 people, then this will lead to higher consumption of water and electricity, which will eventually lead to overflow of the drainage system. This can lead to pollution in that area and cause disturbance to the neighbours as well." He added that in case of renting these bed spaces to bachelors in residential areas, then the Building Control Department can punish the owners.
"The punishment will vary from disconnection of water and electricity to fine." He pointed out that the other important issue is that in these villas, the majority of the violations are related to additions to the villas.
"For example, they make extra kitchens in the house as well as extra toilets. We have come across many cases where they had built kitchens in the corridors of the villa and installed cooking gas cylinders and many other items. This is not permitted by the municipality, and thus the safety of these additions is not assured.
It can put the people living in that house at risk." He added that if the incident takes place in an apartment, they don't have the authority to enter the apartment and check it unless one of the neighbours complains to the department.
The way forward
Gholoum said several steps had to be taken to overcome this issue.
"There are more than 500,000 low-income workers living here, and these people cannot afford to pay high rents. For them, it is more convenient to rent bed space or sharing accommodation," he said.
Gholoum said the municipality must try to provide an alternative.
"Currently, these people are mainly living in the centre of the city. For them, it is much better as they can easily reach their workplace. These workers cannot also pay for the high costs of transportation."
By Muna Ahmad
© Emirates Today 2006
