Action likely against partitioning of villas
DOHA: The Ministry of Municipality and Urban Planning is likely to act against unauthorised construction and expansion done by landlords in villas and housing units that are offered for hire.
The practice of partitioning villas and constructing attached rooms to accommodate more tenants has become rampant in the country with a fall in the rents of big villas.
Despite the fact that many low- and middle-income families benefit from the relatively low rents of such shared residential units, the practice has become a means of exploitation for many greedy landlords and real estate agents who make easy money without caring to provide the required facilities to the tenants.
This has raised questions about the legality of the practice and why no action has been taken by the authorities so far to curb it.
Read on:
http://www.pen.com.qa/qatar/53457-action-likely-against-partitioning-of-...
britexpat,,,you are true that the government can't afford to take strong action against them because they are fed by government itself...do you remember who reduced the house rents and property value ??? it was government and they asked locals to do it... its a kingdom not a democratic country...so things can be forced...now this issue has been raised of vacant villas in government and thats why the government is planning to take action....the loans to build high rise towers was given by banks and supported by governemnt..now the return is not coming as expected...so its the government who fails to implement something,,the locals who take things in their hand and government supports then in what ever they do,,,expats always find a solution to the problem created by government and locals, ....so its a non-stop cycle :D
What happen to supply and demand? There are so many vacant properties that the prices should be coming down faster. That is how it works everywhere else. When the prices come down, they will get occupied, there are plenty of people here who would love a place of their own, but just can't afford the (in my honest opinion) artificially high prices. There is no one to blame here, but its time the landlords, corporate or individual, woke up smelt the coffee and realised that the demand is not there at the prices currently set.
landlords,tenants & even the authority played a role in this issue. Sad to say, I can see lots of expats will lose houses because of this & most of them are families.
It should either be, raise the salary, lower the rents or have this HDB in Qatar. I think Barwa started one in Mesaimer Housing for families. Like Singapore, they have high-rise buildings built for residents only. 1-flat=1 family.
they keep building villas whereas they can opt for a small flat or 1-bedroom or 2-bedroom units which is easier to be rented to expats.
Also since these villas were not designed to accommodate many people, even the water and electrical requirements (include the sewage and garbage accumulated) were source of problem not only to the tenants, but also to the surrounding community.
It's really a matter of planning and projection which the municipality or concerned government agency should regulate!
The houses are owned by Qataris. The government can't afford to take strong action against them, so has to tread carefully.
the more people stay here without family...the more worse it will get...the whole system,structure and government planning(i must say no planning at all) is wrong ,,,,i agree with britexpat that there is abuse on both sides...but i believe that the government is not able to maintain a balance and if things go like this then i think Qatar will have to think about the bid for 3022 :P instead of 2022
Many people rent the Villa and then partition it and lease it out to others. So, there is abuse on both sides..
Its not goin to help the landlords.. unless the rents comes down by a further 25%. all those parted villa portions are goin for 2000-3000 riyals, and they cant afford anything more than that and will left with no option than sending their family home.
Mauve I couldn't agree more. you are spot on.
there are thousands of vacant flats in and around doha built in anticipation of occupancy but most of them are lying vacant..
its expected that the state will do something like this to get the money back..
we can call them greedy, but this the remedial action for their improper planning and foresight..
Don't blame the landlords. Even with the prices of real estate dropping (especially for villas), still it's big enough to be burdened especially by low/medium income earning expats. W/ companies not giving enough accommodation allowances, the landlords are actually helping their own countrymen by giving cheaper rents compared to when they live in their accommodation or live in flats. There might be some who are greedy but I hope they won't generalize. Plus, the people who are renting in such partitioned villas are not being forced to live there. They do have the freedom of choice. All in all, the landlords are not to be blamed fully.
The result of statistics survey concluded recently. This was expected.
Following the footsteps of Dubai but a bit late this time.
LOL they are concerned about facilities to tenants???? LMAO..
Greedy people, just upset that so many villas are lying vacant with no tenants.