Maktoum decree on housing hailed

DUBAI - To provide adequate housing to each family in Dubai and to ensure social stability and prosperity, His Highness Shaikh Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, has recently issued a decree that extends by another five years, the time limit offered to UAE nationals to build houses on the residential plots of land that have been distributed by the government in various parts of the emirate.

by

Amira Agarib

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Published: Sat 17 Jul 2004, 11:47 AM

Last updated: Thu 2 Apr 2015, 1:47 PM

The decree has come into effect from July 14. The decision came as a relief to many UAE nationals who were facing problems meeting the earlier deadlines for utilising the lands donated to them, and thus were risking losing them.

In an interview with Khaleej Times Abdullah Shatir, Head of Corporate Section at Emirates Islamic Bank said that the gesture materialised Shaikh Maktoum's keenness to provide the UAE citizens with a secure future and comfortable life.

"The aim of this grace period is to satisfy the needs of specific segments of Dubai residents with a low income. The nationals with government housing grants who seek financing will also find time to select the best financial scheme which is tailored to suit different income brackets at a low rate of interest with a repayment period of 12 to 25 years. In this way, youth may also find time to build their houses from their own saving," he said.

Ahmed Nasir Lootah, owner of a real-estate office, said, "This step reflects Shaikh Maktoum's deep commitment to ensure that UAE nationals are living a healthy life. The decision has given relief to citizens because many of them had expected that the allotment would be cancelled. He also said that several people visited real estate offices to rent out their houses so as to pay off bank instalments and also to look for cheaper flats.

Khalid Mubarak Al Jafla, owner of Mubarak and Sons, said that the decision came at the right time because it was not easy for UAE nationals to build their own dream homes within five years. "The extension will mainly assist people who depend on their salaries," he said. He also urged the authorities concerned to consider increasing the amount of housing loans and grants.

Mohammed Issa, owner of Mohammed Issa Contracting Company, believes that Shaikh Maktoum's decree would decrease the prices of building materials. He also urged the government to intervene to protect the construction sector and to fix the prices of cement manufactured by local companies as the price of a cement bag exceeded Dh25 during the last few weeks. "The sudden price hike of essential building materials is making it difficult to build houses. The minimum construction cost is Dh1, 000,000," he added.

He also stressed that the decision of the UAE Contractors Association to establish a company that could supply building materials and cement directly to contractors without going to brokers or through the black market will also assist the citizens.

Mohammed Qias, an employee at the Dubai Islamic Bank, said he was pleased by Shaikh Maktoum's decision. He urged the government to cooperate with banks to provide special housing programmes with affordable instalments and to speed up the approval of housing grants applications in order to enable 7,000 people to build their homes as soon as possible.

Majid Ajeel, Head of Real Estate Transaction Section at Dubai Land Department, hailed the decision. "The gesture will help the youth to construct their houses as building materials have increased by 50 per cent and they need time to secure the required loans," he said.

Fatima Abdullah Al Hashimi said that the decision will solve a lot of social problems caused by loans and will also help in achieving social stability among families who do not have houses and live in apartments.

Abdullah Abdullah Rahma, a former editor of Al Ittihad newspaper said: "I was pleased by the decision because I had applied for land in 1982 and was granted one plot four years ago. I was unable to carry out any construction project on it due to bank obligations and market conditions. "

"We were warned by Zayed Housing Programme last year and I was forced to change the construction plans," he said, adding that many people were forced to build low cost houses because all feared that they could lose the land when the costs reached Dh1, 000,000.


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