Council counselled on coping with rent woes

The Executive Council will receive recommendations to help low to medium income people cope with rising rents.

The housing shortage and ensuing surge in rental prices in Abu Dhabi accounted for almost 60 per cent of last year's 10.8 per cent inflation in the emirate.
Powered by automated translation

The Abu Dhabi Executive Council will receive a series of recommendations to help low to medium income people in the emirate cope with rising rents. Butti Ahmed Mohamed bin Butti al Qubaisi, the assistant undersecretary of the Abu Dhabi Department of Planning and Economy (DPE), said his department would make the recommendations along with the study to the executive council in one to two weeks. "We are putting together a study and trying our best to give a good recommendation to the executive council," Mr Qubaisi said. "These recommendations will be about having a good solution and a good environment for people in the mid to low level income brackets."

Mr Qubaisi said the study would not recommend freezing rental prices but declined to specify any details. The housing shortage and ensuing surge in rental prices in Abu Dhabi accounted for almost 60 per cent of last year's 10.8 per cent inflation in the emirate. DPE's figures show that expatriates bear the brunt of rental increases and that the situation is presenting a problem for Abu Dhabi at a time when it is trying to attract talent here for its ambitious development plans.

Mr Qubaisi added the recommendations would seek to make Abu Dhabi a "welcoming place for people of all incomes". mjalili@thenational.ae