Thursday July 30 2009

Families sharing villas in Dubai will defy an impending crackdown by municipal authorities against violation of a rule that restricts the use of one villa for a single household, UAE daily the National reported on Thursday.

In interviews the newspaper conducted with several families, many said they are prepared to pay heavy fines, or even suffer utility disconnection, in the one-family-one-villa campaign, which starts on Saturday, rather than vacate their homes.

“Some planned to keep their front doors locked to keep inspectors out and even use electricity generators to maintain their air-conditioning if the power is switched off,” the National reported.

Many expatriate families in the city prefer to share houses to cut their rent bill rather than lease a full unit.

Dubai Municipality said last week it will impose fines of up to 50,000 dirhams ($13,000) on tenants and landlords if villas are occupied by members of more than one family.

Director General Hussain Nasser Lootah said warned that violators of the one-family-one-villa rule could also face further legal action.

He said more than 5,000 households had been identified as violating the law in the city and municipality officials plan to target areas such as Jaffliya, Satwa, Jumeirah, Umm Suquiem, Al Barsha, Mirdiff and Al Rashidiya.

Source: Maktoob