Having staff accommodation that is the right fit for your employees and business is an essential aspect of your company’s growth and management. Considering your options and the contractual terms available in the market poses a complicated decision-making process for your business, so it is vital that you make the right decision.
With more than 14 years of experience in Dubai’s staff accommodation market, we’ve seen all the risks you may face during this process and have compiled a shortlist of the most important things to remember.
1. Ensure the property meets your specific living and legal requirements
Determine whether the property is suitable for your staff and offers the necessary amenities. There are strict Dubai Municipality rules around where you can house your staff and how many can live in a space.
Where can I house my staff?
It is required to house Labourers in industrial areas such as Al Quoz, Jabel Ali, Muhaisanah 2, DIP, etc. Other bachelors can share apartments in commercial areas such as Al Rigga and Muraqqabat. Families and non-sharing bachelors are allowed to live in a residential area.
How many staff can I house in a space?
A minimum of 40 square feet per person in one bedroom is required. For example, a room measuring 200 square feet can accommodate a maximum of five people.
Once you qualify a property against the above requirements, you consider the property’s offered amenities, such as a laundry room, clothes drying area, recreation room with facilities, dining room with proper seating arrangements, cooking facilities and having a sufficient number of toilets and bathrooms.
2. Only inspect a property if you’re in the market
As our time is valuable, only ask if you can inspect a property if you’re actually in the market for staff accommodation. Agents generally have a good sense for the needs of their customers. If you’re scouting with no real need, an agent will get a whiff of it the first time and may not entertain a future enquiry when you really want the property.
3. Maintain your accommodation well by setting a code of conduct
If you rent or plan to rent a whole camp, congratulations! As sole tenants, your employees can benefit from all the facilities available on the premises, and you can enforce your own code of conduct for the camp – this generally includes rules for security and cleanliness. A good code of conduct helps you maintain your camp well and which keeps your landlord, agent and employees, happy.
Stay tuned for Staff Accommodation Code of Conduct. You may subscribe to our newsletter for future updates.
4. Partial tenants may not incur all the benefits
If you rent only a few rooms from a complex, you may have to make do with the guidelines and activities of the dominant tenant. Your grievances may not get the same attention.
5. Only pay rent to the property owner
Always pay the rent in the name of the property owner and not in the name of the agent, brokerage firm or property management company. For this, you need to see the ownership documents of the property. Sometimes management companies may ask for the cheques to be issued in their name, and in which case, you must ask to see the original agreement between the landlord and the management company. The agreement should be valid until the end of your proposed tenancy contract agreement with the management company. It is also better to have the contact details of the landlord.
The danger is that if the Tenancy contract between the management company and the landlord expires before your tenancy contract with the management company the there is a likely hood that the landlord may ask you to move out.
6. Try to avoid your rent cheque in one payment
It may sound good as you can get a discount; however, things may change in the future in the event of a change in property ownership where the demands of the new owner may be different and undesirable.
It has also happened that the one payment cheque has been encashed by the management company and then closed shop and run away.
7. Accurately register your Ejari
Lastly, and most importantly, ensure you apply for Ejari registration with the agreed number of rooms or the whole property. You may check if the Ejari of a previous tenant of the property for validation. For those who don’t know, Ejari is the online registration system of tenancy contracts with Dubai’s Real Estate Regulatory Agency (RERA). It aims to legalise the relationship between landlords and tenants in Dubai.
If you don’t have an Ejari, then there is a possibility that the labour department will not process your labour requests.
Good luck in your search for the right staff accommodation! We hope these tips help. If you are in the market for staff accommodation or you are a landlord seeking good tenants, contact Peter at 050 698 6163.
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