Finding somewhere to live - update

This morning I re-read the post about housing I had written in March and wondered how things could have changed so quickly in such a short space of time.

At the moment, anything under Dhs100,000 won't get you very much if anything at all in the capital city. In March, Dhs200,000 or Dhs250,000 might have secured you a nice villa in Khalifa City, Khalidiya Villas or Mangrove Village. Now you will be offered a 2-bed apartment on the outskirts of the city in an area such as Manasir for the same price, and last week an agent was offering a small 2-bed apartment in the city for Dhs200,000, but without windows in the living room! Without a doubt the situation has reached a point where people may have to think twice about coming to Abu Dhabi if their company does not provide housing.

Some families have left in the last couple of months because they can neither find suitable accommodation nor school places for their children. Many resort to renting government housing outside the city in areas such as Shahama, Rahba, Bahia, Bani Yas, Shawamek etc. These houses may be cheap but it is also illegal to rent them and the tenants can be evicted by the Municipality without any recourse to justice. Some landlords have also started dividing villas, making either 2 villas out of one or making apartments out of the three floors of a villa. This is also illegal unless special written permission is given by the Municipality and tenants once again have no recourse to justice if they are asked to vacate those villas/apartments.

So, what are the options? For those considering contracts in Abu Dhabi at the moment, the best solution would be to put pressure on companies to provide housing, not an allowance. Giving allowances has led to this problem, as many companies will pay huge allowances to secure the most qualified and skilled people for their projects - usually in the fields of oil, finance or construction. It is the landlord's market and many are doubling their rents as soon as tenants vacate. Failing that, a company usually provides a month in a hotel apartment or company villa while the new employee has time to search for suitable accommodation. How adequate this timeframe is will totally depend on the housing allowance given to you, or the amount you are prepared to add towards your allowance to ensure you get a place to live.

It is not a pretty picture at the moment for those looking for accommodation in Abu Dhabi. Some people are lucky; they are in the right place at the right time or their companies give them huge housing allowances. But for most people the search can take weeks or sometimes months, and depending on the number of boxes you want to tick in your personal wish-list, it could take longer.