Discussion
Afternoon chaps 
Got a question for you all!
A friend of mine is coming over having bagged a job in Abu Dhabi. He's on his own and he was asking me if he could move in with me and pay rent...and I told him that it's illegal, and two blokes living together might (unlikely but possible!) cause my Arabic neighbours to make a complaint etc.
I discussed it with some work colleagues, and one of them suggested instead he should rent a room from him and his wife who have a villa.
Leaving aside the fact that they would need to make the landlord aware, does anyone have any knowledge of the legal ins and outs of this situation, given that he's obviously not related to them but will be sharing a large house with them, but that they're a married couple?
Thanks all,
J.
Got a question for you all!
A friend of mine is coming over having bagged a job in Abu Dhabi. He's on his own and he was asking me if he could move in with me and pay rent...and I told him that it's illegal, and two blokes living together might (unlikely but possible!) cause my Arabic neighbours to make a complaint etc.
I discussed it with some work colleagues, and one of them suggested instead he should rent a room from him and his wife who have a villa.
Leaving aside the fact that they would need to make the landlord aware, does anyone have any knowledge of the legal ins and outs of this situation, given that he's obviously not related to them but will be sharing a large house with them, but that they're a married couple?
Thanks all,
J.
dxbtiger said:
I certainly wouldn't tell the landlord!
In that situation if ever questioned then it would be the wife's cousin who was staying with them
.In that situation if ever questioned then it would be the wife's cousin who was staying with them
I kind of agree...but it's a lie easily discovered if the police get involved and check IDs. I think they'd rather tell the truth if possible. My initial reaction was that, although I get the impression (and this is why I was hoping for some specific legal advice) it's technically illegal, I'd be surprised if anyone would be bothered/offended by it given that it's clearly not 2 or 3 young mixed gender Arab/Muslim singletons involved. And there's an obviously large age gap between my mate and the married couple. And that they could probably just carry on and not worry.
Edited by jezzaaa on Monday 17th October 12:35
Hitch78 said:
I believe that any form of subletting is illegal, regardless of the circumstances so I guess it comes down to how much he is paying!
Many things are illegal, but doubt you'd have a problem.Few of my mates lived together in AUH (guys) and never had an issue - just follow the usual rules, i.e. don't be a dick and you won't have a problem.
Thanks guys...it's all very confusing as to what the actual legalities are. There are numerous examples of co-habiting...look at the villas/apartments shared by loads of philippinos of both genders!!
I think Matt's advice is probably the thing to go with in the absence of solid facts. Cheers all
I think Matt's advice is probably the thing to go with in the absence of solid facts. Cheers all
shirt said:
people advertise flatshares on dubizzle, which is how i found my place. surely they wouldn't advertise something illegal? i thought it was just mixed sex cohabitation they didn't approve of.
I think, as Mattt says, these are technically illegal...but the landlords are all Emirati, so it's in their interests for the law to turn a blind eye. As long as noone draws attention of the authorities to it, I'm sure it's fine. And it also provides a mechanism for the landlord to get rid of his tenants early if he needs to...I gather this used to go on when the rent prices were booming, in order to get the landlord out of being resticted to annual 5% max rent increases!!Gassing Station | Middle East | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff