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Any of these downthe back of the sofa?

There are some funny anomalies in Dubai: one of the most modern, forward thinking cities in the world, boasting the world’s tallest, biggest, best, first, la la la.  It’s also a place with no postal system, hideous driving and one of the most antiquated rental systems I have ever heard of. 

I may have mentioned this before, but it bears repeating: we pay our rent up front.  Worst case scenario, one year up front, best case scenario, three months up front (post-dated cheques, handed over when you sign your contract.) 

Non-Dubai dwellers stare at me incredulously when I explain this – it is true, honest.  There are some (lucky) ex-pats whose rent is paid by their employer – in which case – not so much of an issue. But if you’re forking out for this yourself, you find yourself in a monthly game of ‘don’t forget to save your rent money instead of spending it on wine’ so that you always have funds available. 

So how much cash are we talking here? Let’s just say you’re looking for a 3 bedroom villa on a modest (for Dubai) budget. IF you had to pay your rent in one lump, plus your rental agent fee (5% of total annual rent) plus your deposit (5% of annual rent), you’d be looking at……drum roll……30, 000 GBP. And this is, trust me, a modest budget. There will be people out there paying far, far more.

Never mind how you find that kind of moulah, there’s also the issue of: what if I want to move, how do I get the money back that I’ve paid? How do I have any kind of leverage if anything goes wrong with the property? More landlords are realizing that people just don’t have the funds to pay in one cheque any more (and why should they?)but not enough, in my opinion. Dubai, catch up with the rest of the world, please?