Utility lines can be cut if you sublet Sharjah villas
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sharjah — Those who sublet residential units illegally will face hefty fines and utility services to these houses will be snapped, the Sharjah Municipality has warned, as it stepped up its crackdown on overcrowded villas and apartments.
The municipality is also working on a strategic plan to employ technology to monitor such offenders without affecting the privacy of any individual.
During a recent inspection, the civic body has cut water and power connections of 50 houses over- crowded with tenants — bachelors and families — in areas including Al Nasiriyah, Mysaloon, Al Nab- bah, Al Nahda and Al Majaz, said Khalifah Bu Ghanem Al Suwaidi, director of the inspection operation department at the Sharjah Municipality.
Salim Al Thabit Al Turaifi, director-general of the Sharjah Municipality, said that such illegal practices could cause fire accidents, spread diseases and affect the safety and security of the families. He added that many people have been caught violating the housing rules.
The crowding of tenants in one residential unit is a serious breach of law, the official said.
The municipality is also working on spreading awareness among residents to educate them about
the dangers of such violation and dissuade them from practicing it.
Al Suwaidi stressed that the civic body will continue its inspection campaigns until the city is completely free of all violations of the housing system. He added that the municipality “takes complaints about housing violation seriously”.
The inspectors would issue a warning to the violators to rectify their situation within a specified period. In case of the continued
breach, the municipality would disconnect utilities and also take legal action, he pointed out.
“Overcrowding in a residential unit is prohibited and municipality would also not tolerate those who rent bed spaces on shift basis,” said Al Suwaidi. He urged the public to report illegal accommodation of bachelors in residential areas by calling 993 or through the app ‘We are all Municipality’.