Emergency evacuations expose grey area for tenants’ rights

An emergency evacuation of two Abu Dhabi tower blocks on the same day has prompted calls for greater clarity over tenants’ rights.

More than 400 residents of the two high-rises were ordered to leave their homes after reports of strange vibrations in one of the buildings last month.

Many of those forced to go were put up in temporary accommodation for up to 20 days, as authorities ruled that one of the towers was unsafe and should be demolished.

Emirates Red Crescent, Civil Defence, the building manager and Abu Dhabi Municipality provided the temporary accommodation for residents but many others left without being given any assistance.

“Tenants have rights but it can be unclear what happens if an evacuation is necessary,” said Khalfan Al Remeithi, Abu Dhabi branch manager of the Red Crescent.

The evacuations occurred on August 11 in Al Zahiyah. A nearby mosque was also evacuated over concerns that the high-rises might collapse on top of it.

Families and tenants affected were sent to hotels across the city, paid for initially by the Red Crescent. Since then, officials have made the decision to demolish the smaller 13-storey tower while allowing residents back into the second, 19-storey building after declaring it safe.

Mohammed Hamsa, 62, and his son Mubeen, 25, from Kerala, described having to leave

the 13-storey block at short notice.

They had one month remaining on their rental contract and the building’s management company has agreed to repay the money and help them to find new accommodation.

“We were told to leave quickly and we took our passports, clothes and whatever else we could,” Mubeen said. “Some people were crying in the street. It felt very bad and very sad.”

Nearby hotels including the Cristal Hotel, Executive Suites and Al Diar Hotels took in many of those forced to abandon their apartments.

The Cristal Hotel took in 100 people, filling 48 rooms.

“Some came without wallets and IDs and some families had four or five children,” said Antony Tadros, the hotel’s business development manager.

“It was handled with care because many were scared and they’d left in a rush.”

Issam Kassem, the building’s manager, said he was forced to shelve his plans to travel for Eid to help deal with the crisis. “I had to call 78 families personally,” he said. “It was difficult.”

Despite many of the residents of the two blocks being well looked after, there are fears others were not so lucky. Some of those living in the now partly demolished block are understood to have been single men who paid their rent monthly, and who have since moved on without trace.

Whether they sought or were offered any form of compensation for the sudden loss of their homes is still not clear.

Jonathan Rawling, chief financial officer of insurance comparison site YallaCompare, yesterday called for greater clarity in laws dealing with tenants’ rights.

Mr Rawling said many landlords failed to take out cover to protect themselves against an order for a building to be demolished and he urged tenants to consider buying policies.

He said landlords should not be able to argue that the demolition of a building due to degradation was outside their control and that they were therefore under no obligation to compensate tenants.

“If it was an earthquake, maybe,” Mr Rawling said. “But if it’s

We were told to leave quickly and we took our passports, clothes and whatever else we could. Some people were crying in the street MUBEEN HAMSA Tenant of Abu Dhabi tower block being demolished

something that’s happened through the deterioration of the building then I don’t see how you could make a case to avoid it.

“A survey that we conducted in April suggested that only 11 per cent of people in the UAE have home contents cover. It’s nice to say the landlord should give rent back and if it’s a corporation with 1,000 apartments, then maybe they have ready cash.

“But if you are renting from an individual it could be hard. You’ll get it eventually but you are on hold for a few months.”

In recent months, municipality chiefs across Abu Dhabi have increased efforts to target property owners who do not maintain the appearance of their buildings.

Proprietors have been given until the end of 2018 to comply with uncompromising rules on “preventive maintenance”, which include ensuring appearance is well maintained and meets safety regulations.

Over the past three years, 376 buildings across the UAE have been served with offence notices after falling short of building laws.