Row over paying rent - landlord wants a lump sum, tenants want a break
On the letter ‘Move into the 21st century and let us pay our rents monthly’ (Feb 13), I suppose if we paid our rents weekly we will move into the 22nd century...
...and if we paid our rents daily we will move into the distant future.
Seriously, you get the best deal if you pay yearly. If you pay in four cheques there is a cost and, make no mistake, your landlord will charge you higher than the bank to provide this service.
-
Do you agree or disagree?Send your letter to letters@7days.ae
And is it convenient to pay monthly for both parties?
Do you really want to see the face of your landlord every month?
Happy landlord, Dubai
Lawrence is absolutely right - none of us get our salaries paid a year in advance in one cheque, so why should landlords expect to be handed such huge lump sums?
The one-cheque system might have made sense years ago when a beachside villa in Jumeirah could be had for 60k a year but things have changed dramatically.
Despite what landlords may believe, not all expats in Dubai have their rent paid by their company, in fact the majority now probably don’t. Bank loans are not the answer - not only do they increase the cost of the rent due to the interest but why should anybody have to get into debt in order to pay their rent?
Outside the UAE, it would actually be impossible to get a bank loan to pay rent.
Abolishing the one-cheque system would give some much-needed leverage to tenants. At the moment, too many landlords disappear as soon as they’ve cashed the ignore all requests for maintenance.
Jazz Whyman, Springs
4 Comments
by Chocs01
Thursday, February 14 2013, 11:36AM
“Happy Landlord, and why exactly would you need to see your LL every month? Have you never heard of post-dated cheques, or bank transfers? Maybe you need to come into the 21st century and FYI I thought according to RERA charging extra for extra cheques is not actually allowed!
People are paid monthly - paying for other things like car loans, personal loans etc are monthly, it is the global standard, not one full year up front - not many people can afford that. It's just greed and nothing else.”
by ExpatEddie
Thursday, February 14 2013, 10:29AM
“You only 'get the best deal' for paying yearly cause that's the system we have in place now. Monthly rent in furnished apartments cost a bomb is you multiplied it by 12 months but that's not the point. It shouldn't be like that.
Monthly payments should be the norm. Month notice to move out, clauses to break the lease just like everywhere else”
by 7day_itch
Thursday, February 14 2013, 10:18AM
“Happy Landlord, no wonder you are happy. But can't you see the whole issue is because you charge more if I try to pay in installments? And of course we don't have to see your face everytime we pay .. we could always hand over the cheque to the security, as simple as that.”
by Jazz16
Thursday, February 14 2013, 9:03AM
“Happy Landlord, you're missing the entire point here - we might get "the best deal" if we pay yearly, but many many people in Dubai, even well-paid ones, cannot afford to come up with a year's rent in one lump sum. Very few people anywhere in the world can, which is one of the reasons why rent paid monthly is the global standard.
People are paid their salaries monthly, therefore they pay rent monthly. Very few people are able to come up with the cash to pay a year's rent without having someone else give it to them. It used to be that companies covered employee rent as a matter of course, but this is not the case any more. Companies that pay staff rent have become the exception rather than the rule, placing the burden onto the tenant. This causes real stress and anxiety for many people who would have no such problems if they could just pay rent monthly - like they would do anywhere else in the world.”