RERA plans rental index for schools

source Arabian Business

A rental index for schools and education centres is to be set up, it has been announced.

Dubai’s Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA) and the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) will jointly develop the index, aimed at providing benchmark rental prices for public and private educational buildings in the emirate.

It is hoped the index will erase irregularities in pricing and prevent unjustified hikes in rent.

Related: Ban 'unsatisfactory' schools from fee hikes - poll

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“At present rents for adjacent schools can vary significantly, which in the case of private schools has a knock-on effect on the level of tuition fees. The new scheme, which will involve the development of long-term rental contracts, is intended to smooth out such disparities and inconsistencies,” the KHDA, the Dubai government’s education department, said in a statement on Monday.

The index will cover universities and training institutions as well as schools.

Just over 70 percent of schools, or 103 out of 144, currently have rental agreements in Dubai.

RERA also has a residential housing rental index. It was first issued in January and was updated at the end of April.

Property rental index to start early next year

source Arabian Business

A property index that will recommend rents for different types of homes in areas across Dubai has moved a step closer.

The Real Estate Regulatory Authority (Rera) has completed the formula that will define rent structures and is preparing to launch the index at the beginning of next year.

"The index will stop landlords exaggerating and increasing rents," Mohammed Khalifa bin Hamad, director of Owners' Relationship Management Department in Rera, told Emirates Business on Tuesday.
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"Rera has defined the average annual rents for studios, one, two and three-bedroom apartments and compound and single villas."

However the scheme will not be legally binding and is designed to act as an indicator for landlords that shows the fair rent rate for each unit in each building or compound.

Bin Hamad said the move would create transparency over rent rates for each area and would will help investors to prepare their strategies.