Sharjah government urges property owners to delay rents for tenants

Landlords must reschedule payments for residential and commercial customers, says SCCI

The Sharjah government on Tuesday said it is taking measures to help businesses affected by the coronavirus pandemic. Reem Mohammed / The National 

The Sharjah Chamber of Commerce & Industry has called on residential and commercial property owners to delay rent payments for tenants affected by Covid-19.

The SCCI said landlords must adopt “the same approach” as the Sharjah government by rescheduling payments for those impacted by the crisis.

“Such procedures would help enable tenants and business owners to maintain their businesses, in light of the global economic consequences due to the Covid-19 pandemic,” the SCCI said in a virtual meeting.

The meeting also examined options such as rescheduling rent payments, applying exemptions in specific cases and collecting payments online.

"Property owners should participate in government initiatives aimed at reviving the economy, since cooperation and solidarity between all community members are the only ways to sustain businesses and get through this critical stage," said Saeed Ghanem Al Suwaidi, chairman of the Representative Committee of the Real Estate Sector Business Group, which is part of the SCCI.

Last month Sharjah Asset Management, the investment arm of the Sharjah Government, said it would waive commercial rents for all tenants of Haraj and Jubil markets for three months.

Meanwhile, residential tenants living in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, who are struggling to pay their rent during the coronavirus pandemic, are exempt from eviction after the government issued new directives to protect them.

In Dubai, Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai and Chairman of the Dubai Judicial Council, temporarily suspended all eviction judgements related to residential and commercial facilities in the emirate during March and April, according to the Dubai Media Office. The directive also stopped all "imprisonment judgements" linked to rental disputes.

In Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, ordered the Abu Dhabi Judicial Department to halt all rental property eviction cases currently in process.