The building in Muhaisnah 4 had suffered structural damage last week and has been sealed off as authorities conduct investigations
For the last few days, Mohamed hasn’t had the feeling of home. He was one of the residents of the tower in Muhaisnah 4 that were evacuated after the building suffered structural damage.
“You know that feeling of going back home after a long day and the feeling of security and peace envelopes you? I haven’t had that feeling for several days now,” he said, speaking to Khaleej Times. He and his family have been relocated to a hotel apartment in Al Nahda. “We don’t have a home now. We just have a house and a whole lot of stress.”
Tenants of the 108 apartments in Al Kashir Building in Muhaisna 4 were evacuated on Friday after damage occurred to the structure of the building. The building has been sealed and authorities are on scene to investigate.
“At this point, there is no clear indication as to how long the investigation will take, when people will be allowed to return to their homes for more than 10 minutes, and whether the building is in good enough condition for people to continue living there.” No,” Mohammed said. “We are in a really uncertain situation. We are trying not to panic by living one day at a time.
Looking for a new home
Mohamed is in Muhaisna and Al I was looking for an apartment around Nahda. However, each time, the landlord turned us down because there were no vacant apartments, even though they knew there were vacant apartments in the building. “You know there are over 100 families that are in need of housing,” he said.
“They are gambling and waiting for the right time to hand over the apartment to the highest bidder. It is sad that these people are not aware of our plight.” I was looking for another apartment until the evening,” she said. “But most of the buildings are occupied and the vacant apartments are charging exorbitant prices. They know there are a lot of desperate families right now.
By Mr. Mohammed And hotel apartments in the area have also increased their prices.” “They know we are in trouble, so they will rent apartments even if they raise the prices,” he says. “This was the last thing we expected as we suffered losses due to the rain,”
five-day stay
In an email seen by Khaleej Times, the property, which manages the building’s tenants, said: The company promised to refund his five-day stay. Stay. Those staying in one-bedroom apartments will receive AED 500 per day, while those staying in two-bedroom apartments will receive AED 1,000 per day in cash compensation, which is not included in the “original” amount of the stay. Submission of proof documents is a condition.
During these five days, “tenants must decide whether or not they will continue to live in the building.” According to the email, tenants who “want to continue living in the apartment after the formal permission is given” can freeze the rent and return to the apartment “until the date of the formal permission to return to the apartment.” For them, “the rental contract will be extended by the number of days that the tenant is no longer able to live in the apartment.”
Those who want to terminate the contract can make the decision by Wednesday, April 25, and must notify the same. The real estate company will communicate in “writing.” Prepaid rent will be refunded “from April 24, 2024, following the handover of vacant possession of the apartment, together with the final bill and gas bill, in accordance with the terms of the rental contract.”
However, it is not clear if or when the building will be granted the necessary approvals for tenants to continue living in it. According to some of the residents, the building continues to be cordoned off, with limited access being provided to them.
Challenges
There are several challenges and uncertainties awaiting the tenants. “Even if we do manage to find a new home, we have nothing with us to move in,” said Mohammed. “Our furniture and other belongings are still in the building. So far, we have only been allowed 10 minutes on two occasions to go back into the house and retrieve some of our things. We have no idea when we will get the okay to stay for longer and move out everything we need.”
Nawal said that her worry is about her children. “So far, they have had online or hybrid learning,” she said. “I have not been able to retrieve their books because when we are given just ten minutes to take whatever is needed, we are thinking documents, essential items and clothes. We were not thinking of school and books.”
According to the residents, they were allotted 10 minutes each on two separate days to go into their apartment and pack a suitcase. Each time they were accompanied by a security staff, who waited outside and signaled to them when their prescribed time was over.