By Noimot Olayiwola/Staff Reporter
in an alarming trend, low- and middle- income residents are increasingly falling prey to ‘misleading’ real estate advertisements, inquiries by Gulf Times have revealed.
These advertisements offer flats with ample parking space, furniture, household appliances as well as with other amenities such as gym, swimming pool, children’s playground among others. What lures people the most are the relatively low rents mentioned in the advertisements and attractive deals such as zero payment for a few months.
However, what transpires after that leaves many people with a bitter taste in their mouth.
Not able to afford the high rents demanded by landlords and agents for properties within Doha, many residents decide to shift to townships outside the capital after coming across such advertisements.
One of the most common ploys used by agents is to offer flats for 16 or 18 months, with the tenant not required to pay the rent for a specified number of months. However, what they do not make clear right at the onset is that the same offer will not apply once the deal is renewed after the said period. This can spring unpleasant surprises for the tenant at the end of the period.
For example, the rent could be QR5,000 a month but the agent might offer a six-month no-payment scheme. The actual rent then works out to around QR3,330 for an 18-month deal. Often, tenants are under the impression that the same arrangement will be repeated when the deal is renewed. But that does not happen. As the agent keeps the tenant in the dark about the fine print, the latter has to either pay more or is forced to look for cheaper options after 18 months.
Inquiries showed that a prominent housing agent in Doha attracts potential customers by offering them two options for a 16-month tenancy deal: stay for free for the first three months or start paying immediately but at a reduced rate. The amount is fixed in such a way that the total rent for the 16 months remains the same.
The option of reduced rent is not extendable beyond the initial 16-month period. “I was shocked to learn that I had to pay QR5,000, instead of the reduced rent of QR3,750, for a two-bedroom flat when I was about to renew my agreement,” an affected expatriate recalled.
Sources said another issue expatriates faced was that of housing agents not returning cash deposits on flimsy grounds.
The expatriate said his agent did not return the cash deposit of QR5,000 in full. “I was in for a rude shock when the agent said he would have to deduct a sum to get new mattresses, pillows and other trivial things. I ended up getting only QR3,100 back,” he rued.
Middlemen, too, are taking people for a ride. They lure tenants by posting a particular amount as rent in online advertisements, only to reveal later that the sum is actually higher.
One such middleman said this was just a ploy to attract potential customers to his properties, which he said were “usually irresistible”. He also claimed that many tenants did not mind paying the difference due to the quality of the property.
However, an expatriate looking for a suitable accommodation for his small family had a different story to tell.
“My wife and I decided to take the apartment by making a deposit of QR1,000. I asked for a receipt, which the man agreed to give. I took the paper without paying much attention to the details. However, when I reached home, I discovered that my so-called landlord had written QR3,000 as rent instead of the QR2,700 advertised for the two-bedroom apartment in Madinat Khalifa,” he recalled.
The expatriate explained how the deal fell through as the man insisted on the higher rent: “I liked the place a lot, but was put off by the man’s attitude. So, I took the deposit back. Interestingly, he immediately posted an advertisement for the same apartment online, mentioning the same initial amount, but with a different phone number.”