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A number of Qatari nationals and residents have expressed concern over spiralling rents in the country and sought the intervention of the authorities concerned to curb this trend, local Arabic daily Arrayah has reported. |
Stating that real estate rates have increased to unprecedented levels, they point out that rents of residential properties at times account for as much as half of a person’s salary, the daily adds.
The annual rate of increase in prices of real estate property is 15% to 20% for residential properties and 30% to 35% for commercial ones, the report further notes.
Qataris and experts point out that the absence of a legally specified rate of increase in rents has encouraged building owners to hike rents, seeking to exploit the shortage of supply of housing and commercial units and without considering the hardship this causes to families and owners of small enterprises, according to the report.
Fatima al-Ghazal, a Qatari national, has said the rent for a flat with two bedrooms and a hall is QR6,000-7,000. For a three-bedroom flat, one has to pay QR8,000-9,000, she added, calling upon the competent authorities to intervene and solve the problem by controlling the market, the report adds.
Nassir al-Suwaidi, another citizen, suggested that the state should intervene to address this issue and develop new residential and commercial areas that would be available at reasonable rates. He added that large real estate companies have not solved this problem but escalated it through monopoly and control of prices, the report further states.
