Dubai orders freeze on rents of educational institutions for a year

The rents of educational institutions in Dubai will be capped for the academic year 2018-2019, it was announced on Sunday.

The initiative was announced by the Knowledge Fund in Dubai – the government entity that regulates work environment of the education sector.

The move is aimed at supporting the educational institutions and reducing their operational costs, the Fund’s CEO Hesham Khalifa Al Qaizi said.

“This initiative reflects the efforts of the Knowledge Fund to support the development of the education sector and encourage investment in education. The initiative will freeze any rental increase due from the next academic year 2018-2019 for all its investors who are subject to contract renewal,” he said.

“The revision of the rent value and any subsequent increase, if applicable, will be postponed until after the specified period,” he added.

The move comes after Dubai ordered a freeze on fee increases at private schools for the academic year 2018-2019.

Read more: Dubai freezes private school fees for 2018-2019

The decision was revealed in June by the Dubai Executive Council, as part of other recommendations designed to boost the economy and reduce costs.

Other measures approved included the slashing of market fees imposed by Dubai Municipality from 5 per cent to 2.5 per cent, the scrapping of 19 fees related to the aviation industry to attract Dhs1bn ($272.2m) of foreign investment and the waiving of a 4 per cent late payment fee on property registration for 60 days.

Earlier in the year, it was announced that government fees would not be increased for the next three years as businesses in the country absorb higher costs linked to the introduction of a 5 per cent value added tax.

Read more: Dubai says won’t raise government fees for three years

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Meanwhile Dubai has also slashed the municipality fee on sales at hotels and restaurants to 7 per cent from 10 per cent, in a bid to make the emirate more tourist-friendly.