Dubai: The spike in rents has left residents struggling to beat the costs, with some resorting to splitting apartments using partitions and sharing them.

Within the last year, the number of building violations for making changes to flats without gaining permits to do so from Dubai Municipality, such as constructing walls and separations, increased from 1,264 in 2012 to 2,590 in 2013.

“During our 40,000 field visit last year, municipal inspectors issued 29,676 technical reports and based on them, 4,804 notifications were sent to building owners who failed to abide with laws and regulations of our building system,” said Eng Marwan Abdulla Al Mohammad, acting director of the Building Department of Dubai Municipality.

The inspections are randomly conducted and not limited to when people complain of bachelors or families sharing flats. The fine is Dh10 per square feet (the minimum fine is Dh1,000 and the maximum is Dh50,000) with the person who gave away the spaces, either owner or tenant, responsible for the fine payment.

Al Mohammad pointed out that a total of 2,214 violations were also registered for making additions to buildings without the necessary permits.

“We cut the electricity services of 1,069 buildings that violated building rules, while 611 buildings had their electricity re-connected after the owners rectified the violations,” he explained.

Mohammad explained that it is necessary for the government and the community to join together to get of rid of all types of building violations. Anyone can report such violations by calling the municipality’s hotline: 800900.

Meanwhile, residents have explained that they have resorted to sharing accommodation and setting up partitions in apartments as a means to cope with the rising rents.

“In the last year, rents have been rising but salaries have not increased much. I cannot afford to look for my own place, and I do not want to get a credit card because that will mean more expenses. It is easier to share a place with friends than moving to another emirate,” said Hemed Mansour.

“I recently moved here and it was very difficult to find a reasonable place to live in, as all the affordable homes are already taken. Living in another emirate has not crossed my mind because I work in Dubai, and if I did, the cost of transportation would also be quite high because of all the traffic jams,” said Jenny Michaels.