Middle Income Rental Housing Policy
Abu Dhabi is building an ambitious, global capital city for the
United Arab Emirates. The UPC considers the provision of quality
affordable housing is an important component in the long term
strategic development of Abu Dhabi and the creation of a world
class emirate. Affordable housing is a necessity that improves
livability and economic efficiency and creates a sense of place for
residents.
Middle Income Rental Housing in Developer Led Planned
Developments
To ensure the delivery of affordable housing to middle income
earners, the UPC is implementing a policy to secure a supply of
middle income rental housing. The policy requires 20% of the
residential gross floor area (GFA) in multi-unit residential
buildings within developer led planned developments to be developed
and managed as middle income rental housing.
This policy supports the high level objective in Abu Dhabi Plan
2030 of developing "a range of housing types and an adequate supply
of affordable housing to meet the needs of Abu Dhabi's diverse
population and lifestyles". The UPC is committed to working with
developers to achieve the goals of this policy through flexible and
innovative solutions.
The key policy requirements are presented in this document along
with explanation of the implementation of middle income rental
housing through the UPC development review process.
Key Policy Components
The key components of the Policy are as follows:
- rental prices are set at between 25,200 to 88,200 AED per annum
which is approximately 35% of total annual household income;
- income levels will be reviewed and rental prices will be
indexed on an annual basis;
- units will be rented for a minimum period of 10 years;
- the policy only applies to the GFA of multi-unit residential
buildings within a development, it does not apply to the component
of a development that consists of single family structures
(townhomes and villas);
- the developer will determine the distribution of units within a
development; o units can be distributed within buildings or located
within a purpose built building; and
- middle income rental housing will be required to be provided in
all stages of development, or if a purpose built building is
proposed, during the early stages of development.
The characteristics of middle income rental
Middle Income Rental Housing Brochure
Middle Income Rental Housing Development Review Forms