Authorities sign deal to develop rental index for education centres.

Byline: Staff Report

Dubai: A rental index for schools and other education centres in Dubai is to be developed, and it is expected to keep spiralling school tuition fees under check.

An agreement has been signed by the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) and the Real Estate Regulatory Authority (Rera) to the effect.

The agreement aims to develop a unified index that will establish appropriate levels of rent for different areas with a view to achieving stability in the rental market for public, as well as private, educational buildings.

At present, rents for adjacent schools can vary significantly, which in the case of private schools has a knock-on effect on the level of tuition fees. The new scheme, which will involve the development of long-term rental contracts, is intended to smooth out such disparities and inconsistencies.

The agreement covers universities and training institutions as well as schools. According to official statistics, 72 per cent of the total number of private schools in Dubai have rental agreements, which is 103 out of 144 schools.

"Developing a unified rental index is part of a comprehensive system," said Dr Abdullah Al Karam, Chairman of the Board of Directors and Director General of the KHDA. "The scheme aims to define the prices of educational services among various education providers, attracting investment in education to Dubai and enhancing quality in all areas within schools, from the educational to the administrative levels."

Rera is part of the Dubai Land Department, whose Director General, Sultan Bin Butti Bin Mejren, said, "This agreement with the Knowledge and Human Development Authority aims at enhancing the role of the Land Department in the registration of educational facilities including properties and rent contracts, through utilising an extremely transparent approach in defining the rent index for the rents of those facilities. This paves the way for all related parties to develop long-term rent contracts, which will eventually stabilise the educational sector and benefit all stakeholders."

The agreement is in line with Law No 26 of 2007, which requires all rental contracts to be registered with Rera.

The agreement calls for the sharing of the records of more than 500 educational facilities. It also seeks to create an electronic system linking the entities to encourage cooperation for providing preliminary approvals for educational facilities. Do you support the decision to implement a rental index for schools? Do you think this will ultimately have an effect on tuition fees? Tell us

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