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Maximum levels of rent increases in 2010 were announced yesterday.

According to a decree issued by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, if the rent for a property in 2009 was at market rate or up to 25 percent lower it cannot be increased

If the rent last year was between 26 and 35 percent less than market rate it can be increased by no more than 5 percent.

The full list of permitted increases is shown in the table below:

The law aims to ensure the stability in the Dubai property market.

Average rents are determined by the Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA).

UAE-based property developer and real estate company Deyaar has announced that it plans to reduce its workforce by 20 percent. The news was announced in a statement to the Dubai Financial Market today.

The number of job losses is thought to be around 60.

The Independent, a UK-based newspaper, reports today that Dubai’s Nakheel is about to slash 500 jobs.

The paper quotes the company response as, ‘Nakheel continues to evaluate its projects and commitments against market conditions and opportunities. In doing so, the company also evaluates its cost base and efficiencies.’

Nakheel Properties is a state-owned property developer. Major construction projects include the Palm Jumeirah, Palm Deira, Palm Jebel Ali, The World, Jumeirah Islands, Ibn Battuta Mall, Discovery Gardens, International City, and Al Furjan.

Dubai has been ranked as one of the most expensive cities in the world by a leading consulting group.

The city has been name the 20th most expensive place to live by Mercer, a human resource consulting firm based in New York.

The Worldwide Cost of Living Survey 2009 covered 143 cities and measured the cost of more than 200 items in each, including food, housing, transportation, and entertainment.

The survey was compiled using data for year to March 2009. The most expensive cities were Tokyo, Osaka, Moscow, Geneva, and Hong Kong.

In the 2008 survey Dubai was ranked 52nd.

The United Arab Emirates will begin shortly begin issuing multiple-entry visas to foreign property owners.

From June 1 2009 an expatriate owning a property in the UAE will be able to obtain a multiple-entry visa that will be valid for six months.

A visa will cost AED 2000 and can be renewed provided the property owner leaves the UAE for at least one month.

Conditions include:

• The property must be worth at least AED 1 million
• The owner must have a monthly income of at least AED 10,000
• The owner must obtain the title of the property from the registration authority in the relevant emirate.

The visa does not give the holder the right to work.

Property prices in Dubai plummeted in the first quarter of 2009 according to a leading real estate advisor.

According to the Dubai House Price Index Q1 2009, published this week by Colliers International, property prices declined 41 percent between Q4 2008 and Q1 2009.

Prices have now dropped to the level experienced in the second quarter of 2007.

Results of government school inspections have been published for the first time.

The Dubai School Inspection Bureau (DSIB) carried out inspections of 69 public and private schools and published the results on the Knowledge and Human Development Authority’s website yesterday.

In summary:

• All of the public schools inspected were rated good or acceptable.
• Of the private schools inspected, 4 were rated outstanding and 6 unacceptable. Standards at other private schools were either good or acceptable.

The 4 private schools named as outstanding were the Jumeirah College, JESS (Jumeirah), JESS (Arabian Ranches), and Kings Dubai.

Dubai-based property developer Limitless has made 38 of its staff redundant (7%) and delayed the second phase of its Arabian Canal project.

The Arabian Canal is a 75 km man-made waterway and series of waterfront developments. It will run from the Dubai Waterfront at Jebel Ali, past the new Dubai World Central International Airport, and back towards the Palm Jumeirah.

The company will continue work on the first phase of the project, excavation of an 8 km stretch of waterway. The whole project is likely to be split into around 10 phases.

A new school at Dubai held its official launch yesterday.

Bradenton Preparatory Academy, based in the US, will open a school at Dubai Sports City in September 2009.

The school will offer an American College preparatory education and cater for 900 boys and girls from kindergarten to twelfth grade. Facilities include a performing arts centre, science labs, gym, and auditorium.

Initial registrations are now being taken.

The Bradenton Preparatory Academy in Florida was founded in 1975. It pioneered the concept of combining traditional education with elite sports training.

The launch was attended by Dr Rod Paige, the former US Education Secretary.

A new survey of foreign workers in the UAE has revealed that more than 40 percent are preparing to leave in the next year.

The poll, conducted by market researchers Real Opinions, reveals that almost 1 in 5 believe they may lose their job in the next year.

Foreign workers also expressed concerns with the high cost of living, in particular school fees and rents.