Abu Dhabi cuts costs to build private villas

Dubai: Building a private villa in Abu Dhabi will now no longer be as costly for the land owners.

The emirate’s Department of Urban Planning and Municipalities has issued legislation to regulate the construction of private villas. It reduces the minimum size of bedrooms, kitchens, dining areas and the majlis seating areas.

The land owners will also no longer have to construct a hallway in the property, while the maximum height for side fences has been lowered from six to four metres. All of these steps will “reduce the cost of construction”, the government entity said in a statement. The new legislation also allows landowners to build extensions to their properties overlooking a street.

These come in response to feedback from landowners requesting for more flexible spatial requirements. “The legislation will lower building costs for landowners, providing practical solutions that can be easily applied, speeding up the delivery of housing projects and improving quality of life for residents,” said Mohammad Al Khadar Al Ahmad, Executive Director of Strategic Affairs Sector at DPM.

“Compliance with the legislation will help stimulate business, investment, community development and enhance lifestyle, while increasing the Emirate’s competitiveness.”

The new legalization regulations are aligned with Abu Dhabi Government’s Accelerators Programme and Ghadan 21 to review infrastructure policies and reduce building costs.

Reforming Abu Dhabi’s real estate space

All through this year, Abu Dhabi has taken a series of steps to fast-track and simplify investments into its property market. One such was allowing foreign investors to own in full land and property within designated investment zones. Earlier, such investors were only allowed long-term leaseholds.