Pocketful of Dirhams: How to handle rents, mortgages and buying property during a pandemic

With the world in the grip of the coronavirus outbreak, Mario Volpi offers his tips on how to deal with your property issues

Coronavirus is having an effect on all of us in some way or another whether we are working from home, worrying about loved ones or our investments or concerned about the safety of our jobs.

So how does that affect the property market in the UAE and further afield?

For tenants, losing a job could cause issues with paying the rent. And for owners, job loss or a reduction in rental income make it difficult to pay the mortgage.

Tenants struggling to pay their rent as a result of the pandemic should be protected "by the moral standards of landlords in Dubai", according to the Dubai Land Department, while residents in Abu Dhabi are exempt from eviction for two months.

Meanwhile for those looking to buy a home in the UAE, the central bank has increased loan-to-value ratios applicable on mortgage loans for first-time buyers by five percentage points. So, how will that affect the property market?

Host Alice Haine, the personal finance editor of The National, is joined by Mario Volpi, the sales and leasing manager at Engel & Volkers, who writes The National's weekly Homefront column.

Listen to last week's episode for tips on how to manage your money during the coronavirus