With no reopening date in sight, UAE nursery owners cry for rent relief
Nurseries remain under pressure and many have been asked to move out of their premises
While schools in the UAE are set to resume classes in September, there is still no news for nurseries and early learning centres to reopen. Now, faced with no rent relief for months from landlords, several nursery owners in the UAE say they will have to shut down if not allowed to reopen soon.
Nurseries are under huge pressure and many have been asked to move out of their premises. A long-standing family-owned nursery in Jumeirah said after so many months of closure, the landlord has now agreed to give them a rent deferral of two months but that’s clearly not enough. Over and above the rent there are operational costs, trade licence, and staff to be paid. The monthly outgoing for this nursery is close to Dh80,000.
Lack of support from real estate sector
Shaun Robison, Governor, Early Learning Centre, says the rent being charged to nurseries and the lack of support from the real estate sector is killing them. “Nurseries have not been given any rent relief at all, and in a few cases, they have been evicited by landlords for other tenants. The lack of support from developers and landlords is accelerating the closure of nurseries as the rental overheads without any income is crippling,” he explains.
Nurseries are an essential part of any community, and dual income households rely on nurseries to care for their children and provide an essential service while both parents work.
“Other countries have reopened fully, with guidelines. Dubai-based Babilou Nurseries that operates more than 600 nurseries globally, have re-opened their other centres, and parents have responded to the guidelines put in place for social distancing, cleaning, and bubbles. Industry professionals here need to be trusted. We should be allowed to re-open like other countries. If hotels, swimming pools, recreational centres, gyms can re-open. Why not nurseries?” asks Robison.
He fears that without these early learning centres there could be huge implications for child development and wellbeing. “Young children learn best by sensory experiences, creative play and social interaction. This isn’t possible with online learning.”
The Odessey Nursery that operates eight nurseries in Dubai pays rent of Dh741,000 per month, and Dh8,900,000 per year as a group. Diana Roukoz, the nursery area director, says, “Some landlords have been cooperative, while others have not been so. On an average we have got less than a 20 per cent rent waiver,” she says.
Safety measures in place
Odessey has already created pre-opening and postopening plans to ensure the health and safety of the children, their families and staff members.
“There are several ways that we will be ensuring the appropriate amount of social distancing for the children,” says Roukuz. These measures include allocating each child to a “family group” consisting of other children and classroom teachers, which allows the children to socialise and play with others, while maintaining proper social distancing. “Our adult-to-child ratios will also be adjusted to better support the children while they are at the nursery. Our teams, including our registered nurses, have completed in-depth training regarding the new procedures, along with other health and safety training sessions. We will be checking the temperatures of all children, families and staff at drop off, followed by several rounds of checks throughout the day. In addition to this, the children’s belongings will be sanitised,” explains Roukuz. Talking about rental woes, Umair Tariq, Regional CEO, Kido Nursery (earlier Safari Kids), says they have received rent relief from only one landlord out of the three they deal with. “That’s only 25 per cent of our outgoing rent. With no revenues coming in we are struggling with the rest 75 per cent,” he said.
Robison says they are now looking at legal help to address the issue of rent. “Nurseries have been unable to open or accept any revenues since March 1 and legally they would be able forgo closure payments of their commercial leases under Article 273 of the UAE Civil Code and terminate their commercial leases in the current situation.
Without any announcement to re-open, and therefore accept any revenues, it is unfeasible to think that nurseries should still be paying rent and ancillary costs,” he explains.
Robison also says that they have requested the government to intervene and look at the sitiation and offer some kind of relief, but they are yet to hear any positive news.
“Nurseries haven’t been given any rent relief at all, and in a few cases, some have been evicted by landlords. There is a lack of support from the real estate sector” Shaun Robison Governor, Early Learning Centre