A Dubai landlord has thrown a lifeline to a Dubai expat, who has been on unpaid leave since the coronavirus pandemic struck.

Mansour Cheikh El Ard, who was featured by The National, was described as a hero by his tenant after waiving his eight-month apartment rent worth AED106,000.

The tenant told him that he could no longer pay for the apartment rent after losing his income. But the landlord did not hesitate to help him out even if his business was also experiencing challenges due to COVID-19.

“I did not want the family to lose the house and change their life completely. I told them I would try to support them as much as I could. I told my tenant he and his family could stay for as long as they needed to until the world recovered,” El Ard was quoted as saying.

He also returned the cheques given by his tenants. “We don’t come from a wealthy background. We do have our own troubles. But I wanted to help my tenants,” he said.

As netizens learned about his kindness, orders poured in at his Granny Waffles cafe in Dubai Mall and in Dubai Airport Free Zone to repay his good deeds.

Meanwhile, he encouraged other landlords to be lenient, too, to their tenants during these extraordinary times. He also advised people facing salary cuts to limit their spending.

Image by Ahmad Ardity from Pixabay