The UAE will implement a law requiring a tenancy contract and copies of utility bills to get a residence permit, a senior official has been quoted as saying.

The proposed rule has not been reverted but only postponed, a Gulf News report quoted the official as saying. However he said the rules will not be implemented immediately and people will be allowed a grace period for them to return from summer holidays.

“The procedure will be unified across the UAE. It is a procedure that is applied worldwide and not only in the UAE,” he added.

Meanwhile, a residency official quoted in the Gulf News report said the new decision is aimed at improving living conditions, as well as maintaining an accurate census of families living in the UAE and the number of members in each family.

“This procedure is to prevent more than one family from living together as currently four or five families share the same housing,” he said. “Families will not be allowed to share housing,” he added.