As the government of sheikhdom of Sharjah of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) started evicting bachelors from residential districts for families since April, rents for apartments declined by 6 percent in the second quarter, property management firm Asteco said on Sunday.

"New regulations regarding shared accommodation in Sharjah required the tenants to disclose their salaries and confirm that people living together are family members only," said Elaine Jones, CEO of Dubai-based Asteco Property Management.

Sharjah has a total population of 800,000.

On April 3, Sharjah's ruling Emir Dr. Sheikh Sultan Al-Qasimi ordered the eviction of non-married individuals from all residential buildings and villa districts which were designed for families. Since then the share of bachelors fell by more than half in such areas, according to the Sharjah Municipality. Most of these bachelors earned low salaries and used to share a flat with two or more other bachelors.

Sharjah, located a half-hour car drive west of Dubai, has always been an attractive place to live for low-class people who work in Dubai but cannot afford the high rents there. A relatively cheap one-bed room flat in Dubai costs around 27,000 Dirham (7,362 U.S. dollars) per year, while in Sharjah the same amount is charged as annual rent for a three-bed room apartment. As a direct effect, traffic jams caused by commuters driving from Sharjah to Dubai occur on a daily basis.