Dubai: After banks, it is now the turn of property developers to hire debt collection companies.
In what appears to be a desperate bid to recover outstanding service fees, Emaar has signed up with Dubai-based firm Innovations to chase defaulters across various communities.
Defaulting owners in The Lakes community said they received an email from Innovations on November 27 asking them to pay contentious outstanding ‘special levy fees’. “I never thought they would use a debt collection company. I am shocked,” said an Indian resident living in the community.
“As per our records, we have still not received Emaar Properties’ community fees for your property. We kindly request you to immediately pay outstanding fees in order to avoid inconvenience, as payment of community fees in full and on time is the obligation of every homeowner. Without the necessary funds, the community may be unable to continue providing services such as common area maintenance, garbage collection, street lighting, irrigation etc,” stated the email sent from debtcollection@innovationuae.com
In September 2011, The Lakes residents were informed by Emaar about a special levy of Dh0.95 per square foot towards a deficit service fee for the year 2008-2009.
However, even those who moved in much later were told to pay the special levy. The move sparked a furore among residents, with many refusing to pay it. “The special levy is not approved by Rera and I don’t have any obligation to pay it,” a resident of The Lakes said.
