UAE | General

Abu Dhabi residents sweat it out without A/C

Residents in two Abu Dhabi buildings claim malfunctioning air-conditioners have made their lives a misery during the height of summer

By Binsal Abdul Kader, Staff Reporter
Published: 16:47 August 2, 2012

Image Credit: AHMED KUTTY/Gulf News
Residents of the National Exchange Building used fans to try to beat the heat but many more were forced to leave the building on Hamdan Street in Abu Dhabi.

Abu Dhabi: Residents in two Abu Dhabi buildings claim malfunctioning air-conditioners have made their lives a misery during the height of summer.

Tenants in the 17-storey National Exchange Building have been sweltering this week as their central air-conditioning system failed.

“

Only one chiller is working, so the A/C is functioning like an ordinary fan. But sometimes during the daytime, the temperature inside the building is 38 to 42 degrees

”

Building tenant

While residents of a small building near Spinneys supermarket in Mussaffah have complained their air-conditioning has been faulty for over a month.

Residents of the National Exchange Building on Liwa Street used fans to try and beat the heat but many more were forced to leave the building for temporary accommodation, said one tenant who did not wish to be named.

The building with 60 apartments — mostly residential and a few commercial — is managed by two companies.

They say the malfunctioning air conditioning was reported last Friday but could not be repaired in time because the company responsible for its maintenance breached its contract.

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“The owner of the electro-mechanical company who was responsible for its maintenance ran away with the advance payment he received for providing the service.

“We are taking legal action against him,” said Adnan Habib who is the manager of the company which manages a portion of the building with 30 apartments.

“But considering the suffering of the tenants we decided to install three split air conditioners in each apartment and the work started by Sunday evening,” he said.

Habib said one unit of split A/C was installed in all residential flats [out of 30] by Wednesday evening. The second unit is being installed now and the third one will also be done soon, he said.

“The first preference is for residential apartments,” he added.

Some of the tenants confirmed the installation of split air conditioners. “We are happy about the prompt action taken by the management,’ said Nasser Thayampat and Wahab Ali Sha, two long-term tenants in the building.

But many other tenants in another portion of the building say they did not get any relief until Thursday afternoon. An office employee of the company which manages a second portion of 30 apartments said they were trying to start installing split air conditioners soon.

“We have contracted a company for installation and they are checking the power capacity of the building before the installation. Then the company can complete installation in ten flats,” she said.

Meanwhile tenants in building number 24 in Mussaffah Shabia Khalifa, which houses about 12 families and some shops, complained the landlord has not repaired three malfunctioning chillers for more than a month.

“Only one chiller is working, so the A/C is functioning like an ordinary fan. But sometimes during the daytime, the temperature inside the building is 38 to 42 degrees,” said a tenant who did not want to be named.

When contacted, the building owner Yasin Hassan Al Hammadi denied the allegations raised by the tenants. He said he has been undertaking the maintenance work of the air-conditioning system properly and on a regular basis.