DUBAI: In a move that can have far-reaching implications for Dubai's real estate sector, residents of Shoreline Apartments on The Palm Jumeirah have decided to replace Nakheel as their beach club operator and invite tenders for the management of beach club facilities.
A decision to this effect was taken at a meeting of the Interim Owners' Association (IOA) on February 2, XPRESS can reveal.
Property owners in Nakheel's flagship project have been locked in a bitter row with the developer after it blocked their access to the beach club over unpaid building service charges and beach club fees. Residents were warned that they may be arrested if they tried to enter the pool and gym areas.
Matters came to a head in December last year when Nakheel locked the back doors to the seven apartment buildings that open onto the pool and beach. Angry residents called police on January 21, saying Nakheel had no business controlling the common areas.
Major victory
But last week residents scored a major victory when property watchdog Real Estate Regulatory Authority (Rera) formally registered five Shoreline IOAs, giving residents full control of common areas. A formal certificate of registration was issued to IOA board members on February 2. It empowers IOAs to represent building owners and take charge of common area management from Nakheel. The remaining buildings are likely to be registered in the coming weeks.
Nader Alizadeh, IOA chairman for Shoreline Buildings 1 and 2, said: "We can now break open the back doors locked by Nakheel and give residents direct access to the beach club. We are planning to invite bids for running the beach club. Now we can call our own general assembly meetings, review and approve budgets for service charges, appoint a Rera-approved Owners' Association (OA) manager and hire an independent auditor."
IOA board members are working with Rera to define the scope of the OA manager. "He will play a critical role in the management of buildings. He will invite tenders for beach club management because by the estimate of Nakheel's own auditors, Baker Tilly Meralis, the fee from 2008 to 2010 is six times higher than the actual cost of running the clubhouse," said Alizadeh.
There were no comments from Nakheel at this stage.
It has not opened the back doors either, much to the chagrin of residents, many of whom feel the locked doors have put them at increased risk in case of an emergency evacuation.
James Hartt, Chair, Al Habool Owners Association, who represents Shoreline Owners Associations on Palm Jumeirah, blamed Nakheel for not resolving the issue. "Nakheel is refusing to engage with the OAs in a positive and open manner to resolve these issues. Guest passes are still being charged for on a daily basis against the wishes of a clear and vast majority of tenants and owners. The owners have no visibility as to where the money paid for guest passes goes," he said in an e-mail statement.
Property owners contend their sales and purchase agreements (SPAs) give them exclusive right over the beach. Understandably so, they are miffed that it has been thrown open to outsiders. "The beach is part of the Palm Jumeirah master community and is owned by all Palm Jumeirah owners, regulated by Trakhees," said Alizadeh.
All about shoreline
The Shoreline development comprises 20 buildings in Palm Jumeirah. Buildings 1 to 10 sit on the right side of the Palm facing the beach, while buildings 11 to 20 sit on the left. Buildings 7, 8,10 and 18 have been bought by individuals or companies as a complete unit and are looked after by different building management companies. The remaining 16 buildings are owned by Nakheel who sold individual apartments to property owners.
There are 13 interim owners associations (IOAs) that manage these 16 buildings in Shoreline. There are around 2,460 apartments.
