Dubai: An Indian property owner was left seething with rage when he was asked to pay the maintenance fee for an apartment yet to be handed over by the developer.
Raju Rai, 44, said he was slapped with a Dh3,772 service fee bill by developer Al Mazaya Real Estate for his one-bedroom apartment in Queue Point Liwan even though he hasn’t taken possession.
Rai bought the apartment for Dh433,000 in July 2007 and had paid 90 per cent of its cost by 2010. “I was hoping to move in with my family when the apartment got ready in 2011. Three years on, I am still waiting. If this is not bad enough, they are asking me to pay service fees,” he said angrily. “I call them every few days. Each time they give me a new handover date. Emails sent to their office seldom elicit a response, added Rai, a sales manager at a chemical firm.
“Last month, they wrote to me, saying the handover was delayed as the building has no water and electricity connection. But I am not sure if this is the real reason.”
Queue Point is a 13 million square foot project in Dubailand comprising freehold apartments and offices. Rai’s apartment is in a row of five buildings, only two of which have been handed over. “When Mazaya launched these affordable homes I booked so I could save on rent. But my plans have gone awry by the delay. If there is a problem they should return my money,” said Rai who has also written to the Dubai Land Department.
Another Queue Point investor Tanveer Shaukat Ali, 57, said he got tired of the waiting game. “I booked a Dh700,000 two-bedroom apartment for my daughter, but have yet to take possession. I am at my wit’s end now.”
