UAE | Housing & Property

Al Musalla tenants complain of 'intimidation'

Angry residents and shop owners at Al Musalla Towers in Bur Dubai say they are being "harassed and intimidated" by employees of the new company in charge of the building.

  • By Kevin Scott and Sunita Menon, Staff Reporters
  • Published: 23:58 August 15, 2008
  • Gulf News

  • Image Credit: hadrian Hernandez/Gulf News
  • Al Musalla Towers and Mall on Khalid Bin Waleed Road in Bur Dubai.

Dubai: Angry residents and shop owners at Al Musalla Towers in Bur Dubai say they are being "harassed and intimidated" by employees of the new company in charge of the building.

The complex, on Khalid Bin Waleed Road, has recently gone through a change of management and many occupants have been served with eviction notices.

Gulf News reported on Friday that opening times at the mall had been changed, to 10am to 10pm Saturday to Thursday. The mall used to remain open from 6am to 2am throughout the week.

Electricity in the lobby is being shut down at 10pm promptly and all entrances to the ground floor remain closed until 10am, forcing residents to enter their homes from the back of the building.

Gulf News spoke to a director from Wi-Fi Computers, who wished to remain anonymous. He said he was not prepared to leave as his lease does not expire until 2011.

He said: "I have sublet space in the mall to 95 tenants and the new landlord only has 11 tenants. Why should I leave?"

"Members of the new management team are going around bullying my tenants and taking photographs of them. This is not permitted and I have asked my staff to call the police if they come across anyone taking their picture. It is also the new landlords who are switching off the centre's electricity at 10pm.

"The new management says it wants to convert Al Musalla into high-class hotel apartments but this is not the way to go about it."

Gulf News spoke to a 34-year-old Australian, who also wished to remain anonymous, who has been living in Al Musalla Towers for five years. She said the building had changed hands about two or three times over that period but had always been run efficiently and well maintained, until now.

"Maintenance of the building has gone downhill and a lot of the utilities aren't working properly. Light bulbs aren't being changed and the corridors aren't being cleaned. There used to be a shade over the swimming pool to protect people from the sun but for some reason it has been removed," she said.

A spokesman for Al Musalla told Gulf News yesterday that all the changes were being introduced "in compliance with the rules and regulations of Dubai Municipality and the Dubai Economic Department".

But the Australian woman said the new owners were deliberately trying to make living conditions unbearable.

She said: "Conditions have certainly deteriorated rapidly over the last few weeks. The whole area has become a lot quieter because all nearby amenities close at 10pm. Our lease expires next February and we have been told we must leave by then. It will be a nightmare because rents in Dubai are ridiculous now and we'll struggle to find somewhere at a reasonable price of similar quality."

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