UAE | Housing & Property

Disparity row: Fees in Dubai's gated communities flawed

Residents of gated communities cry foul over "unfair" formula in levying maintenance charges

  • By Derek Baldwin, Senior Reporter
  • Published: 00:01 March 18, 2010
  • XPRESS

  • Image Credit: Xpress /File photo
  • 11,400 dirhams is what a Springs resident pays as annual maintenance fees

Dubai:  Emaar should change the way it calculates maintenance fees to avoid disparity among homeowners, say gated-community residents who are facing a new round of service charge hikes for 2010.

Maintenance fees are currently calculated for each villa based upon the owner's land plot size and not upon the gross floor area of the actual residence - fees cover the upkeep of roads and common areas such as parks and swimming and sporting facilities.

The existing formula - based upon provisions in the draft strata law that is yet to come into force - is yielding fluctuating service charges for homeowners with identical villas, owners say.

Fair share

Long-time Springs villa owner Martin Seward-Case said the fee formula is flawed and should be changed to ensure that each resident pays his or her fair share, based upon a fair property assessment that accounts for both plot area and villa size.

For example, Seward-Case lives in an end unit and pays Dh11,400 annually in maintenance fees, but his next-door neighbour in an identically-sized villa pays only Dh7,400.

"Our service demands are the same, but I'm paying almost 50 per cent more," he said. "The fees shouldn't be based upon total area of the ownership of land."

A Lakes resident who didn't want to be identified said she and her neighbours are equally upset that they live in smaller villas worth under Dh5 million but pay more in fees than the larger Dh12-Dh20 million Hattan villas on smaller plots. "This formula needs to be changed for a more fair system."

An Emaar spokesperson said: "Each community only pays for what it consumes and in some cases, an owner of a unit in a smaller community could pay more than an owner of a similar unit in a larger community due to economies of scale and apportionment of costs across a larger ownership base."

Comments (1)

  1. Added 10:19 March 20, 2010

    If those who complain would care to read the law, this would not even need to be published. Do people realise all the benefits they get when staying in one of the best communities in Dubai where at least the developer listens to you while there are many other developers who have no idea about their own projects? For about roughly less than Dh1,000 a month [maintenance fee], you have a beautifully managed community, the streets are clean, you have fabulous neighbours around, a smart team that manages the community in the best possible way, events every year, among others. How many other developers are able to provide such facilities? If there is so much to grumble about, no one is asking you to stay. Besides, if you would check with the Real Estate Regulatory Agency (Rera), they would tell you what has been charged and the basis of the charge is correct as mandated by them to all developers in Dubai. You really don’t have to blame Emaar for it. Try living elsewhere in a non-Emaar property and then compare.

    Anonymous, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

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