Dubai: A group of investors who spent millions buying villas in a supposedly luxury out-of-town community say delays, poor construction and broken promises have caused them much distress.
These investors who had bought off-plan properties in the $163 million (Dh599 million) The Villa project near Dubailand at the junction of Emirates Road and Al Ain Road say they have not got what was advertised.
A businessman, who did not wish to be named, was among the first to buy property here, but he rues the day he made that decision. He claimed that many other investors had experienced problems with Al Mazaya - joint developers for the project along with Dubai Properties - who he says have repeatedly broken promises. The project was supposed to have over 1,000 Spanish-style villas once completed, with around 550 villas being built by Kuwait-based Al Mazaya and the rest by Dubai Properties. However only about a 100 villas have been delivered by Al Mazaya so far.
All that talk
The villas were to have a garage and vary in size starting from four bedrooms. "The whole attraction for the project was that you could customise the villas with swimming pools and the landscaping would be included in the fee. We were promised courtyards, water features, a school, mosques, shops and a medical centre, but there is none of that," said the businessman.
According to him, the original location for the development was supposed to be near Global Village, but it was moved by seven kilometres to the current location.
"The big thing at the moment is that [Al] Mazaya are expecting us to pay the Dh25,500 cost of connecting the sewage and Dewa [Dubai Electricity and Water Authority] lines even though its not our responsibility, that's the job of the developer. The frustrating thing is that my neighbour who has Dubai Properties as the developer doesn't have to pay."
The businessman had bought his villa in 2005. "It does say in the contract that they have leeway of a year on completion, but even with that it's two years behind schedule and most of us are still paying rent when we should have moved in," he said.
Other issues concern the poor workmanship and finishing, no boundary demarcation, landscaping or community facilities.
Meanwhile, investors have created the Mazaya Villa Owners Committee and set up an online petition at www.thepetitionsite.com, which has 166 signatories.
The petition states: "The issues include: a] Landscaping as per initial promise b] Compensation for delays well beyond any contractual clause, c] No additional interest charge courtesy delays for mortgage owners d] Quality of finished homes to be in sync with specifications, e] Building boundary wall and gate in front."
Mazaya response
Eng Nayef Al Awadi, CEO of Al Mazaya - Dubai said investors have been compensated for landscaping issues and they would deal with queries/comments based on the type of issue and the contracts investors have signed. "The problems with ‘The Villa' have been due to circumstances beyond our control," he said.
