Dubai: Abuses by managers of home owners associations (HOAs) or developers who charge residents exorbitant service fees without approval by the Real Estate Regulatory Agency (Rera) will be dealt with accordingly, a senior official has warned.
Speaking to XPRESS, Mohammad Khalifa Bin Hammad, Head of the Real Estate Relations Regulatory Department, Rera, said: "In accordance with Law No 27 of 2007 concerning ownership of jointly owned properties in Dubai and in accordance with the Dubai Land Department (DLD) directions, all service fees have to be approved by Rera. A circular dated 05.09.2010 signed by the CEO of Rera clearly states that if service charges are not approved by Rera, they cannot be charged on residents."
He said HOAs have to be "careful" about cutting facilities to owners as they may put themselves on the wrong foot. "The owners' association manager has to use his powers carefully," he said.
A total of 242 HOAs are currently registered in Dubai and more will be added by the end of this year.
Bin Hammad said: "We have received many applications to register associations and their boards. There is a documentation pending which, upon receipt, we will be able to proceed with final registration of the HOAs. Further, to assist the market and minimise expenditure for developers and associations, we are finalising the Jointly Owned Property Declaration (JOPD) which will be required as part of the registration of any HOA. We understand master developers are still preparing documents such as common area site plan, among others, for this purpose."
He added that HOAs fall under the umbrella of DLD and will be monitored and regulated by both DLD and Rera.
"Association managers and developers have to get their budgets approved by Rera before charging owners the same."
Owners cautioned
Bin Hammad further called on association managers to play their role seriously. He said it was the responsibility of the managers to educate the owners on the association's rights and create total transparency with the property owners regarding maintenance of the building and payment of service charges.
He said that service charges will be paid only on the net area in possession of the owner. He warned residents, however, that they face the risk of DLD notifying the Property Court for non-payment of service charges.
"Usually this does not happen as we give enough time to the owner to pay up. We have a set procedure in place as per Law No 27. Three official notices are sent to owners by the HOAs. After the third notice, if the owner still does not respond to the e-mail or does not pay up service fees, the HOAs send a letter to us and then we send an official letter to the courts notifying about the defaulting property owner."
Bin Hammad said the primary onus lies with the HOAs to take action against delinquent owners. "After we have put this law in place we have seen collections improving as now there is a standard process in place for service fee collections."
Bin Hammad said trust accounts are likely to come soon. "We are in the final stages of executing the trust accounts."
This is what you pay for
Your service charges cover the following services:
- Inside and outside cleaning of the buildings
- Water tank cleaning
- Landscaping
- Waste management collection
- Maintenance
- Preventive maintenance
- A/C maintenance
- Lifts and glass
- Cleaning corrective maintenance
- Water pump
- Electrical
- Piping plumbing
- Carpentry
- Utilities
- Electricity and water
- Switch
- A/C switch
- Management fees
- Building insurance
- Master-community service charge
- Sinking fund
Source: Dubai Land Department (DLD)
Did you know?
The home owners associations (HOAs) are not paid for their services. Rera has the right to refuse registration of any board member in an HOA. The HOA boards can make their own rules and procedures provided they adhere to Rera guidelines.
