Good signs for homeowners

Dubai: The upcoming regulations pertaining to the Strata Law of 2007 could be a coup for homeowners and possibly boost the market, says a local estate agent.

The strata regulations are likely to provide homeowners, in the form of an Owners' Association, with more flexibility to choose service providers.

Kent O'Brien, managing director of Strata Global, says, "If owners wish to spend more on their building than an adjoining building offering similar features it will only take a majority of owners voting at a general assembly to bring that agenda into effect. Hence, approval of service charges will entirely be the responsibility of the Owners' Associations and RERA will not become involved unless the correct approval process has not been followed."

Cecilia Reinaldo, managing director, Fine & Country, UAE, says the process should be a win-win situation for homeowners.

"The purpose of the Owners' Association is the facilitation of decision making of the community. No one better understands this than the owners; they're aware of the value of an asset and the fact that maintaining the quality of a property doesn't just mean cutting costs, but playing a role on the yearly budgeting."

Reinaldo says strata regulations will make the service contracting process more transparent. With the regulations in place, she believes people will be encouraged to buy properties in Dubai.

"Firstly, most of the off-plan sales contracts didn't inform of the maintenance charges fee or a forecast so until the project was complete the owners didn't really know what to expect."

"Certain communities even paid an additional element of fees for cooling systems and I am sure there were other fees that were never mentioned to buyers at the time of purchase. In balance, this lack of information made many potential buyers choose to rent rather than buy."

"Secondly, the lack of caps on fee increases made the situation even more unclear certain developments, in less than a year, had 100-150% increases on service charges without any justified reason. As soon as the regulation is in place, buyers will feel much more confident in purchasing again."