Housing quality in Dubai has a 'long way to go'

Dubai: The quality of housing in Dubai has "a long way to go" before it reaches the building standards around the globe, according to local analysts.

"I think the quality of housing is certainly improving in Dubai but there is still some way to go before reaching the standards expected in the western world," said Matthew Green, research director at Cluttons UAE.

Green spoke to Gulf News on the issue of below-par finishing and poor customer service.

Some residents of Discovery Gardens are unimpressed with the customer service and maintenance of the master-developer, Nakheel.

According to the tenants, Nakheel gave them only one choice of gas supplier, Lootah Gas.

However, the cooking ranges present in the apartments do not support LPG connections, as they are natural gas ones.

Some residents then had to shell out a minimum of Dh3,000 for new LPG-supported cooking ranges.

Unfortunately, the gas was disconnected due to a faulty alarm system in the building.

Complaint

Residents complained to Nakheel maintenance team about the issue. However, it is not clear whether Nakheel will reimburse residents for the cost of the cooking ranges or for the cost of meals as residents are unable to cook at home due to the lack of gas.

Discovery Gardens is a 26 million square foot development located between Shaikh Zayed Road and Emirates Road, comprising more than 26,000 apartments.

One resident said people in the Discovery Gardens are extremely annoyed at Nakheels's "incompetence".

Despite having a portfolio estimated to be in excess of $100 billion, Nakheel seems to have along way to go to improve quality of its developments - International City being the prime example.

Issues

Chris O'Donnell, chief executive of Nakheel, agreed that there are "some issues with the quality of some of the buildings in International City", but that Nakheel are trying to rectify such problems.

"It also has to be looked at on an individual developer basis. Emaar, for example, can generally complete multiple projects to a similar standard, with good quality finishes throughout. Some of the newer, smaller developers may be experiencing teething problems due to escalating construction costs and the availability of labour and, as a result, quality has been sacrificed," Green said.

Some of the newer, smaller developers may be experiencing teething problems due to escalating construction costs."