Dubai homeowners raise concerns as gated community introduces paid visitor parking

Dubai: “If this goes ahead, the cost could be as much as Dh2,700 a month for someone relying on visitor parking, which is a significant additional expense for many people in the community,” said Andreas Lambri, a homeowner in Uptown Motor City.

Homeowners and residents of the gated Dubai community have raised concerns over plans to introduce paid parking in designated visitor parking areas, saying the move could place an additional financial burden on households with more than one vehicle.

The paid parking system is being introduced by Parkonic and Salik in collaboration with community management company EDACOM. According to a notice issued by EDACOM, visitor parking will become paid from September 3, 2026, at a proposed rate of Dh5 per hour, 24 hours a day, including weekends and public holidays.

“We are not opposed to improving parking management, but introducing 24/7 paid parking in a gated community adds a financial burden for visitors, owners, tenants and businesses. One of the current issues is that there is no clear way to distinguish between residents and visitors using the parking spaces. So, when the paid system is introduced, how will this distinction be made? Many households have only one or two allocated parking spaces but may have an additional car, so this could have a significant impact on families," Lambri, told Gulf News.

Response from EDACOM

EDACOM told Gulf News that the new system applies only to designated visitor parking areas and does not introduce additional charges for owners or residents using their allocated spaces. “The system does not introduce any additional charges for owners or residents using their designated parking spaces. Residents will continue to access and use their allocated parking spaces as usual,” EDACOM said in the statement.

“The new parking management measures apply specifically to designated visitor parking areas. They are intended to help ensure these spaces remain accessible to genuine visitors and retail customers, while supporting better parking availability, traffic flow and overall community management.”

However, the main issue with residents is that many households have an extra car which requires them to use visitor parking. In response to that EDACOM added that long-term parking options will be available soon.

“For owners and residents who require additional parking beyond their allocated spaces, long-term parking options are also available through Parkonic. Further information on the available options and applicable rates can be provided upon request,” the company said.

Why is paid parking being introduced?

EDACOM explained to Gulf News, the parking measures have been introduced in response to existing parking challenges within the community. “These include illegal and random parking, overcrowding of residential parking spaces, prolonged occupation of visitor spaces and abandoned or neglected vehicles,” EDACOM said in their statement.

“The new system will use Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) technology to monitor vehicles and help ensure visitor parking spaces remain available for their intended purpose.”

EDACOM also said the introduction of the system is in line with Dubai’s Real Estate Regulatory Agency (RERA). Homeowners and residents raised their concerns with Dubai’s Real Estate Regulatory Agency (RERA) over the introduction of paid parking within the gated community.

Residents said the proposed charges could affect people who regularly receive family members, friends and other legitimate visitors.

“Residents inviting family or friends, children having visitors, relatives spending the day, caregivers, tutors, tradespeople and other legitimate guests could potentially incur hourly parking charges simply by visiting somebody living within the community,” residents said in a collective statement to Gulf News. .

Homeowners seek clarity on parking revenue and charges

Another issue raised by homeowners is whether the introduction of paid visitor parking should have an impact on existing service or Master Community/Usage Charges.

“Owners already pay substantial building service charges as well as master community/usage charges for the management, maintenance, security and operation of the wider community, the service charges we pay, which have been increased, should go towards solving the issue parking management – overcrowding and abandoned vehicles.”

Residents raise concerns over consultation process

EDACOM said residents and owners were informed about the planned changes a month before implementation.

"The new parking system is expected to take effect from September 3, 2026. The owners and residents were informed of this change a month before to ensure that they have sufficient time to understand the new arrangements and prepare accordingly.

"The initiative is designed to support the needs of the community by improving traffic flow, enhancing accessibility and ensuring more efficient management of visitor parking areas.

"As reassurance, we would like to clarify that EDACOM will continue to monitor the implementation and take community feedback into consideration as the system becomes operational. Meanwhile, we look forward to residents' support in implementing the system, particularly during the initial stages."

Some homeowners said there was insufficient consultation with the owners’ committee and residents before the decision was made.

“There has so far been little meaningful engagement with owners collectively and, in our view, no substantive explanation addressing the principal concerns,” residents said in a statement. These objections were raised before implementation, giving EDACOM an opportunity to explain the scheme, disclose the relevant approvals and engage with owners. Instead, many owners feel the decision has effectively been presented as a fait accompli while the substantive objections remain unanswered,” they added

Residents maintain they are not opposed to better parking management and accept that the community faces genuine parking problems. However, they believe visitor spaces should remain available for genuine visitors rather than being converted into a 24-hour commercial paid parking facility within a residential community.