Dr Sheikh Sultan directs close follow-up of complaints about buildings in Sharjah

Sharjah: His Highness Dr Sheikh Sultan Bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah, has instructed Sharjah Municipality to attach more importance to all matters related to residential buildings.

Based on this, the municipality has assigned a department to follow up on all violations, such as workers’ accommodations that violate the rules and cleanliness of buildings.

The municipality has decided to hold owners accountable for violations committed in their buildings.

Call for complaints

Khalid Bin Falah Al Suwaidi, assistant director-general of Sharjah Municipality for Customer Service Sector, said through the ‘Direct Line’ programme broadcast live on Sharjah Radio and TV, that the director-general of Sharjah municipality has instructed to allocate mobile number 0562601111 to receive residents’ complaints. They can also send pictures, video and location of the building to the mobile number.

“Building owners should follow up on the wrong practices in their respective apartments so that the necessary measures would be taken,” he added.

How action is taken

Al Suwaidi explained that as soon as a complaint is received, specialised teams from the municipality go to the building in question to check if there is a violation before a fine is imposed.

“The teams forward a first, second and third notice unless the violation is proven from the first time, in which case a fine is issued against the owner in whose name the contract is concluded,” he said, noting that all interrupted services as a result of the fine would be resumed only after the complaint is redressed.

What are the rules?

Al Suwaidi said the municipality should ensure that no unauthorised tenants are present in the residential unit.

It must also ensure that there are no unacceptable practices such as the presence of unrelated males and females in one apartment or excessive number of tenants, he added.

The municipality prefers to solve the problem of disturbance between neighbours in a friendly manner, unless the violation is repeated, he said, noting that more than 90 per cent of complaints are amicably redressed with the intervention of suburban councils.

The development comes after an Arab man contacted Direct Line complaining about unacceptable practices in a building in Al Majaz, in which he owns an apartment.