Hoteliers fined for unapproved renovations

Dubai: As part of stepped-up building inspections to boost safety across the emirate, Dubai Municipality issued 1,264 fines in 2012 against owners and operators of hotels and hotel apartments for making building modifications without attaining the required building permits.

In a report, Dubai Municipality recorded that there were 599 hotels and hotel apartments throughout the emirate but municipal officials declined to release the number of hotels and hotel apartments that committed the violations.

Jaber Al Ali, head of Building Inspection Department at Dubai Municipality, explained that since 2008, a committee has been responsible for monitoring hotels around Dubai, excluding those in free zones.

“We have not noticed any increase in the number of violations compared to previous years, as the majority of hotels are aware of the municipality’s rules and regulations. While some establishments were fined because their offences created a safety hazard to the public, others were only told how to make their appearance better, such as cleaning their windows,” said Al Ali.

The committee’s role is to carry out periodic inspections of hotels to ensure that they maintain the aesthetic image of the emirate, and that all buildings and facilities have been approved by the municipality and do not pose a threat to visitors’ health and safety.

“The major violations were related to the buildings’ structure, and nearly all of them had carried out modifications without being granted a building permit to do so. The violations included changing the use of parking spaces and using it for other facilities, adding restaurants, converting bedrooms and conference rooms into offices, gyms, and phone rooms, and vice versa,” he said.

Al Ali also noted that the total number of recorded offences included 790 violations of hotel owners using temporary and weak construction material in their establishments, which posed a fire and safety hazard to the public.