Handover blues: Developer asks for extra 5%

Owners of a building by Damac Properties are up in arms after the developer asked them to pay an extra five per cent of their property value weeks before the final handover.

Owners of units in the Lake View building at the Jumeirah Lake Towers received a notice from Damac on February 9 stating that the floor space of their unit has been revised and that they have to pay between Dh30,000 and Dh55,000 extra on their final invoice, otherwise they will be charged a penalty or risk losing their property. The handover is this Sunday.

Ali Mohammad, owner of a two-bedroom unit, said Damac has turned down his request to have his apartment measured by a surveyor.

“They said I would have to pay the additional fees by the handover date. Only then would they reimburse me if any discrepancies were found with the measured size of the apartment,'' said Mohammad.

Bank executive Salman Jawaid, who bought an apartment in September, said the fee was “unjustified'' as the mortgage deal stipulated that “the first payment was to be made on the day of the handover''.

Roger Fleming, who bought a one-bedroom apartment, said he has been asked to pay Dh35,000 for an extra 54 sq ft.

Land fee

Fleming said he was puzzled by the two per cent shown in his invoice as “land fee''. “I contacted Rera (Real Estate Regulatory Authority) and found out the land fee is one per cent and that it should be paid directly to Rera,'' he said.

Niall McLoughlin, Damac Senior Vice-President for Corporate Communications, has urged owners to be patient. He said the interpretation of Article Number 12 of Law 13 has yet to be clarified. “We expect Rera to shortly issue by-laws in relation to area variations. Obviously, we will adhere to any regulations issued by Rera.''