Dubai Home Owners take the fight to the Master Developer Camp

The uber luxurious master community in Dubai, otherwise known as the Jumeirah Beach Residence or JBR has been in the news for almost a year now. Touted as being amongst the finest freehold locales in Dubai, this 1.7 kilometre beachfront community has a healthy mix of residential as well as leisure options. Here, one will find some of the foremost names in the hospitality business pitching up tents, together with other renowned restaurants and retail brands from around the world.

But the owners and tenants in this 36 tower residential community have been battling the developer for some time now. If one may recollect, the master developer had been talking tough since end of the previous year. A lot of tactics were tried out and included sending out demand notices to barring access to community facilities and the beach front areas.

Matters reached a flashpoint towards the start of this year and the Real Estate Regulatory Agency (RERA) had to be called in to work out a truce. But the master developer has once again chosen to put the ‘name and shame’ tactic into practice. It has put out a list of flat numbers and the corresponding arrears in the common areas of the community.

Many owners are not really against the payment of outstanding dues. But they have been voicing concerns over the continued lack of commitment towards the resolution of common grievances. With the formation of the Home Owners Association (HOA) and the quantum of service charges being levied being the prime areas of contention, the controversy simply refuses to blow over.

Property owners who had parked their hard earned savings to own what is even today, a prime piece of the Dubai realty market have been waiting endlessly for the master developer of their community to register the Home Owners Association (HOA). Such a move would permit the elected HOA to exercise their vote on the community budget, review the audited accounts statements for the past five years, liaison with the facility management and take a call on various other outstanding issues facing the community.

Taking the battle to the Dubai Properties Group (DPG) who is the master developer for this fine community, home owners are also questioning the rates being charged for community upkeep and maintenance. Many are of the opinion that the rates are needlessly high and quality work can be done at significantly lower rates, thereby bringing down the total outstanding arrears in return.

Needless to say, this fight between Dubai property owners and master developers is far from over. It remains to be seen, what the outcome shall be.