JBR: 129 per cent hike in maintenance fees

Jumeirah Beach Residence (JBR) flat owners have been slapped with a 129 per cent increase in maintenance fees with effect from the end of last September.

Homeowners in the Dh7.3-billion development in Dubai Marina were served with a November 30 letter from Salwan Property Management – a member of Dubai Properties Group, developers of JBR – informing them that the hike is effective September 28.

The service charge to manage and maintain the common areas had traditionally been Dh9.5 per square foot, but in the notice, Salwan Property Management said the cost is now Dh21.75 per square foot.

For example, owners who paid Dh9,500 in maintenance fees on a 1,000 square-foot flat earlier will now have to pay Dh21,750 per year.

In the letter, Salwan, said the old charge “was much below the actual costs of maintaining the tower and did not include additional costs such as sinking fund, utility charges, building insurance premium, communication cost…”.

Salwan said the differences “were met by the master developer; however, with the anticipated co-ownership laws coming into force [Strata Law] and the need for transparency, these costs need to be budgeted from the service charges.”

Emirati Humaid Al Harib, 26, rents a flat in one of the Bahar towers in JBR. However, he isn’t worried about the new maintenance costs being passed down to him by the owner because tenancy laws protect him from illegal rent hikes, he said.

But Al Harib said the increase shouldn’t be allowed by rental authorities.

“You can’t suddenly go from 9 to 22 per cent, I totally disagree with the increase,” Al Harib said. “Why keep raising the charges to maintain it, when it’s not going to cost them that much to do it.”

Al Harib said the jump in fees makes him think twice about ownership.

Amir Hashim, 56, rents at JBR and said he understands that “we must cover maintenance costs, because if we don’t, it will become shoddy.”

But Hashim questioned why new buildings with little greenery and other amenities at ground level would need such a high level of maintenance.

“It seems like a lot of money to pay for new buildings that have just opened,” he said.

Dubai Properties didn’t respond to requests for information on the new increases.

Source:
Xpress Newspaper