‘Balcony barbecue’ fine fixed at Dh500

The fine for misusing your balcony or damaging the façade of the building in Trakhees-supervised residential communities will be Dh500 per offence.

In a statement emailed to Emirates 24|7, the authority said initially officers would be warning residents not to misuse their balconies, set up barbecues, or fix any satellite dishes, and those failing to follow the rules will be fined Dh500.

Areas under Trakhees’ supervision, as per Degree No 22, includes, but not limited to Palm Jumeirah, Jumeirah Heights Jumeirah Village, Jumeirah Lakes Tower, Jebel Ali Downtown, International City, Discovery Gardens.

Last week, this website reported that the Community Conformance Division (CCD), Department of Planning & Development of Trakhees has informed residents not to fix satellite dishes on the facades or balconies of their buildings; not to use balconies as places of storage for any purpose other than seasonal furniture pieces; not to hang sheets, clothes or curtains or rugs or mops or laundry on balconies or railings of homes and not to have barbecues in their balconies.

J Sautter, a reader, commented: “I am all in for cleaning up facades and balconies from rubbish, storage, satellite dishes and cloths hanging over the railing. Dubai Marina should be included in this campaign. But drying clothes on a clothes' drying rack should be allowed. Think of the environment, people should not use electric dryers in a climate such as Dubai.”

“Dubai cannot become a jungle of laundries and satellites and smoking barbecues. This is Dubai with its own set of rules and regulations that must be respected. I thank the authorities for maintaining the beauty of Dubai,” said another reader.

Trakhees said the aim of the campaign is to preserve the upscale appearance, which is characteristic of Dubai by reducing the “off-putting” appearances, which adversely impact the overall aesthetics of the emirate.

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