Tenants told to pay chiller fees

Some landlords in Discovery Gardens are asking tenants to pay for chiller expenses as rents continue to decline, Emirates Business has found.

AA, a resident of a one-bedroom apartment in Discovery Gardens, said his landlord had verbally asked him to pay chiller charges as rents have fallen compared to last year.

"Although the notice sent to us by the owner (a big real estate company), does not mention anything about chiller charges, we were verbally informed to pay for the district cooling," he said.

However, Kosta Giannopoulos, Manager, Residential Sales and Leasing, Better Homes, which manages a number of apartments in Discovery Gardens, said he had not come across any instances where landlords were asking tenants to meet chiller charges.

Local media yesterday reported occupants of Discovery Gardens had been informed that Palm Utilities would stop chilled water supply, stalling air-conditioning systems, from today. Palm Utilities is owned by Dubai World, which also owns Nakheel, the developer of Discovery Gardens.

Nakheel later said it had resolved a dispute with the supplier and that air-conditioning would not be cut off. Unit owners have to pay cooling charges at Dh8.70 per sq foot per annum.

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