- City Fajr Shuruq Duhr Asr Magrib Isha
- Dubai 04:33 05:50 12:21 15:48 18:46 20:03
Cooling charges will be applicable to existing tenants when they renew their contracts in Phase 2 of Al Khail Gate. (Supplied)
Residents of Al Khail Gate community in Dubai’s Al Qouz area will have to start paying for district cooling, Emirates 24|7 can reveal.
The cooling charges will, however, be applicable only to existing tenants when they renew their contracts in Phase 2 of the project, according to Dubai Properties Group (DPG), developer of the residential project.
“In Al Khail Gate charges for district cooling services will now be collected as part of the rent.
“This will be effective under the renewed lease between the landlord and the tenant,” a company spokesperson told this website.
“DPG has so far been subsidising the district cooling costs at its own expense,” the spokesperson said, stating that it has been a standard practice for tenants in Dubai to pay a percentage of district cooling charges relevant to the size of their respective unit.
Al Khail Gate, comprises 9,500 apartments, ranging from studios to three-beds, and is currently 100 per cent occupied, DPG said.
A resident, who has been renting a one-bed apartment in phase 2 of the project, on conditions of anonymity, said: “I have been renting a unit here for the past two years. I was shocked and frustrated when I saw this additional charge mentioned in my renewal notice.”
The resident is currently paying Dh43,000 per annum and his new rent, on renewal, will be Dh45,150 per.
He will have to pay Dh5,820 pa, or Dh485 per month, as cooling charges.
When contacted, a call centre official for Salwan, the leasing agent for the project, quoted Dh55,000 pa as rent for a one-bed unit in phase 2 of the project.
The resident has until end of August to decide on whether he wants to renew the contract.
“I have friends who just renewed their contract this year without cooling charges,” he claims.
However, DPG, refused to comment on any individual cases, advising tenants to take up the matter with Taziz Property Management Solutions, its property management company.
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