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28 March 2024

60-70% owners are service-charge defaulters

Published
By Parag Deulgaonkar

Nakheel has not cutback on any services across any of its master communities despite the number of service charge defaulters ranging between 60 and 70 per cent, a senior company executive has revealed.

“We haven’t cutback on any service across our communities. We are striving to continue to improve and reduce the cost which ultimately the owners have to pay as part of the communities in which they live,” said interim Chief Executive Officer Sanjay Manchanda.

He added that the company was endeavoring to reduce service charges for year 2012 by a further 15 to 20 per cent compared to 2011, as he called upon property owners to pay their outstanding service charges.

“Our endeavor is to provide the most economical service to our communities. We are making every effort to provide quality service at a cost which we believe is competitive and that is verified and validated by Real Estate Regulatory Agency.”

“We are very conscious about their communities and when somebody questions us and says anything about service charges then the first thing we say, ‘sir if you pay, then the service will be provided to you.’ It cannot be that your neighbour pays and you don’t and demand the same service.

“When we are providing services and incurring costs on behalf of the owners, how come nobody wants to pay and yet claim that they want the service and enjoy in best in class and quality.”

Emirates 24l7 reported on December 25, 2011, that Nakheel had decided to name-and-shame service charge defaulters in the community in an apparent bid to make owners cough up the outstanding fees. However, Nakheel is still pondering what action it will take against apartment owners who have defaulted on service charges. 

Chiller charges 'lowest'

Asked if the company was planning to reduce the chiller charges in Jumeirah Islands, Manchanda said the chiller tariffs were lower than the benchmark study it had conducted recently.

Owners in Jumeirah Islands had opposed an increase in chiller charges after the charges were raised to Dh1.40 per tonne of refrigeration an hour instead of Dh0.563 per tonne it levied in 2011. It, however, waived off the capacity charge of Dh1,250 per month.

The company has also seen an increase in property sales with Palm Jumeirah being one of the most sought-after communities.

“Sales have gone up… Palm Jumeirah is one of the sought-after communities. There is also interest in other communities such as Jumeirah Park and Jumeirah Village,” Manchanda revealed. 

Access cards plan

In Discovery Gardens and International City, the company will be installing access control and CCTV systems.

“The tenders will be out soon for installing access cards and CCTVs in these communities to make them safer for residents,” Manchanda informed.