Abu Dhabi tenants reel under heavy fees

Published Thursday, April 21, 2011

By Staff

A key property firm that manages a large part of Abu Dhabi housing sector has introduced a new package for its tenants-more services fees.

The new fees, including evacuation and letters to get new furniture, are introduced at a time when the central bank finally gave in to public demands and forced banks to cut their exorbitant services fees.

“New property services fees introduced by ADCP,” Emarat Al Youm, an Arabic language daily said in its headline on Thursday, referring to the Abu Dhabi Commercial Properties (ADCP), a four-year-old firm created by the government-controlled Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADCB).

But the paper quoted ADCP officials as defending their fees, saying they are intended to face soaring internal expenses.

It quoted tenants as saying they had been notified of a big list of fees, including Dh3,000 for evacuation to ensure the housing unit is returned in a good shape. Other fees involve Dh1,000 for a cheque which bounces back even if this is because of an inadvertent mistake made by the tenant when writing the cheque.

Tenants must also pay a new fee of Dh200 for a new lease contract and Dh150 for “express service” at the counter, the paper said.

“ADCP has asked me to pay Dh3,000 when I evict my apartment to ensure it is in a good shape…of course, this does not happen in most cases as you can not return a unit in the same condition when you received it,” the paper quoted Mustafa Al Sayyed, a tenant at an ADCP property, as saying.

Another tenant, Omar Mohammed, said he was asked to pay Dh1,000 for a bouncing cheque although it was the mistake of an ADCP employee, who wrote the wrong bank account number during signature of a new lease contract.

“Besides fees, renting a unit from ADCP cost more than other units in the local market, especially at new buildings,” said Ibrahim Mahdi, another tenant.

Emirat Alyoum quoted ADCP’s deputy chairman Abdullah Khalifa Al Suwaidi as defending the company’s fees policy, saying it does not impose a fee of five per cent of the lease contract which is enforced in the local market.

“All other fees are collected in return for internal expenses which ADCP shoulders to offer good services to the public,” he said.

“Most of the buildings managed by ADCP are also mortgaged to banks…this prompts us to impose fees on bouncing cheques to curb this practice.”

Another senior employee at ADCP dismissed claims by tenants about bouncing cheques caused by any error by a company employee.

“We do not collect fees for bouncing cheques in case of a mistake committed by an ADCP employee…as for the evacuation fees, the Dh3,000 will be returned to the tenant in case the unit is handed back in a good condition,” said Salam Tumeh, head of the properties section at ADCP.

ADCP was established by ADCB in January 2007 to act as its property services subsidiary. The Company now operates across the entire UAE, providing services to bank and privately owned properties.

Its biggest project is a construction and property management agreement it has with the government of Abu Dhabi, which involves the management of 55 Million square feet of buildings and the construction of more than 750 buildings.

List of ADCP fees (Source: Emarat Al Youm)

-- Express services 150

-- Collection of documents from tenants 300

--Bouncing cheques 1000

--Administrative fees 1000

--New furniture fees 3000

--Letter for moving furniture 150

-- Delaying cheque for one week 250

--New lease contract 200

-- Conversion of non-government lease 2000

-- Ending lease contract before expiry (payment of two month rent)

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