Real Heights Real Estate Broker

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Dubai: Four new regulations to be announced in March will give property owners in Dubai respite from rocketing service charges, the Real Estate Regulatory Authority (Rera) said on Tuesday.

Against the backdrop of falling property prices, some developers in Dubai recently hiked service charges, much to the dismay of residents.

Under the proposed new regulations, service charges for buildings that have been handed over are to be frozen at 2008 rates unless the current rates are less than 2008 rates or have been approved by Rera.

This freeze will last until the first general assembly of the Owner's Association is held. This is expected to be within three months of registration.

Service charges for buildings that are due to be handed over soon or are in the process of being handed over are also subject to Rera approval. The charges will then be applicable until the first general assembly is held.

Owners of buildings that have already been handed over or those which are due to be handed over would be required to pay the service charges until such time that the owners approve service charges decided on at the general assembly, Marwan Bin Galita, chief executive of Rera, said.

Service charges which have already been paid would be adjusted as per the revised rate.

"There has been so much frustration and anger about service charges being levied at the owners, so I think these [regulations] are bowing to public pressure more than anything. But it's a good step," Vincent Easton, director of sales at Sherwoods, said.

"Service charges should reflect accurately the level of maintenance received and I don't think that has really been the case," Easton added.

However, some residents believe that there should be a standard rate of service charges across the board.

Developers and managers of jointly owned properties must continue to manage such properties until the general assembly at which point they must present a formal budget for consideration of the owners.

Each Owner's Association will appoint a general manager responsible for administrative, financial and secretarial issues. Each general manager will then need to obtain a licence from Rera and show they are qualified to manage an Owner's Association. Developers will have six months from the date the regulations are issued to register owners associations. If they fail to do this, owners themselves will be able to register the owners association at the developer's expense.

An online system developed by Rera, specifically for the registration of owner's associations, would also be made available for use from March 15.

What is Owner's Association?

- Owner's Association is made up of owners in apartments or villas in a registered jointly-owned property.

- The Owner's Association is responsible for administering and maintaining common areas of their building or villa community.

- Owners will be able to look at financial statements of the Owner's Association and check expenses.

Source: Copyright © 2009 Gulfnews.com. All rights reserved.