Authorities in Dubai have taken a strong stand against property owners who have not cleared their service charge dues for this year.
As per the legal notices that property management companies are sending out to homeowners, asset owners in Dubai who are late in paying the 2020 service charges will not be allowed to register or renew their lease.
In most cases, legal recipients will have until the end of this month or early October to make payments. Refusing the lease renewal is especially difficult for landlords because most of them have units in the rental market.
Property management companies have been issuing notices since the beginning of the week, with clear instructions that all dues must be paid within 30 days.
If the owners still make delays in payments, legal proceedings will be initiated, they will not be allowed to register or renew the lease. The matter will be considered before a judge who can order further proceedings against the homeowners.
In the third stage, the judge may “force” the unit to be sold through a public auction. Non-payment of service charge fees has increased year by year, with some communities reporting a 2020 decline in their property maintenance funds. Property management companies opine that if this situation is allowed to continue, it will lead to the general collapse of individual assets and the wider communities to which they belong.
For homeowners, they want the regulator to examine how the annual service fee is set and what management companies spend on it. In short, they want more direct control over funds and their use.
Owners have until October to make sure this year’s payments are up to date. The legal notice also states that they will not receive a second reminder before the proceedings begin.
The notification will take effect when an owner fails to pay, and the owner is liable for all expenses.
Neither the owner nor the developer will be exempt from paying the service fee approved by the Authority (Real Estate Regulatory Authority).
Homeowners will continue to make their case with RERA for better control of setting service charges and their use. But they also realize that their 2020 arrears cannot be further delayed.
