Dubai, June 23: A cut in service charges at Discovery Gardens by Nakheel has failed to placate apartment owners.
The master developer vowed on Monday to lower service charges by Dh5 per square feet. However, residents claim that the reduction was insufficient.
Michael Aldendorff, spokesman for the 150 apartment owners who have signed a petition to lower the fees, said that the group was considering legal action.
“There is no way that Nakheel can justify these exorbitant service charges,” he said. “We do not even have swimming pools yet, but we pay more than other areas.
“Home owners are disgruntled and are refusing to pay the fees. We will give Nakheel an opportunity to reduce the fees further, but if there is no further reduction we will seek legal action.”
Owners in Discovery Gardens currently pay around Dh18-19 per square foot in service charges. However, they pay around Dh11 more in district cooling charges.
With the reduction, residents now pay around Dh24-25 in service charges and district cooling charges.
The Real Estate Regulatory Agency (Rera) has previously ruled that any change in service charges must first be submitted for approval.
The reduction in the Discovery Gardens’ fees has been approved by Rera and residents who have already paid the previous rate would be entitled to a rebate, Nakheel officials said.
It is claimed that the new rate is in line with similar developments in Dubai.
Homeowners will meet on Wednesday to discuss whether to take further action.
Nakheel officials said that they were looking at separating service charges from district cooling charges, meaning effectively a further reduction.
“The service charges also include all district cooling charges which amount to just under a third of the total costs,” said Abdulrahman Kalantar, Managing Director of Nakheel Asset Management and Design.
“When the district cooling costs are removed, the actual service charges are around Dh14 per square foot, which is a reduction of approximately 25 per cent of the previous rate and in line with similar developments across Dubai.”
–Agencies