Dubai, June 25: Engineers from Dubai Municipality (DM) will examine the condition of Zabeel building on Umm Hurair Road and will present a report to the Tenancy Disputes Committee (TDC) after the authorities had served an eviction notice to the tenants.
TDC took the decision, following a two-hour meeting on Wednesday between some 250 tenants of the six storey building and representatives of the Dubai International Real Estate Company (DIREC) which manages the building.
The litigants are to meet again on October 7, for the TDC to issue a final decision, according to a tenant.
The DIREC has served evacuation notices to all the tenants for the authorities to carry out urgent maintenance work.
The notice states that since the building is old and in a bad condition (located on plot No. 481-318 Um Hurair) comprehensive maintenance and basic repair work has been found necessary and that the building needs to be evacuated on or before December 31, 2009. Most of the tenants, who said they cannot afford skyrocketing rents, challenged the eviction order and approached the municipality.
“How can I afford a three-room apartment against Dh40,000 at such a location in Dubai,” a tenant said. When approached by Khaleej Times, the representatives of the DIREC and members of the Rent Dispute Committee were not available for comment. Dr Emad Eldin Mohamed, an Egyptian pharmacist, said theTDCis to send inspectors from the Building Inspection Department to issue a report on the condition of the building.
“I have been residing in the Zabeel building for the last 15 years, and believe it is in a very good condition. It only needs some paintwork,” Dr Emad told Khaleej Times.
Observing that the eviction notice is just a ‘scheme’, Dr Emad said the last time the building, comprising 250 flats was maintained was 14 years back, and that the maintenance work proposed could be done without evicting the tenants. “The DIREC tried to find a problem with the building before, but the engineering committee of the DM turned downi ts request several times,” he said. Emad Al Asmar, a Lebanese tenant said the DIREC’s evacuation claims are groundless.
“Most of the tenants have already carried out maintenance work on their own. We don’t need their service,” Al Asmar told Khaleej Times. Former Consul General of the State of Palestine, Saleem Abu Sultan, said the eviction order is aimed to get higher rents. “We are ready to pay the annual rent rise set by the competent authorities. We cannot simply evacuate our apartments where we have stayed for around 20 years,” he said. Another tenant, who spoke to Khaleej Times on condition of anonymity, said the engineering committee is to check if the DIREC’s maintenance claims hold any value.
“The committee shall also have to decide if such maintenance work requires for the tenants to move out,” he said. The same tenant then said though the building is in bad shape, as it has only been painted once 28 years back, it is very steady, and needs no maintenance as claimed.
“I have been residing in the building for the last 20 years and can ascertain it is in good condition. The building was even supposed to rise up to 25 stories, but six floors were only built for being close to the airport. The bases and pillars of the building are clear evidence to such a fact,” he said.
“The building also passed an earlier examination by the DM Engineering Committee onNovember 27, 2008.”
–Agencies