Friday, Jan 09, 2009
Gulf News
Dubai: Residents of DEC towers in Dubai Marina are angry that the developer, Dheeraj and East Coast, are asking them to pay for the instalment of electricity and water meters.
Some investors say the charges are illegal as they have not been mentioned in their contracts.
"The developer is charging investors to install an electricity and water metre from Dubai Electricity and Water Authority [Dewa] in each property, [at a cost of] Dh1,148 per property," an investor told Gulf News.
The issue of this extra cost is apparently not mentioned in the investors' contracts, the investor said. Dheeraj and East Coast, however, say this cost was highlighted in the contracts.
"Page 16, clause eight, sub-clause 8.1 clearly states that the buyer is responsible for paying any charges [related to] the unit for connection and consumption-levied directly by any authorities from the completion date," a spokesperson from Dheeraj and East Coast said.
Two charges were levied by Dewa on the DEC towers, one for the metre that provided a connection to the whole tower and one for sub-metre for individual apartments.
To ensure a smooth handover, DEC chose to pay both c omponents levied by Dewa. "We have, therefore, not acted illegally in seeking payments for the individual electricity and water metres," the spokesperson added.
The Dh300 million DEC Towers comprise of two residential towers.
Gulf News 2009. All rights reserved.
