Sends emails to customers who bought in Skycourts
Following the line of Dubai Bank, Amlak Finance, an Islamic mortgage company, has agreed to waive the additional rental payment for the period beyond "the expected date of delivery" for a project in Dubailand.
In an email sent to an investor on earlier this month, and seen by Emirates 24|7, Amlak said: "We are pleased to inform you that the additional rental payment will be calculated till official completion date as per the sales and purchase agreement and the permitted extension; ie 31st December 2009."
The investor, on condition of anonymity, said: "Skycourts customers were sent a letter to take handover of their properties by April 15. We, around 50 people, sent letters to Amlak requesting them to waive the additional rental charges and reduce the profit rate in light of the Dubai Bank's decision and the fatwa that we got from the Grand Mufti."
The investor got a waiver of Dh28,000, which otherwise he had to pay in cash at the time of handover. Amlak CEO Arif Alharmi could not be reached for comment.
This website reported on March 29 that Dubai Bank had agreed to waive or fully refund advanced rental charges for the period beyond the "expected date of delivery" of a project.
The Shairah-complaint bank said: "In those specific situations where the delivery of the property under construction has been delayed beyond the 'expected date of delivery' [ie the completion date plus the contractually defined extension period], advanced rental charges for the period following the 'expected date of delivery' will be waived and/or fully refunded for all eligible customers."
Amlak reported a net loss of Dh219 million for 2010 compared with a loss of Dh177.37m in 2009. Earnings fell as the mortgage lender booked an impairment charge of Dh221.8m on its Islamic financing and investment assets. Income from the segment declined to Dh616m in comparison with Dh760.58m earned in the year-before period.
In 2009, Amlak adopted a construction-linked payment planas against its earlier policy of paying developers according to payment schedules as per sales and purchase agreements.
"The move will help safeguard customer interests and reduce their financial burden. Our overall liability will not reduce by switching over to construction-linked payment plan, it might just get delayed," Alharmi had said.
The Dh1.6 billion Skycourts development has over 2,800 apartments across six towers. Service charges for project has been set at Dh7.9 per square feet, while MaceMacro Property Consultancy will provide facilities management.
© Emirates 24|7 2011
