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Who's to blame for the poor villa maintenance?

DUBAI - Living in villas is considered a luxury in Dubai, but when it comes to maintenance, both the landlord and tenant keep throwing the ball in each other's court.

Lawfully, the landlord is responsible for the maintenance of his property. But according to property dealers in Dubai, in several cases, the contract does not state the point clearly until the issue is cleared between the landlord and the tenant before a contract is signed.

Even then, several residents of villas point out that once the contract has been signed, the management forgets about the maintenance.

Ranjit Arora, a resident of a villa in Rashidiya, said that at the time of signing of the contract, he was told that the property dealer would take care of the villa's maintenance but the picture was startlingly different a few weeks later.

"We share a pool with two other villas and naturally it requires constant cleaning. But many a time, instead of coming once a week for the maintenance as stipulated in the contract, the cleaners visit us only once a month. The amount of money we pay in rent is unjustified for the kind of service we are receiving," he complained.

Ricky Advani from Paradise Properties said, "Though it is a mutual understanding, it is the landlord who is responsible for the maintenance." Mr Advani said that though it was not always stated in the contract, it was a mutual understanding between the tenant and the landlord that all kinds of maintenance would be carried out by the landlord.

"We are the go in-between the tenant and landlord in case problems arise between them. If the landlord goes back on his words and refuses to cooperate with the tenant regarding the maintenance works, the tenant can always lodge a complaint with us," he said.

He also said that though even changing of the light bulbs was the responsibility of the landlord, it was understood by the landlord that the tenant would do such kind of maintenance. "Swimming pools are cleaned once in a week and they are the responsibility of the landlord," he confirmed.

Another disgruntled villa owner in Jumeirah said that he preferred calling a private company for his maintenance works instead of the real estate company as the repairs undertaken by them were of sub-standard quality and did not match up to his requirements.

"I have faced many instances in the past where a simple leak in the bathroom took about two days to complete, leading to much confusion and chaos in my house. The maintenance company employed by my property dealer is quite incompetent and I prefer paying for my own minor repairs. There should be some standards maintained by such dealers as I am paying nearly Dh120,000 in rent for my villa and paying extra for repairs is just an added burden," said Nilesh Malhotra, a businessman.

"Though all the maintenance works should be taken up by the landlord, it is not always a written agreement. It is also very much assumed by the landlord that all kinds of maintenance would be done by the person who lives in any rented property," explained a representative of Everest Property dealers that leases villas both in Dubai and Sharjah.

Explaining further, she also said that there was not much space in the contract to jot down details regarding the maintenance of the rented out buildings, so it is considered an understood matter, she added.

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