RERA boss slams Nakheel car park lock out

The CEO of Dubai’s real estate watchdog has said developer Nakheel is wrong to lock residents out of their car parks in its Palm Jumeirah Shoreline development, even if service charges remain unpaid. When contacted by Arabian Business, Marwan bin Ghalaita said it is not the developer’s responsibility to restrict access to facilities and common areas, now that the owners associations have been formally registered. “If owners have not paid their charges it is up to the owners associations to restrict access, not Nakheel,” he said. A number of residents living in the Shoreline apartments were outraged this week after being locked out of their own carparks. In a bid to claw back outstanding service fees, state-backed Nakheel last month introduced a car park and building access system for Shoreline buildings 1 and 2, under which tenants and landlords whose service charges remain unpaid have been refused access to parking spaces. The move is the latest twist in the long-running battle between the Palm Jumeirah developer and its residents, originally sparked when Nakheel banned some homeowners from accessing the gyms, pools and beaches. Lawyers contacted by Arabian Business said they believed the car-park lockout to be unlawful, since it was the owners associations’ responsibility to block access for unpaid fees. Owners associations, which have now been formally registered for buildings 1 and 2, said they have not approved the removal of car park access. Many residents believe the lock-out will soon extend to their residential buildings, preventing them from accessing their private properties. Nakheel did not provide a comment when contacted by Arabian Business.