edinburghexpat

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EW NEWBIE

Latest post on 08 April 2015 - 11:31

Hi everyone and thanks so much for your very kind and detailed responses. Sorry for the delay in updating this, we have been sorting out access to the property (phew) and getting the internet connected. My husband, as suggested, politely mentioned getting the police involved which seemed to speed things up on the Emaar side of things, and Emaar in turn contacted the MD of the letting agents (a very big and well known firm) which seemed to motivate the exceptionally unhelpful individual we were dealing with. The Landlord does indeed live abroad and didn’t know payment was due and was very apologetic. We are now, thankfully, liaising with him directly on the other snagging issues (broken fridges and washing machines etc.) and good progress is being made. Thanks very much for all the links, the help and advice. We’ve learnt a whole load of important Dubai life lessons, including 1) don’t trust anything an agent says and confirm everything yourself 2) call the community manager direct to confirm outstanding service charges before you pay anything and 3) no matter how much pressure the agent applies, don’t pay their fee until you are in the property and all the necessary payments are up to date. We really left ourselves without leverage by giving in and paying them too early. Aside from this we have been enjoying our move out here and hope that the worst part is over now!

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edinburghexpat

Posts

EW NEWBIE

Latest post on 31 March 2015 - 11:58

Hi I am hoping someone might be able to help/provide advice/recommend a good lawyer if need be. We are new to Dubai and have an apartment in The Views. Under pressure from the agent we signed the tenancy contract and paid our rent cheque without first checking independently that the community charge was up to date and taking on trust the agents assurances that the landlord was up to date with this. It has now been established the landlord has not paid the service charge and Emaar are now refusing us access to the property (our flat included). Can anyone please answer the following: 1) Are Emaar allowed to do this? it's one thing to limit access to amenities but they have effectively made us homeless 2) What options to we have to gain access to the property if the landlord wont pay? 3) Can we cancel the contract and get our rent back if the landlord doesnt pay? He is in breech after all of our contract as he is meant to pay the service charge. 4) Can we pay the service charge and recover this from the landlord? Is there a legal avenue for us to do this or would we just have to cross our fingers and hope? 5) Is there any action we can take against our agents? I'm sorry if this has been covered else where - I've read posts about being denied entry to the pool etc but this is more basic than that. It seems mad that we have paid our rent and yet are homeless. Any advice welcome. Thanks in advance.

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