Abu Dhabi residents unhappy over new parking rates

Families with multiple cars have complained about a lack of affordable options to park near their residences

Abu Dhabi: A new set of “exorbitant” parking rates has added to the financial burden of some Reem Island residents in the capital.

The residents, who rent or own residential units in Marina Square, reported that they now face paying up to Dh65 every day, or Dh800 per month, for parking a second vehicle in designated parking areas, as dictated by Marina Square’s management company Three60.

“I recently parked my car on a Thursday night and when I left on Friday night, I had to pay Dh65. Dh65 for 24 hours of parking! This is outrageous. Nowhere else in Abu Dhabi you would have to pay for parking on Fridays or public holidays,” Mohammad, an owner of a three-bedroom apartment, told Gulf News.

The new hiked parking charges have come about as Three60 made a previously free visitor parking area, with about 200 spaces, inaccessible. The company also brought in charges for another free parking area, commonly referred to as Geant parking. Now, parking is free for just the first two hours, after which a charge of Dh5 an hour, in addition to Dh15 for overnight parking, applies.

“When we bought the apartment two years ago, they said there was one parking space allocated and they (estate agent) showed us all the available parking in the area and assured us that we had nothing to worry about. The subject of new charges never came up,” Mohammad said.

Marina Square is a master-planned community on Reem Island in the capital, and consists of 13 residential towers with 4,000 units. The complex has its own underground parking, with one allocated space per residential unit. But there is no surface parking around the complex, and most other parking slots are within gated structures. In order to reserve an additional spot within the gated areas, residents say they must pay a fee of about Dh9,600 per year. This means that many families with second vehicles would often use the Geant parking before the new fees came into effect.

Now, in order to avoid paying the steep parking fees, these residents are forced to park near a mosque that is a 15-minute walk from the Square.

“Can you imagine walking from the mosque with your children or go shopping during the hot summer months? We shouldn’t be forced to do this,” said Iman, a mother of two who has rented a two-bedroom apartment.

Three60 has informed residents that they can pay an annual fee of Dh3,500 fee to reserve limited spaces within the Geant car park. But according to residents, the system has not been implemented yet.

“We are suffering, really suffering to find parking spaces near our houses. This is the most expensive parking system I have ever come across, and is totally unfair,” said Hussam, a father of three who owns a three-bedroom apartment.

“Investment is generally encouraged, and I am an investor, but Three60 is driving us away. I am really thinking about selling and moving out of this nightmare,” he added.

When contacted, Three60 said that it offers a wide range of affordable parking solutions that fall within Abu Dhabi’s average market prices, adding that parking is free during Ramadan and discounted overnight during the holy month.

“[The] current rates have been well studied by Three60 communities in terms of operational expenses while being in line with the residents’ interests, and do reflect the market average in Abu Dhabi city,” it said in a statement.

But Marina Square tenants and owners disagreed, saying that residents in Abu Dhabi pay just Dh1,200 a year to park their second vehicles near their homes, compared to the Dh3,500 they must shell out. In addition, overnight parking is not charged in other public areas of the city, and parking on Fridays and public holidays is also free.

“Many tenants are now leaving because of these parking issues, and this is a concern for investors like me. If a tenant is paying Dh125,000 in rent and then he has to pay another Dh10,000 for parking, he will go somewhere else. On the other hand, if Three60 follows the regular public parking charges, I think everyone would be happy,” said Osama, owner of a two-bedroom apartment.

Tawtheeq charges also hiked at Marina Square

Marina Square residents have reported that they now also face hiked procedural fees to obtain a municipal document, known as Tawtheeq, required for renewing their visas and for other official transactions.

The charge to obtain the Tawtheeq certificate, which is issued by the Municipality of Abu Dhabi City and certifies leasable units in the capital, was previously set at Dh250 by Three60, the management company for the Reem Island community. However, Three60 increased the rates to Dh750 in April, to the concern of residents.

“It is very unfair for us because we have no choice. The management company puts you in a corner because you can only get this document through Three60, even though the municipality issues it. Tomorrow if they decide to increase the charges to Dh1,000, we will still be forced to pay,” said Anna, a mother of two who rents a two-bedroom apartment in the square for Dh130,000. Anna had to submit the Tawtheeq certificate in order to get a birth certificate for her newborn.

In response to these concerns, Three60 said that the Tawtheeq administration fee has been benchmarked with other community management companies in Abu Dhabi, and is therefore competitive.

“As the nominated agent for Tawtheeq in communities under management, this service is provided as a convenience for our residents. Recently, Tawtheeq registration has witnessed a change in process within the municipality, which … required an increase in resources by Three60 in order to ensure all requirements had been accurately met,” the company added.

As reported by Gulf News, Tawtheeq registration procedures at the municipality have recently been updated. But the charge to obtain a Tawtheeq certificate directly from the authorities is Dh100. However, this option is not available to many residents, including those living in master-planned communities like Marina Square.

Zawya