DUBAI // About 1,000 residents of luxury waterfront apartments on the Palm Jumeirah have been prevented from using their beach because of a dispute between developers.
People living in Shoreline apartment buildings Al Haseer 7 and Al Nabat 8 say they have been caught in the middle of a commercial dispute between Nakheel and IFA Hotels and Resorts which has resulted in Riva Beach Club being closed and the stretch of sand outside their homes on the man-made island declared out of bounds.
No warning of the decision to close the club was given, said residents, who were only alerted once security guards began to order people off the beach and to remove furniture and sports equipment.
"The lengthy dispute, which has been ongoing for over two months, has meant that owners and residents cannot walk on the beach, sit on the beach or swim in the sea adjacent to the property," said Julian Redman, chairman of the Al Haseer and Al Nabat Owners Association.
"Security guards have been very diligent making sure no one comes close to accessing the beach."
On October 16, at around 9am, Nakheel security guards told staff at the IFA-owned club that the beach was closed, he said.
"They also instructed any residents to leave immediately too and on one occasion the intimidation by the security guards brought an eight year old to tears, which is totally unacceptable behaviour in this day and age," said Mr Redman.
"There was no warning or notification of this closure."
Mr Redman, who paid more than US$1 million for his flat 12 months ago, said he has been left "disappointed and angry" at the closure.
"The OA [Owners Association] are up to date with all payments associated with the beach club and master community, which should allow unfettered access to all common areas including the beach," he said.
"Many residents have come forward complaining of the closure and have threatened to withhold their service charge payments whilst the beach is closed, which is not helpful when you are managing a multi-million dollar fund to manage these two buildings."
The OA contacted IFA Hotels and Resorts, which developed the buildings Al Haseer 7 and Al Nabat 8, and were told that a fee was due, which appeared to be over and above the master community fees, he said.
Nakheel were approached to reopen the beach while negotiations with IFA continued but to no avail.
The OA also contacted Dubai’s Real Estate Regulatory Authority (Rera) but again without success, said Mr Redman.
The association believed the beach was part of the common area cited in the master community declaration but were later informed by Rera that right of access is down to the Ports Customs and Free Zone Corporation.
"The convoluted and ambiguous nature of the access means that owners and residents have purchased into Dubai real estate with beach club access only to find that the access could be turned off at the whim of other authorities despite having paid for access within their master community fees and beach club fees," he said.
At present a date for the reopening of the beach and associated club is unclear but he has called on Rera to instruct Nakheel to allow access.
"Many owners paid a premium for being in buildings 7 and 8 compared to other shoreline units," he said.
"In the short term it has affected rentals as we hear some owners are struggling to rent their units whilst this dispute is happening. In the long term it doesn’t give the Dubai real estate market any credibility when a master developer can act in this way."
A spokesman for Nakheel said the developer has "tried for more than seven years to amicably resolve this matter with IFA, the registered owner and controller of these buildings and its club house".
"Until now, IFA has failed to pay its outstanding fees for beach access. Access will be re-granted once the arrears are settled.
"While we sympathise with the residents who are affected by this non-payment, we have no direct contact with them, and therefore urge them to liaise directly with IFA regarding the situation."
An official source at IFA Hotels & Resorts said it is working to resolve the issue and acknowledge the inconvenience caused to residents.
"We expect to reach a resolution very shortly allowing for all stakeholders, whether they are owners, tenants, or commercial operators to resume full access to the beach. The fees have been the matter of extensive discussion with the Master Community as there was a lack of clarity in the original terms of purchase for the buildings, however we continue to be in contact with the relevant management representatives to amicably settle the matter."
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