Betterliving February 2019

Home security | PROPERTY
recommendations on social media could
be clever marketing.
Mohamed: There is no standard pricing.
However, the rates for each company
are based on the skillset of its staff and
the ability of the in-demand company
to be able to give a reasonable response
time. The more experienced and skilled
the staff, the more they are paid; and
the easier it is for them to diagnose and
resolve the issue swiftly and without any
inconvenience. This allows you to avoid
inaccurate charges you will have to bear
if you consider a company with lower
rates for annual maintenance – paying
a little more for quality means greater
savings in the long run. Always ask
about the skillset of in-house staff – no
company can be an expert in all services
so subcontracting is common. History
and references are a plus point – ask if
the company has worked on properties in
the same community as yours.
IS IT WORTH INVESTING IN AN ANNUAL
MAINTENANCE CONTRACT (AMC)?
Mohamed: An AMC is becoming
accepted as a norm in Dubai. People are
more aware of the advantages of having
a professional service provider always
available when needed, particularly
with A/C and leakage issues common
GO GREEN
If you haven’t had
a recycling bin
installed in your
community just yet,
expect one soon:
Dubai municipality
intends to
add about 10
neighbourhoods to
its list per year.
to this part of the world. Routine
maintenance and a reliable response
time for call-outs are being considered
a real value, as people cannot wait
extended amounts of time without a
cool home. As the Dubai real estate
market is moving more towards
the tenants’ favour, the only way to
acquire higher rents in a community
of 1,000 similar villas is to have a well
maintained home, with a history and
job record of a professional company,
along with providing a maintenance
contract with the tenancy.
Raashi: Signing an AMS does
have some benefits. However,
it is well recognised that AMCs
increasingly fail to deliver, based on
the following reasons:
•Potential drop in eagerness to serve
and service levels, as soon as the
customer is tied in
•Reduced flexibility for customers to
get alternative estimates, due to
AMC contract terms
•Sometimes more expensive than
paying per service, as prices charged
are generally higher for parts
and labour
•Unused AMC spend during years
in which there isn’t any major
maintenance required.
GO FOR SOLAR POWER
Dubai has set an ambitious goal to
increase solar capacity to 7% by
2020. If you want to do your part
to get us all to this sunny standard,
check out Shams Dubai (dewa.gov.
ae), DEWA’s first smart initiative
for connecting solar energy to
buildings, which offers guidelines
for installing solar panels at your
home. Electricity generated is for
your own use and any excess is fed
back into the grid, for which you
can be credited for on any future
energy bills. You can estimate your
potential electricity production
and savings on electricity bills
that can be achieved, using
Shams Dubai Calculator.
Words: Claire Malcolm
WHAT SHOULD BE INCLUDED IN RENTAL CONTRACTS REGARDING
YOUR HOME MAINTENANCE?
“Responsibility for maintenance should be included in the contract and should be as specific
as possible. If there is a maintenance dispute that cannot be resolved between the landlord
and the tenant, the tenant may open a case at the Rental Dispute Settlement Centre DLD
(fees/costs apply),” Richard Waind, Director of Brokerage, Betterhomes
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