No hidden charges: Nakheel

Dubai-based real estate giant Nakheel has launched an initiative aiming to stamp out "hidden fees" relating to property transactions. The property developer says it will modify its internal procedures to reduce costs for property purchasers and will boost transparency in cost information provided to buyers. "As both the Dubai property market and laws mature, it's vital that master developers streamline their process and fees to reflect this progress," said Nakheel CEO Chris O'Donnell. The move follows recent Gulf News articles citing residents' complaints over extra charges levied by developers and sub-developers. Buyers said they faced hidden costs totalling several thousand dirhams when registering their new homes, either charged directly by the developer or passed down by a middle man, in addition to the standard fees levied by Dubai Land Department. Nakheel, developer of numerous major projects including the Palm Jumeirah and International City, was among the developers criticised by homeowners. A resident at International City said he paid the land department's fee, as well as a two per cent registration administration charge to Nakheel and a further Dh 2,000 service fee, which he claims was passed on to him by the building owner (an organisation that buys an entire building from a developer and sells individual units to end users). "I knew about having to pay the Land Department fees, but then I found out that I would have to pay extra costs," the resident told Gulf News. "It's unjustifiable that the developer charged me or the building owner an extra amount for a relatively simple (title registration) process." O'Donnell said Nakheel will highlight in its contracts the actual fees payable and spell out that buyers are not liable to pay any sellers costs. This includes Land Department fees and affection plan production costs. The company says it will continue to provide value-added services where required by customers, but will not make these services mandatory. These services include contract production for building purchasers or assistance with Land Department title transfers for registered owners. Property buyers have also complained about the cost of Notification of Completion certificates (NOC), which homeowners who already hold title deeds must produce when transferring their property to another party. Nakheel also said it has cut the fee for issuing NOCs from Dh1,000 to Dh500, which it says covers the cost of verifying that there are no outstanding issues such as unpaid service charges. Sunday's initiative was announced in collaboration with Dubai Land Department, which had vowed to investigate the issue of hidden costs when complaints first arose earlier this year. A spokesperson for the department said Nakheel's move will aid the continued growth of Dubai's property market by simplifying the process of purchasing property for local and international investors.
Do you think other developers will follow suit? Will this move by Nakheel help create more transparency in the property market? Source