Dubai’s strata law will shake the industry

The impending Dubai strata law set to be implemented in the first quarter of 2008 is causing quite a stir in the facilities management world, yet more widespread coverage of the law has been limited and people's knowledge and understanding of it is vague, to say the least.

Having mentioned it to friends and colleagues who own property in Dubai, I expected a more interested response due to the scale of impact. But blank looks and comments like, "strata what?" worryingly seems to be the norm.

On the surface, it seems the law will bring regulation and governance to the property market. But having sat with the only two strata management companies currently in Dubai, there are many issues that will be brought to the forefront in 2008.

Service charges will probably dominate the papers, with some of the existing communities expecting a hike in charges and others benefiting from a drop.

Reasons behind the increase and decrease could range from subsidised service charges to charges with irrelevant costs included.

During an interview with Peter Crogan, CEO, BCS Strata Management and Adrian Quinn, executive chairman, Essential Strata, both parties agreed that there is simply too much work for the two companies to handle. Not really a feasible way of supporting the Dubai strata community, but what's the alternative?

Some developers are setting up their own in-house strata divisions, but this hardly screams transparency to building/unit owners. It also means that while the lack of understanding and knowledge about the law still hovers over the property industry, there is no means of recruiting strata staff from the local recruitment pool. This will force companies like BCS Strata Management and Essential Strata to drain the overseas market and pull from other country's expertise.

While this would benefit the industry in the short-term, Crogan and Quinn think the region should introduce strata management qualifications if it is to sustain the growth of the market.

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