Tenants in Discovery Gardens, Dubai, have been hit with a sudden requirement to register with Empower for air conditioning services, in addition to national utilities provider DEWA, or they will be cut off within four days, local media reported.
Residents in a handful of buildings in the neighbourhood close to the Jebel Ali were served with a notice dated October 15 2015 instructing them to register with Empower, which provides chiller water for A/C services.
According to Emirates247 the notice said: “As per the instructions from Nakheel Owners’ Association (NOA), kindly note that all apartment owners are required to register with Empower (Palm District Cooling), starting October 18 2015, to avoid disconnection of the cooling services.
“Thus, we hereby request you to register with Empower (Palm District Cooling). Failure to register the unit by October 31 will lead to disconnection of cooling services and subsequently, statutory action will be taken.”
Residents who fail to comply would face an AED1,000 ($272) fine and a two-day wait for their A/C to be reconnected, reported the website, which published a photocopy of the notice alongside its story.
The notice added that residents must get a no objection certificate (NOC) from the residents’ association before they commence the Empower registration process.
This could take several days to complete and is subject to settlement of all outstanding dues on the apartment.
The new requirement has been enforced since new ‘smart’ metres were installed in several buildings in Discovery Gardens, in a bid to reduce energy consumption.
The master developer Nakheel had asked residents to ensure outstanding bills were paid before the meters were installed, but some new tenants have been unable to contact their landlords to confirm previous tenants had paid up.
One resident, Preeti Singh, was quoted as saying: “Our landlord does not live in Dubai and now we are relying on the real estate agent to complete all the formalities.
“He has asked us to deposit all the money, which he has promised to refund. We have no other option, but to pay up.”
Standard tenancy agreements in Dubai state that the tenant must register with DEWA on signing the contract, but not all of them require additional registration with Empower.
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