A new green building rating system in Dubai is expected to mean lower energy bills for residents in buildings with higher ratings.
The Al Safat system, launched by Dubai Municipality, splits all buildings into either platinum, gold, silver or bronze categories. Owners, investors and developers of all buildings – be it residential, commercial, industrial or others – must ensure achieve at least a bronze certification.
Residents living in buildings with higher green ratings are expected to benefit from lower energy costs. But they may also end up paying more in rents, according to a report by Gulf News.
Homes furnished with recycled materials, with better ventilation and natural lighting, cooler parking areas and reduced electricity bills will be given higher scores in the ratings system.
However, an increase in five percent of investment has been estimated for buildings to achieve a bronze rating, according to the report. It said the higher the rating, the more the investment will be required.
The municipality has not yet announced any incentives to encourage developers to aim for higher ratings, but they have encouraged the use of the ratings as a marketing tool.
Comfort levels and savings on electricity bills will be higher in such properties, according to Essa Al Haj Al Maidour, the Deputy Director-General of Dubai Municipality.
The municipality will consult the Real Estate Regulatory Agency to implement a green building rating-based system for rents, said Ahmad Saeed Al Badwawi, head of research and building material studies at the Building Department.
“We are working now to put a limit for rent for each category,” he said.
Al Badwawi confirmed that the plan is to allow buildings with higher ratings to take more rents “because they have a lot of saving in energy bills”.
If an electricity bill is AED1,000 per month in silver-rated apartments, it will be halved for an occupant in a platinum-rated apartment, he said.
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