I need to verify this but I was told on Tuesday that Victory Heights, in Sports City, are going to start charging 1,000 AED a month for the privilage of allowing us to put up 'For Sale' or 'To Let' boards.
At the moment we probably have about 20 boards up which means I would get stung for 20,000 dirhams per month! Not going to happen I can tell you now.
There are agents with a lot more boards up and to perfectly honest you can understand the reason behind it. There are far too many boards up and it does not look appealing when you visit the place. Often they get ripped down by the competition and left for dead on the floor.
Just for the record we will not be paying this charge but if the sellers are keen to have a board up then we would be happy to fill in the paperwork on their behalf and put up one of our aesthetically pleasing little numbers.
Some of you who are overseas may not understand the complexity of Dubai's trade license laws which I think will be my arguement with the facilities management company who are imposing this charge. Simply, you have to have a trade license for the specific trade you engage in. I cannot venture outside of my licensed activities and if i do there would be a large fine. As you will remember I know this only too well with the fight i had with the Tourist board over short term lettings.
In the Uk agents pay a company about 100 dhs to put up a board, maintain it, and add sold slips. So to pay 1,000 dhs a month to effectively rent space in a garden which is not theirs is missing some important thought processes.
If you are taking a look in Victory Heights this weekend you might need to look in the house window for the agent's details as we are confident the Facilities Mgt won't be able to charge a ground rent on your living room window.
