rics announce regional version of international standard service charge code
ALDAR Properties to act as UAE consultants - introducing international standards in service charges to the Gulf Property industry
ALDAR today announced that its ongoing partnership with the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), signed in an MOU during 2006, will now result in a localized version of the RICS Code for managing service charges.
The international standard was released to RICS members worldwide in April 2007, and this regional version will be available in early 2008. Voluntary for commercial property providers, the Code will offer strict guidelines designed to demonstrate transparency and ethical management for purchasers, tenants and occupiers.
“When we partnered with RICS last year, we were already committed to ensuring that our practices were in line with international standards, across our business units. Our work with them has meant that service charges have already been levied in completed and occupied properties, and so this is the right stage for us to begin looking at what can now be improved to standardize these practices for our other developments, and indeed, whether this can be used industry-wide,” commented Ronald Barrott, CEO, ALDAR.
“Creating a Gulf Region version of the international code will give landlords and owners of property and their managing agents a clear guide to structuring and managing service charges whilst protecting the consumer. This document drafted by an independent, representative professional body, based on an existing international standard will be localized to take regional concerns and information in to account. This will be a huge benefit to buyers conversant in international property markets, looking for the reassurance of international standards,” Barrott concluded.
The Code of Practise will set out best practise guidelines which will allow practitioners to meet the international standards. Some specific areas of best practice include:
o Providing guidelines that can resolve conflict areas in a potential dispute
o Advising fee charges for developers and managers to ensure service charges are not a source of unreasonable profit
o Encouraging transparency by allowing the invoices and accounts from service charges paid, to be fully accessible by the tenants purchasers and owners, – as laid out in the purchase or lease documentation.
“Partnering with ALDAR on this regional version will allow us to bring together the specialist knowledge of some of the leading consultants in this field, who drafted the original RICS Code of Practise, with regional specialists from ALDAR who have experience in implementing service charge agreements in the UAE,” We know that Aldar are already well ahead in this field and the RICS is looking forward to working with Aldar to further fine tune their approach” commented Alan England RICS Regional Development Manager, AIME. “We aim to promote the Code as an industry standard for the entire Gulf region, and so we looked to our partners in Abu Dhabi for their local and regional expertise in this rapidly expanding industry. We are confident that the Gulf Code of Practise will be a benefit to developers and consumers alike.”
