Strata Security

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Whatever the reason may be – the credit crunch, a normalisation of inflated prices, new legislation on ‘flipping’ – the truth of the matter is that investor confidence in Dubai and, by extension, the rest of the GCC, is currently at its most fragile.

Several silver linings are emerging, however, through the necessity to protect and ensure the sector’s future. The introduction of Strata Titles, according to experienced strata professional Peter Crogan, CEO of BCS Strata Management Services, will be just one such positive outcome.

“Strata protect investment in real estate as they lay down protocols on property management and developer-buyer relations. This, in turn, will support the return on investment, which will help the market stay vibrant despite the current global economic slowdown,” says Crogan, explaining that the ultimate aim of the strata law is to safeguard the interests of the consumer by making previously undisclosed information available.

“Strata law is an assurance from the developer on unit delivery and transparency in dealings, as well as a reaffirmation of the buyer’s right to know valuable detail and information. This is international best practice and the integration of this into this country’s real estate sector will help lift the mood in the market and build confidence, attracting foreign investment.”

And the chain reaction that Strata Titles introduce could reach further than many developers have anticipated, he explains.

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Combined with these laws will be new sets of regulations governing the need to standardise measurements; how, for example, will properties be surveyed off-the-plan?

“A successful real estate sector needs three things: guaranteed delivery, mortgages and asset protection. Dubai has those now. And other places throughout the Gulf will follow suit. Abu Dhabi, Qatar and even Egypt are looking at adopting the RERA model.”

Good news on the surface, but Crogan seriously doubts Dubai’s ability to bring developments into line due to the lack of trained strata specialists. “First of all, facilities managers can’t be strata general managers. It’s a different discipline entirely, although some FMs have been doing it so far by default. There’s a conflict of interest for FMs to be employed as Strata general managers; FMs simply can’t be self-supervised. FM is about procedures and routines. GMs supervise budgets and contracting, they report to Owners’ Associations, handle disputes.”

“There are 250,000 built villas and high-rises in Dubai alone, with the same number or more on the drawing board. Existing developments have 12 months to comply – new ones have three months. There are not enough resources. We’re the first strata management service company in Dubai. Others are coming, but it still won’t be enough.”