Emaar's name-and-shame drive forces landlords to pay up

Reputation is so important.

Basing their ‘name and shame’ programme on this very principle, Emaar has managed to ensure defaulters to pay up.

“I live in The Springs and one of my friends always bragged about the things she has and her exotic holidays.

“I was so amused when I saw her villa number on the board outside the entrance of the community – she’d not paid her service charges.

“She was quiet the next day when we met and I saw her villa number blackened after a couple of days. She’d probably paid by then,” said a resident of The Springs.

Such boards are outside nearly every community in The Springs and in a month’s time this move has promoted many to pay up.

Those who have done the needful are no longer embarrassed to see their villa number on the board.

The ‘paid’ chit in bold has been stuck on the house number to their relief.

“I’ve seen some of the defaulters get embarrassed whenever the door opens and they enter the community.

“But what’s more surprising is that many people have still not paid up. Some of the defaulting landlords don’t pay as they live somewhere else and tenants are not bothered as they don’t own the place,” said a security official of one of the communities on condition of anonymity.

Emaar started this exercise to push people to pay their maintenance charges on time.

“I think it’s a good thing to do. Everybody is enjoying the amenities that are offered, then why not pay up,” a resident of Springs 11 had told this website when the boards came up.

The developer had previously described the practice as “routine” and tagged the exercise as “concerted initiatives" aimed to increase awareness that service charges are for the upkeep of the property and should be considered as an investment on the long-term value of the property.

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