Tamweel Tower residents hopeful fire damage repair works will start soon

It has been more than two years since a blaze ripped through the Jumeirah Lakes Towers building, leaving many apartment owners in financial disarray.

Residents wait anxiously outside Tamweel Tower, in Jumeirah Lakes Towers, after the fire that gutted the building in November 2012. Pawan Singh / The National
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DUBAI // Owners of homes in the fire-ravaged Tamweel Tower are hopeful that repair work will begin in a few months – more than two years after the blaze that drove them from their apartments.

Talks with insurers are expected to be concluded soon and owners are hopeful of returning within nine months of repair work starting.

“It has been disclosed to us that the insurance company has offered to take over the building, complete restoration and hand it back,” said Arif Halela, an owner.

“With the help of the insurance authority, the owners’ association was able to agree a way forward with the insurance company and that’s what is on the table now. They will take control of the building, hire a contractor for the work and then hand over. The timeframe is eight-and-a-half months from the date the insurance company is given possession of the building.”

There was no response from Arab Orient Insurance, which cited technical delays since the insurance policy was in the name of the developer Tamweel and not the owners’ association, and on appointment of the association as legal representative of the owners.

The sight of people fleeing the burning tower in Dubai Marina last Saturday reminded Tamweel residents of the fire that was started by a discarded cigarette, forcing them out of their Jumeirah Lakes Towers building in November 2012.

The 160-apartment Tamweel Tower was shut down for safety reasons by authorities, unlike The Torch, where residents were allowed back in to apartments untouched by the fire.

Owners in the 34-storey Tamweel Tower have had no option but to rent homes elsewhere and continue to pay their mortgages.

They initially obtained a loss estimate, approvals from the municipality, put out tenders for contractors but the quote submitted was declined by the insurers which appointed another loss adjuster.

Other owners explained that among the sticking points was an indemnity letter the owners’ association was asked to sign as a prerequisite to the insurer taking over the building.

This arrangement would make the board of the owners’ association liable, and not the insurer, in case any owner sues the insurer for delay or incomplete repair work.

The association has agreed to the indemnity letter but requires clarification that it can appoint an independent consultant to check repair work before the building is handed back.

“We have been suffering for more than two years,” said Pallav Pancholi, who recalls the fear he felt while running down 23 floors with his wife and two young children.

“So many years have passed, we are still hoping that some day soon we will get our homes back. I pay mortgage and rent so I lose on both sides.”

For most residents, the wait has been financially draining.

“It’s almost at a point that the cost for us post-fire is higher than what was lost in the fire,” Mr Halela said.

“First the expectation was the restoration would be done in a year but we have had to move to rented apartments. It’s been a big burden to rent and still have to pay for an investment in Tamweel that doesn’t have value at present.

“Both Tamweel and the insurance company initially refused to take over and be responsible for restoration work. What happened in Tamweel was unprecedented in a freehold property, so there was no defined process.”

rtalwar@thenational.ae