Adnan Shabrawi & Mohsen Alsabti Okaz/Saudi Gazette Buying an apartment has long been viewed as a cheaper and better alternative to owning an independent house but shoddy workmanship and cheap building materials, combined with poor maintenance, has prompted many apartment owners to complain about the state of the apartment and, in some cases, take their grievances to court. The real estate committee at the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry has failed to resolve such issues and this has resulted in a weakened demand for apartment units. Statistics show that at least 88 such cases have been filed with the Bureau of Investigation and Public Prosecution (BIP) within the past six months. This figure does not include cases that were resolved amicably. Citizens and experts have long said that prices of apartments are inflated by property developers. In north Jeddah, apartment units can cost upwards of SR1 million. But while many have bitten the proverbial bullet and bought an apartment at above market prices, an alarmingly-high number of owners have taken their complaints to courts on a range of issues, from defective plumbing, faulty electrical wiring, water seepage through roofs and walls to insufficient parking spaces. Um Yazen is one such victim. She purchased an apartment for her mother but had to spend more than SR80,000 on repairs. When other apartment owners in the building refused to cooperate in solving general problems, she decided to cut her losses and sell the apartment. Um Yazen is now back to renting an apartment. “Water was leaking from the apartment upstairs into our bathroom and neither the contractor nor the building owner wanted to repair the obviously serious defect. I had to file a complaint with the police and they referred the case to court,” she said. The case of those who rent apartments from real estate agents is not different. Retiree Saleh Qadi believes that problems between tenants and landlords are partly due to the absence of laws that protect the rights of both sides. “Owners are always finding ways to increase rents and they exploit any opportunity, such as a delay in paying rent, to force tenants to evacuate the premises so they can rent out the unit at a higher price. We need laws to regulate the relationship between tenants and landlords,” he said. Fawwaz Al-Metairi, real estate expert and head of Jeddah's real estate development programs, said he has certain reservations about the mechanism and methods used in the construction of buildings, which result in numerous complaints about poor construction and high maintenance costs. “There are no clear maintenance contracts that define maintenance responsibility, in addition to a lack of laws that define the responsibility of landlords in the maintenance of common areas in buildings. There isn't even a body to resolve disputes,” he said. Former attorney general and legal counselor, Saad Al-Maliki, said victims has the right to sue building owners if they were subjected to fraud or deceit. However, they have to prove the charges in front of a judge, who may or may not oblige building owners to reimburse the victims of their money. “Landlords are often victims too and this is why they prefer to let it out to small families or newlyweds as they are less likely to damage the apartment. Many landlords get stuck spending large amounts of money to repair damages in apartments that were rented out to large families,” he said. Naser Al-Jarbu, real estate marketing specialist, said that demand for apartments has begun to decrease due to buyers' fears of maintenance problems and a lack of regulations that protect the rights of all parties involved. “There were nearly 10,000 apartment units built during the past year. This reflects the increasing popularity of smaller housing units, something which calls for the concerned bodies to regulate this sector and address its problems, monitor prices and spread a culture of trust,” he said.
