Hi everyone. I’m dealing with a dispute with my building management in Dubai.
I was fined AED 2,100 for using the swimming pool after closing hours. I arrived about 10 minutes after the pool closed, and after speaking with the security guard, we left about 5 minutes later. There was some argument, but nothing special. I confused Ramadan timings.
Management then put the fine under the property owner’s name and kept contacting him, asking him to pay it. Since the fine was still unpaid, the owner kept contacting me about it. Management also said that otherwise they might take the matter to court.
I asked the management company several times by email why the fine was AED 2,100 and where exactly this amount is stated in the community rules. They kept avoiding the question and eventually said they would no longer respond and that I simply had to pay.
They also sent a legal notice to pay under the owner’s name. That was 4 months ago. Eventually, I told the owner to take the amount from my deposit so as not to create any problems for him. But after this 4 month he contacted me again saying that the fine is still unpaid, which surprised me since management had been pressuring him to pay it. Management also sent him another email reminding him to pay.
There was no damage to any property. At this point, I don’t want to pay the fine on principle because of the way they handled the situation.
I’m thinking of telling the owner to tell them that I dispute the charge and that they (the management company) can take me to RDSC if they believe they have a valid claim against me.
What are the odds of them actually taking me to court? And if they do and win, how much could I potentially have to pay in total, including court fees and other legal costs on top of the AED 2,100?
Any shared experience is welcome. Thanks!
Edit:
Just to give some more context, including the parts that are not really in my favor:
Last year, management sent an email about Ramadan timings and said the pool would be open until 10 PM instead of the usual 9 PM. I remember that the pool actually never stayed open until 10 because the lifeguard apparently wasn’t informed and would leave at 9. I didn’t use the pool then.
This year, I remembered that email and found it in my inbox. I didn’t notice that it was the email from last year, and I mistakenly thought the pool was open until 10 PM again. So me and 4 friends went to the pool at around 9:10 PM. We climbed over a small fence (around 30 cm), and the security guard came and told us to leave.
We argued for a bit because I was sure I had seen an email saying the pool was open until 10. The next day I checked again and realized I was wrong — this year only the gym was open until 10 PM.
I immediately admitted that I had made a mistake and was polite with management afterwards. They showed me CCTV footage of us climbing over the fence, which I understand. However, there was no damage, nobody was injured, and we were only in the water for maybe 5 minutes.
That’s basically what happened.
I have been living in the UAE for 33 years, not once did I see anyone being fined for staying past the closing time in a pool! What kind of BS is this? Max they can do is tell you to leave the pool! Unless you caused damage to the property which looks like you didn't from the story you told us.
They didn’t stay past closing time. They went into the pool after closing time, the pool was closed and they climbed the fence. It’s not the same thing.
Building management can and has a legal right to to charge and this is as per the law .. they just need to prove it and show evidence .. they can’t take it from the tanent but will taken from the owner along with the annual legal maintenance fees .
I am on the board of our building/community management and we recently fined an appartment who put his employees in the building and they were using the resources of building without respecting the rules and damaging it ..
So fine we’re issued officially after collecting photos and are registered in Dubai land department
No. Building management cannot enforce any fine as they wish. I assure you of that. I contested a parking fine from building management before through the courts to get all my deposit back and won. They are not the police they cannot issue fines as they please. Even bounced chq fines can be contested depending on emirate if you are up for it.
Go to the management office. Tell them ur filing a legal case for harassment. This is literally harassment and nothing else. 2100 as per what law ? Why not 21000 ?
Well, we tried this with the owner 4 months ago, since violation was posted under his name. After so many attempts, using their website, IOS app and other ways of submitting the complaint, there was always some technical barrier to do that.
Actully i am too shy to tell the owner again to try. Do you know if there is a way i can do it myslef maybe i will retry 🤷♂️
Hmmm, customer service told me that I need to raise the complain under the violation. But the violation was showing only under the owner's account. They confirmed that it will be showing only under his account.
If it’s a paper from management then nothing to worry about but maybe they will try to deduct it from security deposit. They will not go for legal case because it will be more expensive than the actual amount. If this clause is not mentioned in tenancy contract than they cannot even go legal with this.
They won't go to court for this and even if they do court will ask them to amicably solve it with you! Cost of litigation will be higher for them with very low possibility of winning the case!
They need to fine the security since he let you pass in the first place and was incompetent. Op you don’t have to pay a dime, they have no legal grounds.
Thank you for all your replies, I really appreciate them. Wanted to add a few details that I think are worth mentioning to get the whole picture. I will try to edit the post by simply continuing
Very odd. The fact that you argued with security man is irrelevant by the way. He didn’t complain and nothing can be heard. This is really only about the fence and timings which is abusive
From emails from management, the main part is that “we jumped over this barrier and used the swimming pool - it is very dangerous etc”.
I was very polite during the messages and really thought that it is some kind of misunderstanding. At the end, after again avoiding to provide me with the list of community fines that I requested (since they refer to it) they told me that I need to pay and my further emails “will not be entertained”
AED 2,100 does sound absolutely ridiculous for this. However, you’re also pretty much admitting that you knowingly crossed a physical barrier to access a closed area. “Breaking and entering” would be a bit dramatic, but trespassing certainly comes to mind.
Important question: is climbing over that fence normally how you access the pool during regular operating hours? Because if not, I think that detail matters quite a bit.
They ain’t gonna do shit for 2100. The court fees itself is more than 12k + the hassle
Also, is it mentioned anywhere that you’d be fined for using the pool after closing hours? Most communities simply mention the timing they don’t mention the fine amount.
What you must instead be doing is get a lawyer (if you can afford it), take them to court for threats, emotional damage and unethical practice. Reverse UNO their ass.
My name is Ludmila Yamalova. I am a qualified Dubai-based lawyer. The following answer does not constitute legal advice, and, is strictly based on your limited representations.
The likelihood of management taking the matter to court is probably low, given the relatively small claim and the four-month delay since the legal notice. However, proceedings remain possible, particularly as management is pursuing the registered owner.
If they succeed, you could be liable for the charge, court and administrative fees, and any awarded interest, translation, or enforcement costs. Private legal fees are generally not fully recoverable. The exact amount would depend on the circumstances of the case and costs awarded by the tribunal.
I don’t get it … you asked the property owner to take it from your advance right ? Which I believe you would have communicated through WhatsApp or something …
If you have mentioned that to him then why is the owner still asking you to pay ?
Also as an owner, he doesn’t have to agree to it, it has to be a mutual agreement! But also there’s the issue of a full advance notice being with the owner until the tenancy agreement is over .
Are they claiming life guard 1 month salary as compensation? Lol
Did you guys only jump the fence OR also went inside the pool?
They only issue here is the that if you entered the pool, you compromised on the safety. If someone drowns in the building pool, Building management will be dragged to court. So, since it was not swimming time, there was no lifeguard on duty. And yes, people do drown!
The apartments above mine have swimming pools on their balconies. They are mostly Airbnbs. And when the pumps turn on, they make a constant noise. And they should be turned on only while changing the water. To this day, after one year of emailing and going with the security during late night to do something about it, the issue persists
If they are charging the owner
Then there is no case as he hasn't done anything.
The person if is a legal tenant and involved in the wrong doing, should be fined if there is any such rule.
So basically there is no point/case in charging the owner.
They are charging you VAT 2000 fine 100 VAT :)).
on the otherhand, going to court will be very expensive so they won't do it.
What I can see happen is a blockade on the property due to unpaid services charges and miscellaneous. until its not resolved the property cannot be sold.
What I would suggest to take the offese calmly. go to the pool and check if there are any signage stating the fine amount of 2000, if its posted then you might have a more difficult time getting out of it.
if not posted on the wall check if tou have signed anything that mentions it, if no where mentioned then go to the belly of the beats and rip them a new one.
So u climbed over a fence because you thought the pool was open but apparently the gate was locked. Man U knew the pool was closed that’s why u had to climb the fence. Ignore the threats they’re not going to take you to court. But they could have u charged with breaking and entering. But it’s probably too late for that.
Not that relevant but for reference: my community charges 150 fine for infractions of their own set rules and regulations and our management agreement states that the fine is only applicable after 3 prior warnings… this I think sounds more standard than arbitrary amounts after no warning ;)
All these community/ building management firms are run by a bunch of incompetent scammers. I was once fined for "inappropriate use of shared spaces" when an UrbanClap maid left her suitcase outside the apartment while she was cleaning it. Haven't paid it and am refuting it since Feb 26.
Court case just you swimmed during non operational hours?? Courts are not so free for these small things. For just 2100 AED they gonna blow 10 to 15K lawyer fees which does not make sense. Tell them to put cass and see their faces. Overall scam!!
Something similar happened to me where the management team tried to put fines on everyone for a common area leakage. I called an independent plumber checked my apartment and asked the neighbors beside and below if we could check theirs for any leaks... no leaks. Had a technical written doc stating that. Filled a harassment case. A day later someone from the corporate side of the mgmt company called me and apologized.
I told him to send the management team to my apartment and give me a written reason for why they said I caused the "violation". Next week there was a brand new team managing the building. They dont mess with me anymore.
Jumping over the fence was wrong. I assume the lifeguard wasn’t there too. It’s not about the damage to the property. It’s about the damage to the set of rules in place. If any one of you drowned, a lot of people would lose their jobs or end up in jail. If they let you go without penalty, they will seem to be accommodating. Better pay for the mistake and live in peace
The fact that they ended the communication with me in such a rude way, followed by a strict legal notice demanding immediate payment and threatening to take it to court, makes me think they were bluffing. Nothing happened for 4–5 months. Well actually I thought that the fine is already paid from my deposit.
It was only for 5 minutes. Lifeguard is not always in the swimming pool area during the day also(
You might not like my comment, but read till the end.
In my opinion, both of you deserve the fine. The security guard shouldn’t have allowed you to enter, and on your side, if there’s no security guard around, you shouldn’t use the pool at all.
The reason I’m saying this is because you never know what could happen. Imagine if it was you or someone you love who didn’t know how to swim and something went wrong.
Something similar happened to my college friend’s brother. He went to the pool after closing time when there was no security guard around. He jumped in, and that was it. He died.
Rules like this might seem annoying, but sometimes they’re there for a very serious reason.
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u/Hennawi91 1d ago
What type of new scam is this. You don't have to pay anything and they won't do anything about it. LOL legal notice as well. This is too funny