Crumbling roofs keep residents of Dubai community out of the garden
Residents of one of Dubai’s most popular gated communities said they were afraid to use their gardens because of the risk posed by crumbling roofs.
Kirsty Muirhead, who lives in the Mira 1 community, told
The National her daughter, 3, was playing in the back garden when a piece of roof “the size of a football” hurtled to the ground.
“I couldn’t believe it when I ran outside to see rubble all over the ground,” she said.
Ms Muirhead, 32, from Scotland, said debris had continued to fall off the roof, making the garden a no-go area for her and her family.
“We can’t use the garden because it is unsafe, especially for the kids.”
She said she and her husband contacted property developers Emaar, but were told they would have to pay for the renovations because the warranty on their house had expired.
“It is very frustrating because nobody seems to be able to help us or give us a straight answer about who is responsible for fixing this,” she said.
Residents believe it is only a matter of time before someone is seriously hurt by the falling debris.
“This a time bomb waiting to go off,” said Ms Muirhead’s husband, Sandy.
“My wife has been in touch with neighbours on social media groups and dozens of people have said they had similar issues with their properties.”
Jacquie Hendon, a neighbour of the Muirheads, said pieces of her roof had also fallen off.
“We had bits of the roof come off at the back of the house about two months ago,” said Ms Hendon, 37, from Swindon in the UK.
“The garden was littered with pieces of rubble about the size of A5 paper. It was coming from just under the apex of the roof.”
She said Emaar told her that the work required was not included under the terms of her warranty.
“I contacted the landlord but I have not heard back from them yet,” she said.
A mother of two living next door to the Muirheads said she had similar issues with her home.
“We had bits falling off the roof as well – it wasn’t heavy chunks though, it was more like sand,” she said.
Unlike the Muirheads, she was able to get her issue resolved. “Emaar came down and put up scaffolding around the house and were able to fix it in one day,” she said.
An Emaar spokesman said: “The safety, security and well-being of our residents is paramount to us, and we take all measures to address their concerns.
“The matter was brought to our attention, and after inspection, our experts identified that the structure is strong and built as per standards, and the chips are from an external plaster fabric.”
He said anyone affected could contact them on 800-EMAAR.
“We will provide all necessary support in referring to competent service providers to address it,” the spokesman said.