# Chiller Fee - Am I Responsible?



## simonkuznetsov (Oct 12, 2016)

Hi, I'm new on the forum and have been meaning to register for a while. I have a problem and hoping someone in the know will be able to help. 

I live in Manhattan Tower in JVC. The 'chiller fee' in this building is included in the service charge and is a set amount based on the built up area. 

Recently I received a bill from my landlord, saying that I am responsible for the chiller fee, and would like around 3000AED off me for the year's chiller fee.

(i did not rent the place originally myself, it was done by my employer - otherwise i would have checked this sort of thing).

I decided to check the contract and found this line:

"Cooling and Diesel charges will be borne by the Landlord till meter gets transferred on the DEWA bill"

To me this reads like the landlord is responsible until the chiller fee (if ever) gets added onto the monthly DEWA bill. My DEWA bill does not show up any cooling charges. 

I believe the landlord is still responsible for these fees and not me. He sent me a bill addressed to himself, when asking for the fees. 

I think the landlord has only just realised that he has to pay 18AED per square foot in service charge and is trying to claw some of that cash back from me. 

Unfortunately my employer is not too helpful in this matter so was wondering if someone could help or point me in the direction of where to go for advice on contractual matters.


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## XDoodlebugger (Jan 24, 2012)

simonkuznetsov said:


> Hi, I'm new on the forum and have been meaning to register for a while. I have a problem and hoping someone in the know will be able to help.
> 
> I live in Manhattan Tower in JVC. The 'chiller fee' in this building is included in the service charge and is a set amount based on the built up area.
> 
> ...


Have you tried just sending the quote from the contract back to him? Be polite and ask when the DEWA was actually changed. And what are you doing with diesel in your home! Sounds to me this is a generic agreement that means utilities would be paid by the landlord until you get registered with DEWA but who knows.


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## telecompro (Apr 4, 2013)

i thought the whole of JVC is chiller free but i notice that empower might be coming in by building their plant in there which means there would be some sort of chiller fees...


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## w_man (Apr 16, 2010)

Sounds like your contract states that you'll be paying your DEWA once it's transferred to your name. Nothing states that you'd be paying chiller charges or empower fees.

As suggested, I'd send that contract clause to the landlord and politely say that as per the contract, you are willing to pay all DEWA expenses. Any other fees/charges aren't your responsibility.


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## LesFroggitts (Dec 30, 2013)

telecompro said:


> i thought the whole of JVC is chiller free but i notice that empower might be coming in by building their plant in there which means there would be some sort of chiller fees...


You can tell the buildings which will eventually be connected to a central cooling system mainly by the large diesel generators and external cooling plants often situated adjacent to the building.

There is already 'plumbing' in place for the distribution of the coolant as there are many man-hole covers in the roads that specifically state on them "central cooling" or something similar.

If the building does not have these plants and those buildings tend to be the lower-rise ones (like my apartment building) then they have air-conditioning units on the roof supplying the coolant to the apartment's systems. On those all that is paid, in our case, is the electricity bill to DEWA hence the substantial difference between summer and winter electricity bills.


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## twowheelsgood (Feb 21, 2013)

If your company arranged it, it would be far better to get a letter on company letterhead paper and officially stamped sent to him with the info above. He is less likely to pick s fight with s large firm than an individual. 

Personally I would ask him to confirm he has paid the chiller fees as he may well refuse and have you cut off, and it would help your case if you had reminder him already that he should pay. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## simonkuznetsov (Oct 12, 2016)

Thanks for the replies guys, I will talk to the operations dept from my employer. It does look like a general statement, and since I mentioned it, I've heard nothing. 

I pay the dewa fees and they cost around 450 per month (every month is the same) and I doubt this includes anything to do with the 'chiller' as I would expect these bills to be higher if I pay for the electricity to power the AC.

There is a diesel generator thing outside the building, looks very temporary and I guess in the future they may set up a system like emicool for this area. I had emicool in sports city and it was expensive so hopefully I'll move and buy a place elsewhere before that happens!

As far as I understand, 'chiller free' means that AC charges are added to the service charge (for now) and this is the landlords fee, not mine. Unless something specific is stated in the contract telling me otherwise, I guess landlords could just up the annual rent by the amount of the 'cooling fee' shown on the service charge bill to effectively include it in the rent. 

Thanks again for your responses and I'll let you know the outcome!


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## w_man (Apr 16, 2010)

simonkuznetsov said:


> I guess landlords could just up the annual rent by the amount of the 'cooling fee' shown on the service charge bill to effectively include it in the rent.


It's possible but landlords can't simply increase next year's rent on you without giving you enough notice and you can always challenge their increase if it's above the RERA Rental Calculator.

Of course the landlord can charge whatever he/she wants on a new contract but they also have to stay competitive in the current market.

Either way - good luck.


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