SINGAPORE — Monthly maintenance fees for the newly completed Dairy Farm Residences condominium have been reduced by around 40 per cent, following complaints by property owners recently that the fees charged were more than double what they were told when they bought their units.

United Engineers Limited (UEL), the project’s developer, had informed residents early last month that the monthly maintenance fees would range from S$713 to more than S$800.

The newly announced fees will range from S$427 to S$513.

The fees are still higher than the initial estimated fees marketed to potential buyers — which ranged from S$260 to S$350 depending on the size of the apartments.

Over the past four days, property owners received a legal letter dated Nov 24 from the law firm Lee & Lee, which represents UEL, informing them of the revised figures that were approved by the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) on Nov 23.

The letter stated that the previous maintenance charges were based on calculations and projections by UEL’s consultants "before or concurrent" to the project being granted its temporary occupation permit (TOP).

This permit allows new homeowners to move into a residential development even though certain amenities have not been completed.

Several people who have bought units at Dairy Farm Residences told TODAY last week that they had already made an advance payment of six months’ worth of maintenance fees to the developer in order to collect their keys.

The letter from the law firm said that residents who had already made their down payments may either receive a refund of the surplus in maintenance fees charged to them, or have the surplus offset against future maintenance charges.

It added that UEL had noted that the fees were “higher than projected at the time of launch” and “have since early October 2023 sought to actively engage their consultants and contractors on how to reduce the approved charges”.

The condominium's managing agent told TODAY that the process for revising the maintenance fees started from last month and that UEL received BCA's approval last Thursday to collect the revised fees.

RESIDENTS WANT MORE TRANSPARENCY

Most of the residents contacted by TODAY, who declined to be named for fear of legal repercussions, said that they were generally “happy” and “relieved” at the latest development.

One of them who had bought a three bedroom apartment and wanted to be known as just Mr Tan, said: “I feel relieved looking at this new amount compared with the original rate that was presented to us.”

The engineer in his 30s added: “It's still far off from what they estimated, but considering inflation and looking at the current condos that have been (granted their) TOP recently, I feel that the rate is still much better than the original S$713.”

Another resident, a 37-year-old business owner, said that the revised fees were "more manageable" and "more in line with the market rate".

"All of us want a lower fee, but there's a fine line between how low we can go without compromising the quality and the service of the estate.

"But the question is, if you initially insisted the S$700 plus fee was due to inflation, and now you've managed to work it down to S$400, what went wrong there? There's something that doesn't add up." 

Other owners interviewed were of the view that the revised maintenance fees could be lowered further because it is “still high” compared to other condominiums in the Upper Bukit Timah district.

One who wanted to be known only as Ms Lee, a manager in her 40s, said: “When compared to maintenance fees for similar-sized units in neighbouring condominiums, even considering the upper limit of estimated maintenance fees shown in the brochure, the revised fee remains notably higher.”

A document seen by TODAY showed that monthly maintenance fees for a three-bedroom apartment at Verdale Residences in Upper Bukit Timah, a project completed last year and within a 3km radius of Dairy Farm Residences, is around S$440.

Despite mixed views on whether fees could be reduced further, those who spoke to TODAY were in agreement that the breakdown in fees and how they were calculated should be made available to them. 

“There remains uncertainty regarding the methodology employed to derive the revised maintenance fee and its accuracy,” Ms Lee said.

Another resident, a woman in her 30s who works in the food-and-beverage industry, said: “I’m quite happy with it being lowered, but it also depends on which parts have been cut and what service level we are getting.

“If it's going to affect the quality of the condominium’s service, then I don't think we are going to be supportive of it. But if it is on other things, then why not? The lower it goes, the better for everybody.”

TODAY has reached out to UEL for comment.