Dubai Strictly Regulates Construction Costs of Citizens' Villas to Crack Down on Excessive Structural Design Leading to Inflated Costs

 Dubai Strictly Regulates Construction Costs of Citizens' Villas to Crack Down on Excessive Structural Design Leading to Inflated Costs

The Dubai municipal authorities recently issued a warning to the local engineering consulting industry, strictly prohibiting unjustified increases in construction costs when designing and building villas for UAE citizens. The municipal authorities pointed out that this special warning stems from the recent inspection revealing the phenomenon of "excessive structural design of citizens' villas," which has led to unreasonable increases in construction costs.

According to the municipal building supervision and licensing agency, a formal notice has been previously issued to relevant consulting firms in the industry, clearly mentioned requiring all engineering design standards to strictly follow  with the dependent provisions of the "Dubai Building Code." The agency's CEO, Mariam Al Muhairi, stated that : "Compliance with the Dubai Building Code is not only a statutory regulatory requirement but also a professional and ethical bottom line that the industry must uphold. Our core goal is to achieve a scientific balance between ensuring building quality and safety and controlling construction costs."

She further explained the key points of supervision: "The municipal department will continue to strengthen full-process supervision of consulting firms and contractors to ensure all projects comply with approval standards. Especially regarding the unreasonable consumption of major building materials such as steel, we will optimize technical standards to strictly limit excessive material use without compromising structural safety, resolutely preventing citizens from bearing unnecessary additional expenses. This measure ensures that building structural performance meets standards and promotes a safe and sustainable construction environment through best practice principles."

It is reported that since the beginning of this year, the municipal authorities have suspended the practice qualifications of two violating engineering consulting companies and prohibited them from applying for new project permits for six months. Investigations show that these companies committed dual violations of approved standards and professional ethics, becoming typical cases in this industry rectification.

The Dubai municipal authorities stated that through normalized regulatory mechanisms, they will continue to rectify unreasonable pricing phenomena in the building design field and effectively protect citizens' legitimate rights and interests in residential construction.