Tenants criticized the lack of interest of landlords to sterilize common areas, such as corridors and elevators in their buildings, claiming it is mandatory for the building owner or his representative.

For their part, real estate experts stated that the owners ’commitment to maintaining these areas must come from the owners themselves, and not as a mandatory matter, and that it is due to the owners’ awareness of their importance as precautionary measures to face the current circumstances.

The owner of the building

In detail, Issam Majdi (a tenant) complained about the negligence of the owner of the building where he lives for sterilization operations and health guidelines, calling for sterilization operations to be mandatory.

Mona Shawshi (rented) said that the owner of the building does not operate the air conditioner in the corridors during the summer, and therefore will not initiate the sterilization of the corridors and elevators, and this matter if it does not become mandatory, it is not possible to apply it.

Shaima Abdel Shakour (rented) added: "I demand the sterilization of elevators daily, and I hope that a decision will be issued mandating the sterilization of the common areas in the buildings."

Muhammad Zain (a tenant) confirmed that he had spoken a lot with the building’s security on this matter, but to no avail.

Hind Al-Dakhakhni (rented) indicated that the cleaning process is obligatory for the owner, and he must abide by it during this critical period that we are going through, especially the common areas in the property.

Overall cleanliness

For his part, the real estate expert, Walid Al-Zarouni said, “Sterilization is considered a matter of comprehensive cleaning of the property, and many owners include maintenance and service fees when calculating the rental value of their real estate. Therefore, all matters relating to hygiene, including sterilization must be entered into (mandatory), which The real estate management company must do it, and if the issue is not mandatory then at least it must be ethical in these circumstances. ”

Real estate manager

For his part, the real estate expert, Muhannad Al-Wadi, said, “Maintenance of common areas, away from mandatory, must be within the interests of the owner, or his representative. Also, a good real estate manager should advise the owner to focus more on hygiene and maintenance matters at this time. In particular, due to its positive returns on the landlord and property, good cleaning of the building helps the tenant to be associated with it, and negligence can cause the problem of transmitting an infection from one person to another.

He stressed that «with everyone’s commitment to hygiene and sterilization, we are keeping the risk away from us, and not only the risk in health losses, but also in the economic losses of these properties that their owners do not care about, and the question that every owner should ask himself, in the event of a virus infection in the property Will the remaining tenants continue or not? Things are related to each other, and everyone rotates in one circle, and we must join hands so that we can get out of them. ”

In the same context, the CEO of Standard Real Estate Management Company, Abdul Karim Al Mulla, said, “The interest in sterilizing the common areas must come from the awareness of the owner himself, and not mandatory, because many owners have financial obligations related to their real estate, so it is better to leave the matter to each owner and his financial capabilities. The constant sterilization of elevators or corridors has a cost that must be taken into account, and that the property manager cannot do this alone, so he must return to the owner in this matter, because the situation is exceptional, and it can be extended for a period, which makes his bill high » .

A moral obligation

Said Al-Fahim, CEO of Stratum Real Estate Management, said that "the current crisis requires everyone to come together with the state's efforts to tackle the Corona virus," pointing out that the matter does not need to be forced, as it must be a moral obligation to everyone in this period.

He pointed out that one of the good efforts that have been taken during the last period in this regard is the "Together" initiative, which was launched by the Land and Property Department, in partnership with companies managing joint areas, which aims to provide help and assistance to the owners and tenants of real estate units affected by the pandemic Corona, in complexes subject to the law of common areas, by providing free sterilization of the real estate unit.

Sterilization of common areas is considered a matter of comprehensive cleaning of real estate.

Continuous sterilization of elevators and corridors has a cost that must be taken into account.