It's a Long Walk Down

You would be hard pressed to find someone who hasn't heard about the Burj Khalifa, the mammoth 160-story residential building in the heart of Dubai. The many who flocked to take up residence in this historic skyscraper may be regretting their decision after Emaar Properties, the Dubai developer that owns and runs the tower, decided to shut down the buildings elevators and air-conditioning over an un-paid service fee fued.

Emaar claims that they have had residents who have failed to pay their fees for building services since 2012. A spokesperson told CNN that it followed through on “its threat of refusing service after they sent repeated reminders to pay the pending service charges and following multiple attempts to get the attention of the defaulting home-owners."

Those who have kept up with their payments still enjoy all the amenities. For the rest, the service charges is still an ongoing, highly contentious issue, as many of the tenants can't afford the high costs. As it stand, real estate agents are offering a one bedroom apartment in the building for around $55,000 per year, which has to be paid in full, in advance. The service charge being disputed is a whopping $25,000 annually; can you really blame them for refusing to pay?