Answers · Returns, renting and running costs

What are service charges in Dubai?

Service charges in Dubai are the yearly fee every owner pays to run the building, charged per square foot and approved by RERA under Law 6 of 2019. They run from about AED 3 to 4 per sq ft for villas up to AED 40 in Downtown towers, so an 800 sq ft apartment costs AED 6,400 to 32,000.

Updated September 2026 · By Ahmed Kandil

Ranges as published in my community guides, September 2026. The exact figure for any building is in the Service Charge Index on the Dubai REST app.

Law 6 of 2019 is specific about it. The money can go on cleaning, security, maintenance and repair of the common parts, insurance, the audit, the management company’s fee, and a cash reserve for emergencies and for replacing equipment, which is the part people call the sinking fund. Your share is your unit’s area divided by the total area in the building, taken from the Land Department’s register, which is why it is quoted per square foot. The management company cannot just set the number. Under the same law the budget has to be approved by a RERA-recognised auditor and by RERA itself before it can be charged, and the money sits in a dedicated account, so the figure you see in the Dubai REST index is the approved one, not a guess. What the law does not fix is what is inside the figure, so in a tower with district cooling I always ask whether the chiller for the common areas is in the charge and whether your own unit’s cooling is billed separately by the provider, because that is the line that surprises new owners.

Three ways, and I would do all of them. First, the Service Charge Index in the Dubai REST app, which shows the RERA-approved rate for the project by year, so you can see whether it has been rising. Second, the last two years of statements from the seller, because the approved rate and the paid rate are not always the same thing, and arrears travel with the unit. Third, the developer’s no-objection certificate at transfer, which by law it will not issue while charges are unpaid, since Law 6 of 2019 gives the management a lien on the unit for anything owed. Who pays the current year is a matter for the contract. Most sale agreements split it pro rata at the transfer date, and it is worth writing in, but there is no rule that says it has to be that way. It belongs on the same sheet as the purchase costs in what it really costs to buy in Dubai.

Facilities, height and staff. A 70-storey tower with a lobby team, valet and a pool deck costs more per square foot than a 12-storey building with a gym, and a branded residence with hotel services costs more again. For example, look at what that does to the return. An 800 sq ft one-bed in JVC at AED 13 per sq ft costs AED 10,400 a year, and on a AED 1.2 million unit renting for AED 85,000 that takes a 7.1% gross yield to about 6.2%. The same size in Downtown at AED 30 costs AED 24,000, and on a AED 2 million unit renting for AED 120,000 the 6% gross becomes 4.8%. The Business Bay guide is where I make this point hardest, because the buildings there range so widely that you are really buying the building and not the area. I show how the charge fits into the whole return in what rental yield to expect in Dubai.

How are service charges billed?

The management company invoices owners through the Land Department’s Mollak system against the RERA-approved annual budget, most buildings in instalments through the year. The amount is set per year, not per month.

Who pays the service charge when I sell mid-year?

The law only requires that nothing is owed at transfer. Splitting the current year pro rata at the transfer date is standard contract practice, so make sure it is written into your agreement.

Can I refuse to pay if the building is badly maintained?

No. Unpaid charges create a lien on the unit and block any sale. The route for a badly run building is a complaint to RERA, which oversees the management company.