Service Charges in Dubai 2026: Rates per Sq Ft and How to Check

What are service charges in Dubai?

Service charges in Dubai are an owner's share of the cost of running the common parts of a building or community: lobbies, lifts, pools, gyms, gardens, security and the building's insurance. They apply to jointly owned property, which covers almost every apartment building and most gated villa communities. The management company collects them each year under a budget that RERA must approve.

How are service charges calculated?

Service charges in Dubai are calculated per square foot of your unit's area as recorded in the Dubai Land Department's property register, which is the area on your title deed. Law No. 6 of 2019 sets the principle: each owner pays in proportion to the size of their unit against the total area of the building.

So the yearly bill is simple: the approved rate per square foot multiplied by your title-deed area. A 1,000 sq ft flat in a building charging AED 15 per sq ft pays AED 15,000 a year. The title-deed area can include balconies, so it is often larger than the floor area a listing quotes.

How much are service charges per sq ft in Dubai?

Service charges in the main areas of Dubai run from about AED 3 per sq ft a year in villa communities to AED 30 per sq ft in Downtown towers, according to PropertyWiki's 2026 guide (updated 26 April 2026), which draws on DLD data. Individual buildings can sit well outside these ranges: ultra-prime towers charge more, and older low-rise blocks less.

Other data providers give different ranges for the same areas (some quote AED 13 to 22 for JVC), because they average different buildings. Treat any area figure as a first guide and check the building itself in the DLD index before you buy.

How do you check service charges in the DLD Service Charge Index?

The Dubai Land Department's Service Charge Index shows the RERA-approved service charges for every registered jointly owned building, free and immediately, to anyone.

“The service lets you "inquire about the approved service fees for Joint ownership properties" from RERA.”

Dubai Land Department, Service Charge Index

1. Open the Dubai REST app, or go to the Service Charge Index page on dubailand.gov.ae, and log in.
2. Choose the Service Charge Index service.
3. Select the project (building or community name) from the list.
4. Select the usage (residential, retail or office) and the year.
5. Read the approved rate per sq ft and its breakdown: services, maintenance, utilities, management, insurance, master community and reserve fund.
6. Multiply the total rate by the area on the title deed to get the yearly bill.

The index draws on Mollak, the DLD's system for service charge budgets and owners' accounts. If a building is not listed, ask the seller or developer for the RERA approval reference: a new building can run on a temporary budget that RERA has approved while the full budget is audited.

What do service charges cover?

Service charges in Dubai can only be spent on the uses listed in Article 30 of Law No. 6 of 2019: cleaning, security and safety, operating and repairing the common parts, the building's insurance, the audit of the accounts, the management company's fee, RERA's inspection fees and a reserve fund for emergencies and replacing equipment. The money must be held in a separate bank account for each building.

A real breakdown shows how the rate is built. This is Amna Residency in International City, an apartment building, as published from the DLD index by Bayut (updated 15 September 2026):

Service charges do not cover your own flat's electricity, water and cooling, which are billed separately.

Worked example: a year's service charges on a real flat

A 700 sq ft one-bedroom flat in Amna Residency, at the published rate of AED 11.43 per sq ft:

The components add up to AED 8,008 because each is rounded; the total rate gives AED 8,001. Many management companies invoice quarterly, so expect about AED 2,000 a quarter.

Service charges at three typical homes

Unit sizes are typical round figures for illustration; rates are the PropertyWiki area ranges above. A villa's rate per sq ft is lower, but its larger area means the bill is not always smaller than a flat's.

Who pays service charges: owner or tenant?

The owner pays service charges in Dubai, not the tenant. Law No. 6 of 2019 makes the owner liable unless the tenancy contract says otherwise, and even then the owner stays responsible if the tenant does not pay. In practice, Dubai rents are quoted inclusive of service charges and landlords pay them.

For a buy-to-let, service charges are the main yearly cost that comes out of the rent. Tenants pay their own utilities and the 5% Dubai housing fee.

Can a developer or management company raise service charges?

A developer or management company cannot raise service charges in Dubai without RERA's approval. Article 27 of Law No. 6 of 2019 bans collecting any amount for the common areas without RERA approval, and RERA may approve a budget only after a RERA-recognised audit firm has approved it. Charges can still rise from year to year when approved costs rise.

Since December 2025, community management companies can also ask RERA to approve fixed service fees for three years at a time, through Mollak. The first was approved for the Palm Jumeirah master community.

What happens if you do not pay service charges?

Not paying service charges in Dubai can end with the unit being sold. Under Law No. 6 of 2019, the management company has a lien on the unit, it must give the owner 30 days' written notice, and the debt can then be enforced by the execution judge at the Rental Disputes Settlement Centre (RDSC), who can order the unit sold at public auction. The owner also pays the legal costs.

“"An Owner or Sub-developer may not refrain from paying the Service Charges or Usage Charges approved by RERA."”

Law No. 6 of 2019, Article 28

The law also protects owners: a developer or management company may not lock an owner out of the unit or the common areas to force payment. Owners behind on payments can ask about the DLD's Tayseer initiative, launched in March 2025, which lets participating management companies offer payment plans of at least six months.

Who pays service charges when a property is sold?

Legally, the seller must clear all service charges due before the transfer, because a unit with unpaid charges cannot be transferred and the developer's NOC depends on a clear account. In practice, charges are often paid in advance for a quarter or a year, and buyer and seller then agree whether the buyer refunds the unused part. Write any such agreement into Form F, the standard RERA sale contract. From the transfer date the buyer pays. On a new off-plan building, the developer pays the service charges on units it has not sold.

How do you dispute service charges in Dubai?

Start with the management company: ask for the approved budget and the invoice, which must match the rate in the DLD Service Charge Index. The DLD treats RERA-approved invoices as the reference point in any dispute. If the building has an owners committee, raise it there. Formal disputes under Law No. 6 of 2019 go to the Rental Disputes Settlement Centre, which has exclusive jurisdiction over them.

For UK buyers: how Dubai service charges compare with UK leasehold

Dubai service charges will feel familiar to anyone who has owned a UK leasehold flat. Both are yearly payments for the upkeep of shared parts of a building, and in both the owner pays. The differences:

The Dubai system is more transparent up front, because you can see the approved rate for any building before you buy. UK leaseholders get consultation rights on major works, which Dubai owners do not have in the same form. All buying costs, including the 4% DLD fees, are in our guide to the cost of buying property in Dubai, and Dubai charges no annual property tax on top: see is there property tax in Dubai?

What changed in 2025 and 2026

• March 2025: the DLD's Tayseer initiative let owners with overdue service charges pay in instalments of at least six months.
• December 2025: RERA approved the first three-year fixed service fees (Palm Jumeirah) and opened the option to all community management companies.
• No change to the core rules in Law No. 6 of 2019.