Service Charges in Dubai: The Complete 2026 Guide for Owners

Typical 2026 service charge ranges (AED per sq ft)

• Downtown Dubai: AED 20–30 per sq ft.
• Dubai Marina: AED 16–24 per sq ft.
• Business Bay: AED 14–20 per sq ft.
• JVC (Jumeirah Village Circle): AED 10–15 per sq ft.
• Dubai Hills Estate: AED 12–18 per sq ft.
• Palm Jumeirah (apartments): AED 22–35 per sq ft.
• Emirates Hills / Meadows (villas): AED 3–7 per sq ft.

The four cost centres on every invoice

• General fund — this year's operations (cleaning, security, lifts, MEP, utilities for common areas, OA management fee, audit).
• Reserve fund — the long-term sinking fund (façade every 5–7 years, chiller overhaul on 10–15 year cycle, waterproofing, lift modernisation).
• Master community fee — shared roads, boulevards, and utilities across the entire development.
• Sub-community fee — your specific tower's operations if it sits inside a larger master community.

The five red flags to check every year

• Reserve fund contribution below 10–15% of general fund — you're one façade job from a special assessment.
• AMC costs growing faster than CPI (3–4% Dubai norm) without documented scope increase.
• Chiller consumption billed twice (once in district cooling bill, again as service-charge line).
• Management fee above 10% of general fund.
• Insurance premium jumping over 20% year-on-year without a claims history.

How to reduce your service charge (legally)

• Attend the annual OA general assembly and vote on budget items.
• Request the full supplier list — a 3-year AMC on lift maintenance is 15–25% cheaper than annual.
• Push for competitive re-tendering of security, cleaning, and MEP contracts every 2–3 years.
• Object to specific line items through Mollak without stopping the whole payment.
• For portfolios: negotiate bulk discounts on shared services across multiple owned units.

The Mollak objection process

You have the legal right to object to any line item. Path: (1) request supporting documents from the OA manager in writing, (2) if unsatisfied, submit formal objection through Mollak, (3) escalate to RERA's OA regulatory desk if unresolved. Continue paying under protest — stopping payment triggers a lien that blocks resale.