Dubai Property Service Charges: What You Pay to Own
As a Dubai owner, you pay an annual service charge, billed per square foot. It runs AED 10-13 per sq ft a year in value communities, 13-18 in mid-market towers, 21-35 in Downtown and 11-30 on the Palm. Landmark and branded towers charge 55-85. Villas and townhouses are cheapest at AED 2-6.
Dubai charges no annual property tax. What it charges instead is the service charge, and on a prime apartment that can take a third of your rent before you see any of it.
It is the most under-modelled number in Dubai property. Here is what it covers, what it costs by area, how to check yours before you buy, and what to do when it rises.
Key Takeaways
- Value communities: AED 10-13 per sq ft a year. Mid-market towers: 13-18. Prime districts: 21-35 in Downtown, 11-30 on the Palm. Landmark and branded towers: 55-85.
- Villas and townhouses: AED 2-6 per sq ft — the cheapest property type to hold in Dubai.
- The Burj Khalifa is about AED 68 per sq ft; International City runs AED 6-10.
- The DLD publishes an index building by building, on the Dubai REST app and the DLD website.
- It is not a tax. It funds the building, and owners collectively pay for what the building needs.
- It changes your yield more than the price does. A AED 25 charge instead of AED 12 on 900 sq ft is AED 11,700 a year.
What it pays for
The service charge is your share of running the building and the community. Typically:
- Master community — roads, landscaping, street lighting, community security
- Building operations — lifts, chillers, fire systems, cleaning, common-area electricity
- Facilities — pool, gym, lobby, parking
- Management fee — the owners association manager's charge
- Reserve fund — the pot for future major works: facade, lifts, chiller replacement
Dubai charges no annual property tax at all — the tax guide sets out what it does charge. That last line is the one to look at. A building with a properly funded reserve charges a little more each year and does not surprise you with a special assessment when the lifts need replacing at year fifteen.
What it costs, by segment
| Segment | AED per sq ft a year | On 900 sq ft |
|---|---|---|
| International City and older stock | 6-10 | AED 5,400-9,000 |
| Value communities — JVC, Arjan, Dubai South | 10-13 | AED 9,000-11,700 |
| Mid-market towers — Business Bay, JLT | 13-18 | AED 11,700-16,200 |
| Dubai Marina | 18-25 | AED 16,200-22,500 |
| DAMAC Hills and similar | 18-22 | AED 16,200-19,800 |
| Downtown Dubai apartments | 21-35 | AED 18,900-31,500 |
| Palm Jumeirah apartments | 11-30 | AED 9,900-27,000 |
| Landmark and branded towers | 55-85 | AED 49,500-76,500 |
| Villas and townhouses | 2-6 | Charged on plot or built-up area |
"Prime" is not one band, and conflating it is how budgets go wrong. A Downtown or Palm Jumeirah apartment is expensive to run, not extraordinary. What sits at AED 55-85 is a different product: the landmark and branded towers, where the charge buys a triple-glazed facade, a specialist cleaning rig and hotel-standard concierge. Burj Khalifa is the highest in the city at roughly AED 68 per sq ft, and Address-branded stock runs AED 55-65. If you are quoted 60 on an ordinary Downtown one-bed, ask which building it is, because that is branded-tower money.
What it does to your return
Two apartments, same size, same headline yield:
| JVC, AED 12/sq ft | Downtown, AED 55/sq ft | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | AED 1,350,000 | AED 2,700,000 |
| Size | 900 sq ft | 900 sq ft |
| Gross rent | AED 101,000 (7.5%) | AED 148,500 (5.5%) |
| Service charge | AED 10,800 | AED 49,500 |
| Net before voids | AED 90,200 | AED 99,000 |
| Net yield | 6.7% | 3.7% |
The Downtown unit costs twice as much and delivers 10% more net income. That is the service charge doing the work, not the rent. Our yield guide applies the same maths across every district.
Run it on your own numbers. Set the price, the rent and the service charge and the calculator gives you the fees, the cash you need on day one and what the rent leaves after costs — in your own currency.
Dubai property calculator — costs, cash needed and net rent
Works from any country: pick your currency, or type your own rate. Fees follow the DLD schedule; rent figures are yours to set.
| Charge | AED | Your currency |
|---|
Fee basis: DLD transfer 4% of price, plus a DLD admin fee of AED 580 on a ready unit and AED 40 at Oqood on an off-plan one; registration trustee AED 2,000 below AED 500,000 and AED 4,000 from AED 500,000, plus 5% VAT (AED 2,100 or AED 4,200); title deed and map about AED 500; agency 2% plus 5% VAT where used; mortgage registration 0.25% of the loan plus AED 290. Rates shown are indicative, read on 9 September 2026, and the pegged ones (USD and the GCC currencies) do not move — edit the rate box for anything else. This is an estimate to plan with, not a quotation, and it does not cover tax in your own country.
How to check the charge before you buy
- Look the building up in the DLD's service charge index — the Dubai REST app or the DLD website — rather than trusting a community average.
- Ask for the last two years' invoices from the seller. The trend matters more than the number.
- Ask whether cooling is included or billed separately. That is a AED 4,000-8,000 a year difference on a one-bedroom.
- Ask about the reserve fund and any planned major works. A building about to replace its chillers will charge for it.
- Check the collection rate. Where many owners are in arrears, the ones who do pay end up funding the shortfall.
Why it rises, and what you can do
Service charges rise for ordinary reasons: utility costs, insurance, ageing plant, and buildings catching up on deferred maintenance. They also rise because an owners association approves a budget that owners did not scrutinise.
Owners have real standing here. The budget is approved by the owners association, the DLD reviews the charge, and an owner who thinks a charge is unjustified can raise it with the DLD. In practice, the owners who attend the association meeting are the ones whose building runs well.
What you cannot do is refuse to pay. Arrears block the NOC you need to sell — as our selling guide explains, an unpaid service charge is the most common reason a transfer stalls.
Where the charge is worth paying
Before you compare two districts, check both against the area guide. A low service charge is not automatically good news. A building charging AED 8 per sq ft with broken lifts, a green pool and a facade nobody has cleaned in five years is not saving you money — it is deferring a bill and losing you tenants meanwhile.
The buildings that hold their rent and their resale price are the ones that spend appropriately. When you compare two units at the same price per square foot, compare what their associations spend and what the buildings look like, not just the number on the invoice.
How the charge is actually calculated
The number on your invoice is not arbitrary. The owners association — or the developer's management company before owners take over — builds an annual budget covering operations, maintenance, insurance, management and a contribution to the reserve fund. That budget is divided across the building by each unit's share, expressed per square foot, and submitted to the DLD.
Two implications are worth understanding. First, a large amenity deck is not free: a building with two pools, a full gym, a padel court and landscaped podium costs more to run than a plain tower, and every owner pays for it whether they use it or not. When you compare two buildings at the same price per square foot, you are also comparing their running costs for the next twenty years.
Second, the reserve fund contribution is the line that separates a well-run building from one storing up trouble. Lifts, chillers and facades have finite lives. A building collecting properly for that replaces them on schedule; a building that has kept its charge artificially low issues a special assessment instead — an unbudgeted demand that can run to tens of thousands of dirhams per unit.
So the question to ask is not "what is the service charge?" but "what does it fund, and is it enough?" A cheap charge in an ageing building is a deferred bill with your name on it.
Frequently asked questions
What is a service charge in Dubai?
An annual charge, billed per square foot, for your share of running the building and community — lifts, chillers, security, cleaning, facilities, management and the reserve fund for major works. It is not a tax; Dubai has no annual property tax.
How much are service charges in Dubai?
AED 10-13 per sq ft in value communities, 13-18 in mid-market towers, 18-25 in Dubai Marina, 21-35 in Downtown and 11-30 on Palm Jumeirah. Landmark and branded towers are the outlier at 55-85. Villas and townhouses are cheapest at AED 2-6.
How do I check the service charge for a building?
The DLD publishes a service charge index building by building, accessible through the Dubai REST app and the DLD website. Ask the seller for the last two years of invoices as well, so you can see the trend.
Who pays the service charge, the owner or the tenant?
The owner. A tenant pays rent, utilities and the 5% housing fee through DEWA, but the service charge is the owner's cost — which is why it comes straight off your yield.
Can service charges go up?
Yes. Budgets are set by the owners association and reviewed by the DLD, and they rise with utility costs, insurance and ageing equipment. Attending association meetings is the practical way owners influence it.
If you are comparing two buildings, send us both and we will pull their service charge history and show you what each does to the net yield.
Sources
The figures and rules in this post were researched against these sources. Rates, fees and rules change; check the current figure with the authority before you pay or sign.
