Owners Associations in Dubai: Service Charge Approval, Voting and Your Rights
Dubai no longer has owners associations as legal bodies. Law No. 6 of 2019 replaced them with owners committees of up to nine resident owners, chosen by the Land Department's regulator, who advise and check a registered management company. Service charge budgets are audited and approved by the DLD through Mollak. An owner who doesn't pay gets 30 days' notice, then faces enforcement and, ultimately, a court-ordered auction.
Key takeaways
- The 2019 law, in force from 18 November 2019, repealed Law No. 27 of 2007. Owners associations lost their legal personality; owners committees took their place.
- A committee can be formed once at least 10% of a building's units are registered. Members must live there, hold a UAE ID and have no unpaid service charges.
- The management company prepares the budget, an approved auditor checks it, and the DLD signs it off before owners are invoiced through Mollak.
- You cannot withhold approved service charges. You can challenge them, and disputes go to the Rental Disputes Centre under Article 42.
- Arrears block a sale and can end in a public auction of the unit.
From owners associations to owners committees
Under the 2007 strata law, each building had an owners association with its own legal personality and a general assembly of owners. Law No. 6 of 2019 overhauled that. Owners associations as legal entities no longer exist; an owners committee without separate legal personality now gives owners a voice, and a management company regulated by the DLD runs the common areas. Developers, old associations and management companies had until 17 May 2020 to comply. The law sorts jointly owned property into three categories, each with its own management rules.
| Point | Before (Law No. 27 of 2007) | Now (Law No. 6 of 2019) |
|---|---|---|
| Owners' body | Owners association, a legal entity with a general assembly | Owners committee, no legal personality |
| Who sits on it | Board elected by owners | Up to nine resident owners, selected by the DLD's regulator |
| Role | Decision-making body | Advisory: reviews budgets, monitors the manager, recommends |
| Who runs the building | Association, often through a manager | A registered management company |
| Service charge approval | Association budgets, regulator oversight | Audited budget approved by the DLD via Mollak |
| Disputes | Courts and the regulator | Rental Disputes Centre (Article 42) |
How an owners committee works
A committee can be set up once at least 10% of the units in the jointly owned property are registered. Owners apply, and the regulator selects members from among owners who live in the building. The DLD's published criteria include residence in the property, a valid UAE ID, a good conduct certificate from Dubai Police, and a clear service charge account. So a non-resident investor cannot sit on the committee, however many units they own.
The management company then convenes the committee to elect a chair and deputy. Each member has one vote, however many units they hold, and the chair has a casting vote. The committee's job is advisory and supervisory: checking that the manager looks after the common parts properly, reviewing the annual budget, setting maintenance priorities and making recommendations to the manager and the DLD. In February 2025 the DLD announced 127 new committees across the emirate and has since urged more owners to join one.
What happened to the general assembly?
Owners often still ask about general assembly votes. Under the 2019 law there is no association to hold one, and a committee's recommendations do not bind the manager the way an old assembly resolution bound the association. Your influence runs through the committee, the manager's accounts and, if needed, a complaint.
How service charges are set and approved
- The budget. The management company costs the year: maintenance contracts, common-area power and water, security, cleaning, insurance, the reserve fund and its own fee.
- The audit. A DLD-recognised audit firm must approve the budget first; the regulator will not approve one that hasn't cleared an external audit. Actual accounts are audited each year too.
- DLD approval in Mollak. Mollak is the DLD's system for approving, invoicing and monitoring service charges. It issues the invoices and tracks the regulated accounts into which owners pay.
- Your check. The DLD's Service Charge Index, on its website and in Dubai REST, shows the approved rate per square foot for your project, use and year.
Since the 2019 law, developers no longer collect service charges on ready buildings; invoicing runs through Mollak. The reserve fund, for major repairs and replacements, is part of the same approved budget. What typical rates are across Dubai, and why they differ, is in our service charges guide; insurance, one of the larger lines, is covered in our post on home insurance in Dubai.
What happens if an owner doesn't pay
You may not refuse to pay service or usage charges the DLD has approved, even if you are unhappy with the service. Article 32 gives the management company a lien over every unit for unpaid charges. It can serve a 30-day notice in the approved form; after that, the claim becomes enforceable through the execution judge at the Rental Disputes Centre, which can order the unit sold at public auction. Before it gets that far, the DLD will not transfer a unit with outstanding charges, so arrears surface the moment you try to sell.
A worked example
Take a 1,000 sq ft apartment in a building whose approved rate is, say, AED 18 a sq ft. That is AED 18,000 a year (about Rs 4.7 lakh at AED 1 = about Rs 26.1). An owner abroad stops paying for two years and owes AED 36,000 (about Rs 9.4 lakh), plus any costs the manager recovers through enforcement.
- When the owner agrees a sale at AED 1,200,000, the transfer can't proceed until the AED 36,000 is cleared. The seller's net proceeds fall by that amount.
- If the owner simply ignores the notice, the manager can enforce at the Rental Disputes Centre and, ultimately, ask for the unit to be auctioned, with the arrears paid first out of the proceeds.
Our guide to selling property in Dubai covers the service charge clearance a seller needs before transfer.
How to challenge a service charge
- Check the approved rate. Compare your invoice with the Service Charge Index for your building and year. A charge above the approved budget is the easiest to fight.
- Ask for the breakdown. The manager should show you the approved budget, the reserve fund position and the audited accounts through Mollak.
- Go through the committee. Items in the budget that owners think are unjustified, from a pricey contract to a service that has declined, are what the committee's review role is for.
- Complain to the DLD. Where the charge breaks the approved budget or the rules, raise it with the regulator.
- File at the Rental Disputes Centre. Article 42 of the law sends jointly owned property disputes there when the parties cannot agree.
Keep paying while you dispute. Withholding approved charges hands the manager the enforcement route above and weakens your own position. Villa owners in master communities follow the same route, first with the master developer or its manager, then at the Rental Disputes Centre.
Where the system falls short
- Limited owner power. A committee can review and recommend, but it cannot vote a budget down the way an old assembly could.
- Absentee owners are shut out. The residence requirement means investors who let their units have no seat.
- Charges rise. An approved budget is not a cheap one; audits check the numbers are genuine, not that they are low.
- Management quality varies. Our guide to property management in Dubai covers the separate question of who looks after your own unit.
For Indian buyers
The Dubai model differs from the Indian one, where residents form and run their own society or RWA, as our sibling guide on RWAs and builder handover explains. In Dubai you pay Mollak invoices from a UAE account or by remittance from India under the Liberalised Remittance Scheme; many owners pay from rent received in Dubai. If you live in India, you won't qualify for the owners committee, so read the approved budget each year yourself. Keep service charge receipts with your records; our note on tax on Dubai property for Indian buyers covers reporting the unit and its rent.
Frequently asked questions
Do owners associations still exist in Dubai?
Not as legal entities. Law No. 6 of 2019, in force since November 2019, replaced them with owners committees that have no separate legal personality. A registered management company runs each building, and the committee reviews its work and the budget. Many people still say owners association when they mean the committee and the management company together.
How do I join an owners committee in Dubai?
You apply when the DLD invites owners for a building, and the regulator selects up to nine members. Its published criteria include living in the property, a valid UAE ID, a good conduct certificate from Dubai Police and no unpaid service charges. A committee can be formed once at least 10% of the units are registered.
Who approves service charges in Dubai?
The management company drafts the budget, a DLD-recognised audit firm must approve it, and then the DLD signs it off in Mollak, which issues the invoices. You can check the approved rate per square foot for your building and year on the DLD's Service Charge Index, on its website or in the Dubai REST app.
Can I stop paying service charges if the building is badly run?
No. The law bars owners from refusing charges the DLD has approved. Pay, then challenge: ask the manager for the audited breakdown, raise it with the owners committee, complain to the DLD, or file at the Rental Disputes Centre. Arrears give the manager a lien, block any sale and can end in an auction.
Where do jointly owned property disputes go in Dubai?
Article 42 of the jointly owned property law sends them to the Rental Disputes Centre when the owner, the manager or the developer cannot settle directly. The same centre's execution judge enforces unpaid service charges after the manager's 30-day notice, and can order a unit sold at public auction to clear arrears.
If you are weighing a Dubai building's service charges and management before you buy, Realty Hunting can help you read the numbers.
