RERA — Real Estate Regulatory Agency
The regulatory arm of Dubai Land Department. Licences brokers, audits developers, manages escrow oversight, and operates the rental dispute centre.
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Service charge
Annual fee paid by the owner to fund building/community maintenance, common areas, and reserves — set by the OA committee and audited by RERA's Mollak system.
Service charge is the annual fee Dubai property owners pay to maintain the building and common areas (lobbies, lifts, pools, gym, gardens, security). It is set by the Owners Association (OA) committee for that community/tower and disclosed in AED per square foot per year.
Service-charge rates vary widely by tier and community: typical ranges run from ~AED 8-12/sqft/yr for mainstream apartment towers, AED 12-25/sqft/yr for branded or luxury communities, and up to AED 40+/sqft/yr at the very top of the market (e.g., Palm Jumeirah branded residences with hotel-tier amenities).
RERA's 'Mollak' system audits service-charge collection and disbursement across registered Dubai communities, providing transparency on what owners pay versus what's actually spent. A service charge well above market norm for a comparable community is a yellow-flag for management quality — worth checking the Mollak report before purchasing.
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