10 years of property expertise in DubaiThe most prestigious developers in the UAEA team of around twenty advisors0% tax on rental income · net yield up to 8%10-year Golden Visa for investorsAdvisory in your language — from selection to handover10 years of property expertise in DubaiThe most prestigious developers in the UAEA team of around twenty advisors0% tax on rental income · net yield up to 8%10-year Golden Visa for investorsAdvisory in your language — from selection to handover
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●Transaction & purchase

Service charges

In short

Service charges are the annual community fees in Dubai, billed per square foot (AED/sqft) and overseen by RERA via the Mollak system; they fund common-area upkeep.

Service charges vary widely by tier: from about AED 10-15/sqft for a standard building to AED 25-35/sqft+ for premium serviced addresses (Palm, Downtown). They are validated by RERA and billed via the Mollak platform.

They weigh directly on net yield: a savvy investor always factors them into the yield calculation, beyond the headline gross figure.

●In practice with Level8

Level8 folds service charges into the unit-by-unit cash-flow: market rent (RERA index), the tower's actual charges, occupancy. A spectacular tower at AED 28/sqft can net less than a sober one at 14 — we systematically screen out buildings with a degraded charges-to-rent ratio.

Key takeaways
  • Billed per square foot per year, voted and audited via Mollak
  • Order of magnitude: ~AED 10 to 30+ /sqft/year depending on the tower
  • They come off the rent: much of the gross → net gap sits here
  • Get them per tower BEFORE the offer — never after
Worked example

A 750 sqft 1-bed in a tower at AED 15/sqft pays AED 11,250 of charges a year (~$3,000). Let at AED 75,000/year, its yield moves from 7.5% gross to ~6.4% net of charges on an AED 1M purchase — hence checking the Mollak rate before buying.

Sources: RERA — Mollak · Updated 2026-06-23

●FAQ

Frequently asked questions

A question about "Service charges" applied to your project? Ask our team on WhatsApp — answered in under 5 minutes during the day.

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Around AED 10-15/sqft for a standard building, up to AED 25-35/sqft or more for premium serviced addresses.
The community budget is validated by RERA and billed via the official Mollak platform — an owner can check any building's per-sqft rate before buying.
Multiply the rate (AED/sqft/yr) by the unit's area and deduct it from annual rent: that's the step from gross to net yield. Level8 provides this calculation for every property presented.
They are set per tower and available via Mollak, the owners' association manager or the developer. We obtain them in writing during due diligence and fold them into the net-yield calculation before any offer.
●Related terms
Legal & registries

DLD (Dubai Land Department)

The DLD (Dubai Land Department) is Dubai's land authority: it registers all property transactions, issues title deeds and publishes the official market data.

Read the definition →Legal & registries

RERA escrow account

A RERA escrow account is a dedicated, supervised bank account through which off-plan payments flow; funds are released to the developer only as construction progresses.

Read the definition →
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