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Dubai Service Charge Calculator by District (2026)

Mis à jour le 15 September 2026 · Indicative bands, not an official quote — the exact figure for a unit comes from its Mollak statement

Service charges are the annual per-square-foot fee that keeps a building running: security, cleaning, common-area cooling, maintenance and the owners’ association budget. They vary widely between districts — and between buildings on the same street — which makes them one of the most underestimated ownership costs in Dubai. This calculator applies indicative 2026 bands for ten popular areas, drawn from the RERA service charge index. Treat the result as a planning estimate: your building’s approved rate is published in the Mollak statement issued each year. Last verified on 15 September 2026.

Use the built-up area (BUA) from your contract, not the net floor area.

Bands are indicative, drawn from the RERA service charge index. Buildings in the same district vary — the exact figure for a unit is on its Mollak statement.

Dubai Marina · AED 17–22 per sqft per year (indicative)

Annual (range)

AED 17,000–22,000

Monthly (midpoint)

AED 3,250

Annual = area × band rate. Monthly = annual ÷ 12, shown at the band midpoint. Both ends move with the band; buildings vary either side of it.

Annual band by district (AED/sqft/yr, indicative)

Dubai Marina
17–22
Jumeirah Village Circle (JVC)
12–16
Downtown Dubai
20–28
Business Bay
16–24
Palm Jumeirah
24–32
Arabian Ranches
12–17
Dubai South
10–14
Deira
8–12
Al Barsha
14–19
Dubai Sports City
11–15

Bars are scaled to each district’s band midpoint. Palm Jumeirah and Downtown sit at the top of the range; Deira and Dubai South at the bottom. Indicative only — an official figure exists only per building, via Mollak.

How the calculation works

The arithmetic is deliberately simple: annual charge = built-up area × band rate, and monthly = annual ÷ 12. Enter your area in square feet and choose a district; the calculator multiplies it by the low and high ends of that district’s indicative band to give an annual range, then shows the monthly midpoint. The comparison chart plots every district’s band to the same scale, so you can see how the running cost of an identical unit changes between areas. The bands come from the RERA service charge index and are indicative only — individual buildings routinely sit above or below the district range, and the authoritative figure for any unit is its Mollak service charge statement.

Frequently asked questions

Are service charges the same every year?

No. Each owners' association approves a new budget annually and RERA indexes the approved rates, so the per-square-foot figure can move in either direction. Larger swings usually follow one-off works — façade repairs, chiller replacement, new amenities — rather than ordinary inflation. Read the Mollak statement each year rather than budgeting last year's figure.

What do service charges actually cover?

The day-to-day running of the common property: security staffing, cleaning and waste handling, preventative maintenance, building insurance, common-area electricity and cooling, and the management company's fee. They do not cover anything inside your unit, utility accounts in your own name, or major owner-funded works agreed separately. A well-run association can deliver the same service at a noticeably lower rate, which is why the per-building figure matters more than the district average.

Can I recover service charges from my tenant?

No. Service charges are an owner's obligation under the law — they are owed to the owners' association whether the unit is occupied or vacant, and they cannot be passed to a tenancy contract as a separate charge. Most owners recover them indirectly through the rent they set; district cooling is the usual exception, billed separately to the tenant by the cooling provider in most buildings.

For the one-off costs of buying, use the DLD fee calculator, and for long-term residency planning the Golden Visa checker — more guides live on the Villavow blog.