Disputing your service charge
Pay first to keep your account current, then escalate via the management company → RERA → judicial committee if needed.
If your service charge looks wrong — wrong area, double-billing, charges not in the approved budget — you can dispute it. Importantly: continue paying the undisputed portion while the dispute is open. Late payment of the agreed amount weakens your case.
The escalation path
- Management company. Email a clear, itemised query. Reference the approved Mollak budget. Most discrepancies resolve here.
- The Owners Committee. If your community has an active committee, they can take the issue forward collectively.
- RERA. File a complaint via the Dubai REST app under "Real Estate Complaints". Bring documents.
- The Judicial Committee for Real Estate Disputes. The final layer for service-charge cases that don't resolve administratively.
What makes a good dispute
- You can point to the specific line item and the budget figure.
- You have evidence — your title deed area vs the area billed, screenshots from Mollak, prior years' invoices.
- You're polite and specific in writing.
Common findings
- Wrong sqft on file (the most common issue, usually clerical).
- Reserve-fund contribution increased without owner notification.
- One-off works invoiced as a recurring charge.
Sources: RERA dispute process, Mollak.
Related questions
What service charges actually pay for
Common-area maintenance, security, building reserves, master-community upkeep — typically AED 10–25 per sqft per year.
How service-charge rates are set and approved
Management companies prepare a budget, RERA reviews it, and the rate per sqft is published in Mollak. Owners can challenge it.
Owners Associations and Committees — who runs your community
Under JOPA Law (2019), buildings are managed by a Management Company. Owners can elect a Committee that represents the residents.