Carrying costs

Dubai service charges by area

Service charges are the one recurring cost of owning Dubai property. Here is what each district typically charges per square foot per year, and what that means in real money for the unit size you are considering.

Compare by district

Choose a unit size to see the indicative annual service charge in your selected currency.

District	Per sqft / year	Annual cost (420 sqft)	Monthly equivalent
Dubai Sports City	AED 10 – AED 14	AED 4,200 – AED 5,880	AED 350 – AED 490
Jumeirah Village Circle (JVC)	AED 12 – AED 16	AED 5,040 – AED 6,720	AED 420 – AED 560
Business Bay	AED 15 – AED 20	AED 6,300 – AED 8,400	AED 525 – AED 700
Dubai Marina	AED 16 – AED 22	AED 6,720 – AED 9,240	AED 560 – AED 770
Palm Jumeirah	AED 20 – AED 28	AED 8,400 – AED 11,760	AED 700 – AED 980

Figures are estimates and are confirmed in writing before any reservation.

What the charge actually pays for

Service charges are set per project and approved by the Dubai Land Department's Mollak system, which also holds the funds in a dedicated account.

Common-area operations

Cleaning, security, lifts, lighting, landscaping and district cooling infrastructure in the shared parts of the building.

Reserve fund

A ring-fenced share for major future works — facades, chillers, roofing — so owners are not hit by one-off levies.

Management fee

The owners' association manager who prepares the budget, collects charges and reports to owners.

Master-community charge

A separate charge for the wider community (roads, parks, canals). Waterfront and island communities carry the highest master charges.

Charges are billed per square foot of your unit's registered area, usually quarterly and payable by the owner, not the tenant. Utilities (DEWA, chilled water consumption) are billed separately.

How to read these numbers as an investor

Yield always has to be quoted net of service charges, otherwise two districts are not comparable.

High yield, higher relative charge

In value districts like JVC and Sports City the per-sqft charge is low in absolute terms, but on a small purchase price it can still consume a meaningful share of rent.

Premium waterfront

Palm Jumeirah and marina towers carry the highest per-sqft charges because of beach access, district cooling and master-community upkeep. Budget for it before comparing gross yields.

Ask before you reserve

Always request the current approved budget for the specific project, not the district average. We pull it for every unit we discuss with you.

Model net returns after service charges See the full cost stack Book a strategy session