Service charge index

The Service Charge and Maintenance Index is a public tool from the Dubai Land Department. You select a community and a project, and it returns the service charge that RERA has approved for it, expressed in dirhams per square foot per year, together with the budget period. It is available on the DLD website and in Dubai REST.

It exists because service charges in Dubai cannot be billed until the budget has been approved, and approved figures are recorded through Mollak. The index is therefore the most reliable source for what owners in a building are really charged, and a check on what a seller or agent tells you.

How to use it:

• Work out the annual cost. Multiply the rate by the area on the title deed. A rate of AED 16 on a 900 sq ft flat is AED 14,400 a year before VAT.
• Compare buildings. Two towers at similar prices can differ widely in running cost, which changes the net yield.
• Look at the breakdown. Check whether cooling, the master community fee and the reserve contribution are included or billed separately.

Its limits matter. A building appears only once it is complete and has an approved budget, so there is no index figure for an off-plan project; a developer's estimate in the sales material is not binding. Rates are reviewed each year and can rise. For off-plan, use the index to look up the same developer's completed buildings of similar specification as a guide.