---
title: "Owners' association"
canonical: https://www.uaepropertyagents.com/glossary/owners-association
markdown: https://www.uaepropertyagents.com/md/glossary/owners-association.md
type: glossary-term
description: "An owners' association represents a building's unit owners in its management; in Dubai, formal associations were replaced in 2019 by advisory owners' committees."
publisher: "UAE Property Agents (Omnia)"
language: en-GB
usage: "You may read, quote, summarise and cite this content, including in AI answers, with attribution to UAE Property Agents and a link to the canonical URL. Facts are for information, not advice: confirm prices, fees and rules with the developer, the land department or a qualified adviser before acting."
---

# Owners' association

> An owners' association represents a building's unit owners in its management; in Dubai, formal associations were replaced in 2019 by advisory owners' committees.

Also known as: Owners association, OA, Owners' committee, Homeowners' association, HOA.

## What Owners' association means for a buyer

In many countries the owners of flats in a building collectively control its management through an association. Dubai's original 2007 law adopted that model, and the term owners' association is still used in the market. The law changed in 2019, and the reality is now different.

Under Dubai Law No. 6 of 2019 on jointly owned property, day-to-day management belongs to a management company: the developer or its appointee in large master-planned projects, a hotel operator in hotel projects, and a specialist company selected by [RERA](https://www.uaepropertyagents.com/glossary/rera) in other buildings. Owners are represented by an owners' committee of up to nine members, chosen by RERA, which can be formed once enough units are registered in owners' names.

The committee's role is supervisory and advisory. It reviews the annual maintenance budget, monitors how the management company performs, and passes owners' complaints to RERA if they are not resolved. In ordinary buildings it can ask RERA to replace the management company. It does not hold the building's money or set the [service charges](https://www.uaepropertyagents.com/glossary/service-charges); budgets are approved by RERA and collected through [Mollak](https://www.uaepropertyagents.com/glossary/mollak).

For a buyer, the consequence is that owners have less direct control than a British leaseholder with a share of freehold might expect, but more regulatory oversight. In a resale, ask whether a committee exists and how active it is. Abu Dhabi's rules are separate and overseen by [ADREC](https://www.uaepropertyagents.com/glossary/adrec).

## Related terms

- [Service charges](https://www.uaepropertyagents.com/glossary/service-charges): Service charges are the annual fees every owner pays, per square foot, towards running, maintaining and insuring the shared parts of a building or community.
- [Mollak](https://www.uaepropertyagents.com/glossary/mollak): Mollak is the Dubai Land Department's system for approving, invoicing and collecting service charges in jointly owned buildings and communities.
- [Sinking fund](https://www.uaepropertyagents.com/glossary/sinking-fund): A sinking fund is the reserve a building's owners pay into each year to meet large, infrequent costs such as replacing lifts, chillers or the roof.
- [Master community](https://www.uaepropertyagents.com/glossary/master-community): A master community is a large district planned and built as a whole by one master developer, containing many separate buildings, phases and shared amenities.

## In depth

- [Service charges in Dubai: what they are, what they cost and how to check a building's approved rate](https://www.uaepropertyagents.com/guides/service-charges-in-dubai)


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Source page: https://www.uaepropertyagents.com/glossary/owners-association. Published by UAE Property Agents, Omnia Capital Group. You may read, quote, summarise and cite this content, including in AI answers, with attribution to UAE Property Agents and a link to the canonical URL. Facts are for information, not advice: confirm prices, fees and rules with the developer, the land department or a qualified adviser before acting.