---
title: "Service charge index"
canonical: https://www.uaepropertyagents.com/glossary/service-charge-index
markdown: https://www.uaepropertyagents.com/md/glossary/service-charge-index.md
type: glossary-term
description: "The service charge index is the Dubai Land Department's published record of the approved service charge rate, per square foot, for each registered building."
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."
---

# Service charge index

> The service charge index is the Dubai Land Department's published record of the approved service charge rate, per square foot, for each registered building.

Also known as: Service Charge and Maintenance Index, RERA service charge index, DLD service charge index.

## What Service charge index means for a buyer

The Service Charge and Maintenance Index is a public tool from the [Dubai Land Department](https://www.uaepropertyagents.com/glossary/dld). You select a community and a project, and it returns the service charge that [RERA](https://www.uaepropertyagents.com/glossary/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](https://www.uaepropertyagents.com/glossary/dubai-rest).

It exists because [service charges](https://www.uaepropertyagents.com/glossary/service-charges) in Dubai cannot be billed until the budget has been approved, and approved figures are recorded through [Mollak](https://www.uaepropertyagents.com/glossary/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](https://www.uaepropertyagents.com/glossary/net-yield).
- **Look at the breakdown.** Check whether cooling, the [master community](https://www.uaepropertyagents.com/glossary/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.

## 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.
- [Net yield](https://www.uaepropertyagents.com/glossary/net-yield): Net yield is annual rent minus all running costs and empty periods, divided by the full cost of buying the property, shown as a percentage.

## 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/service-charge-index. 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.