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Mollak: how your service charge is approved before you are billed.

In Dubai every service charge on jointly owned property goes through one regulated system. Knowing the order it works in tells you what your invoice should rest on, and what to ask when it doesn't.

Updated

Mollak is the RERA platform that handles service charges in jointly owned property under Law No. 6 of 2019. Until the budget behind a charge is approved, no management entity can impose it or collect it. What they do collect has to reach your building's own account, at a Dubai-licensed bank, within seven working days. You can see your approved rate in the Dubai REST app, against your unit, next to your invoices and what you've paid.

In short

  • No approved budget, no lawful invoice. Approval always comes first.

  • What you pay goes into your building's own account, kept apart from the managing agent's money.

  • The approval submission has to include tenders, at least three per service provider.

  • Look up your unit in Dubai REST to see the approved rate and your invoices and payments.

The sequence

For most owners Mollak is first just a word on an invoice. It refers to the approval process your fee went through. Once you know the order that process runs in, you can hold any invoice up against it.

What has to happen before a service charge reaches you
StageWhat it requires
Budget preparedCosted by category, with tenders and their evaluation: at least three per service provider
ApprovalCleared through Mollak. Until then no charge can be imposed or collected
Account openedAt a Dubai-licensed bank recognised by RERA, apart from the agent's own money
Invoices issuedApproved, against each unit, most often quarterly
Funds depositedIn the building's account within seven working days
Spending and auditAgainst the approved lines only, with audited accounts

Law No. 6 of 2019 concerning the ownership of jointly owned real property in the Emirate of Dubai, Articles 27 and 30, together with the Land Department's published requirements for approval of service and usage charges. Read 18 September 2026.

What this gives you

  • A number you can trace.

    Each charge ought to match a line in an approved budget, and any challenge starts there. When the managing agent can't show you which line it came from, it's on them to explain.

  • Money that stays with the building.

    The separate account and the seven-day deposit rule are there to stop a management company treating your service charges as its working capital. You'll notice it most when the agent gets replaced. The building's money stays put.

  • Evidence that the work was priced.

    Having tenders in the submission doesn't promise you the cheapest contractor got picked. It does mean someone had to compare quotes before the budget went through.

  • Reserves that belong to the building.

    Every building saves up for things like new lifts or facade work, the bills that turn up once a decade. That reserve is part of the approved budget, so it isn't the agent's to play with. If it's thin and the building's getting old, expect it to come back to you as a special levy.

Reading your own

  • Find your unit in Dubai REST.

    Your charge is worked out from the approved rate per square foot, which you'll see there alongside your invoices and payment history. An agent or broker might quote you something else. Trust Mollak over them.

  • Pay through the channels on the invoice.

    Pay into the bank account on the invoice, or use Noqodi. When someone's chasing you it's tempting to pay any old way that's fastest. Don't. Disputes are argued from records, and dated invoices with bank transfers that match them leave you much better placed.

Think the figure's wrong? Our guide to disputing a service charge sets out the route. Be warned that the grounds which work are narrower than most owners expect. To see what a normal rate looks like, try the per square foot ranges by building type.

This covers the Mollak framework under Law No. 6 of 2019 on jointly owned real property in Dubai, along with the Land Department's published approval requirements as we read them on 18 September 2026. Things change. Some communities have already moved from yearly budgets to fixed fees over several years. For your own unit, go by your Mollak record in Dubai REST. General information, not legal advice.

Questions

What is Mollak?

It's the system RERA uses to regulate service charges in jointly owned property. Mollak is Arabic for owners, as it happens. Any building or community with shared areas runs its service charge accounts through it. So by the time an invoice lands with you, the budget your managing agent works to has already been past the regulator.

Who can invoice me for service charges in Dubai?

Only your building's management entity, and only after the budget's been approved. Bill you on an unapproved budget and the invoice has no standing. Got a demand you can't tie to an approved budget? Ask about that first. It's the approval that makes the charge due.

Where does my service charge money go?

It goes into an account just for your building, at a Dubai-licensed bank that RERA recognises, and well away from the managing agent's own operating account. Whatever's collected has to land there within seven working days. Keeping it separate means the money stays with your building and doesn't get mixed up with a company's cash.

How do I check my service charge in Mollak?

Open the Dubai REST app and find your unit. The approved rate is there, with your invoices and what you've paid. Brokers and agents sometimes quote a different rate. When they do, go with Mollak's.

Can my managing agent spend service charge money on anything they like?

They can't. Whatever they spend has to sit inside the approved budget, and the budget has set categories. Cleaning and security are in there. So are maintenance and repair, insurance and audit fees, the management fee itself and administration, plus reserves for big or emergency jobs. If something doesn't fit one of those lines, it needs approving separately.

How often do Mollak invoices arrive?

Every quarter in most buildings, though not all. You pay into the bank account printed on the invoice, or through Noqodi. Don't pay the managing agent some other way. If a charge is ever disputed, that audit trail is what covers you.

Is the budget always set a year at a time?

Mostly, but not everywhere now. Yearly budgets are still normal. The Land Department has, though, brought in fixed multi-year service fees for some communities, Palm Jumeirah first, in 2025. If yours is one of them, the figure's fixed for longer, and you'd plan around that.

Does Mollak mean my service charge is fair?

It tells you the charge was approved and documented, and that it can be audited. Cheap is another matter. A budget can pass every procedural test and still cost more than the building next door. Why it costs more is down to how your building's run, and the process won't answer that for you.

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