By Jouslin Khairallah — Founder & Managing Director, KH Legal (Khairallah Advocates & Legal Consultants). Licensed before all UAE courts including the Federal Supreme Court. Last reviewed August 2026.
In eighteen years of practice in Dubai real estate disputes, one misunderstanding has cost unit owners more money — and owners’ committees more sleepless nights — than any other single sentence:
“I don’t owe service charges until I receive my title deed.”
It sounds logical. It is wrong. And in 2026, with the courts’ position clearer than it has ever been, acting on it is expensive: liability accrues, the management’s lien sits on the unit, resale is blocked, and the file can reach the execution judge without a full lawsuit ever being filed.
This guide explains the law as it is actually applied: when service-charge liability truly begins (and why the title deed has nothing to do with it), and exactly how unpaid charges are collected under Dubai law — step by step, from the Mollak invoice to, in the worst case, the public auction of the unit. We have stood on both sides of these disputes — collecting for management entities and defending owners — and this article reflects what the courts actually do, not what forum posts assume.
Part One: The Legal Framework in One Section
Service charges in Dubai are governed by Law No. 6 of 2019 Concerning Ownership of Jointly Owned Real Property (the “JOP Law”), supervised by the Dubai Land Department through RERA, and administered in practice through Mollak — the DLD system that approves every building’s service-charge budget and issues the invoices owners actually receive.
The pillars every owner and every owners’ committee should know:
- The obligation is statutory, not contractual courtesy. Article 25 of the JOP Law obliges every owner to pay their share of approved service charges — the money that keeps the common areas maintained, insured, cleaned, secured and serviced.
- Only RERA-approved charges are collectible. Budgets are reviewed and approved through Mollak; invoices issue quarterly against the unit’s entitlement share. An invoice outside this system is challengeable; an invoice inside it carries real teeth.
- A tenant in the unit changes nothing. Under Article 16(b), the owner remains liable for service charges even where the unit is leased — an owner cannot point to a defaulting tenant and walk away.
- The management has a lien on the unit. Under Article 32, the unit cannot be disposed of until outstanding charges are settled — which is why unpaid service charges surface, painfully, at the moment an owner tries to sell.
Part Two: When Liability Actually Starts — Never the Title Deed
Here is the point this entire article exists to make, because we have argued it in real disputes: service-charge liability does not begin on the date the title deed is issued. Title registration in Dubai can lag delivery by months — sometimes years, in projects with developer-side registration delays. If liability waited for the deed, every delayed registration would become a service-charge holiday at the expense of every other owner in the building. The law does not permit that result, and the courts have now said so expressly.
The real timeline works like this:
| Stage | Service-charge liability? |
|---|---|
| SPA signed, buyer entered in the interim (pre-completion) register | Not yet — but the clock is loading |
| Project completion | Yes — the courts now hold registered buyers liable from completion (or from their first payment default, whichever comes first), even before formal handover |
| Handover — you receive the keys / possession of the unit | Yes — beyond any argument. You enjoy the services; you pay for them |
| Title deed issued | Liability has long since started — the deed is irrelevant to when it began |
Two anchors for that table:
- The benefit principle the courts apply. From the moment the unit is delivered — and, per the recent guidance, from completion for buyers already on the register — the owner enjoys, or is able to enjoy, the security, cleaning, cooling, insurance and maintenance of the building. The obligation follows the benefit, not the paperwork.
- The 2025 judicial principle. The Rental Disputes Centre’s General Authority has issued a binding principle confirming that buyers recorded in the interim register are liable for service charges from project completion or from the date of their payment default — even where formal handover or ownership registration has not yet occurred. The reasoning is the one every owners’ committee already knows in its bones: the stability of jointly owned buildings depends on services being funded without gaps.
The practical rule we give clients, from both sides of the table: if you are collecting — claim from completion/handover, never wait for deeds; if you are buying — budget for service charges from the day you accept the keys (at the latest), because “my deed hasn’t issued” has no legal life left in it.
Part Three: How Unpaid Service Charges Are Collected — the Legal Ladder
What makes Dubai’s regime unusual — and what many owners discover too late — is that a RERA-compliant service-charge claim does not need a full lawsuit. The JOP Law builds a fast lane:
Step 1 — The Mollak invoice
Collection starts with charges invoiced through Mollak against a RERA-approved budget. This is the foundation: a claim built on approved invoices is nearly bulletproof; a claim built outside the system invites challenge.
Step 2 — The 30-day written notice
The management entity serves the defaulting owner a written payment notice, in the form approved by RERA, giving 30 days to pay. This notice is not a courtesy — it is the statutory key that unlocks the fast lane.
Step 3 — Straight to the execution court
If the 30 days pass unpaid, the management’s claim becomes enforceable directly before the execution judge — no Court of First Instance case, no merits trial. For owners this is the sobering part: the first court document many defaulters receive is an execution file, not a statement of claim.
Step 4 — The lien bites
Under Article 32 the unit cannot be sold or disposed of while charges are outstanding. In practice this is the most effective collection lever in the law: the debt surfaces at the exact moment the owner wants liquidity.
Step 5 — Attachment and, ultimately, auction
The execution judge can attach the unit and — where default persists — order its sale at public auction to recover the charges, with the defaulting owner bearing the legal fees and costs on top. Auctions for service charges are the rare endgame, but their existence is why the earlier steps work.
Owners’ committees and management companies who follow this ladder with clean paperwork collect. Those who invoice outside Mollak, skip the RERA-form notice, or let arrears age into the limitation period, struggle. The discipline is the strategy — the same discipline we apply across our debt collection practice, where the difference between a fast execution file and a stalled claim is almost always the paper trail.
Part Four: The Defenses Owners Raise — What Works and What Doesn’t
Eighteen years of these files teaches you the whole repertoire. Candidly:
Arguments that fail:
- “My title deed hasn’t issued.” Dead on arrival — see Part Two.
- “My tenant lives there; charge the tenant.” Article 16(b) keeps the owner liable regardless.
- “I never use the facilities.” The charge funds availability, not attendance; non-use is not a defense.
Arguments that can succeed — on the right facts:
- Charges outside the approved budget. Amounts not approved through RERA/Mollak, or exceeding the approved rate per square foot, are genuinely challengeable.
- Defective process. A missing or non-conforming 30-day RERA-form notice can derail the fast-lane enforcement and force the claim back a step.
- Pre-completion billing. Charges claimed for periods before completion/delivery — before the liability trigger in Part Two — remain contestable.
- Service failure of substance. Not a self-help right to withhold payment (that route leads to the execution court), but a documented, formally raised service-failure case has its own remedies — the right sequence matters, and this is where legal advice earns its fee.
The KH Legal Perspective
This firm has grown alongside these very laws — from a single office in Dubai Healthcare City in 2008, founded under the Mohammed Bin Rashid Establishment for SMEs, to a Business Bay practice that international law firms entrust with their UAE matters. We watched Law 6 of 2019 replace the old regime, watched Mollak change collection from letters into leverage, and argued the handover-versus-deed question while it was still open. That is the experience behind every recommendation above: not theory — files, notices, execution applications, and the hard work of eighteen years turning a young firm into one of the UAE’s most committed advocates for doing things properly.
Whether you sit on an owners’ committee facing a building full of arrears, manage a portfolio with defaulters, or are an owner staring at an execution notice you did not expect — the earlier the file is structured correctly, the cheaper the outcome. See our real estate and tenancy practice and our analysis of landlord and tenant repair obligations for the neighbouring battles, or our litigation practice for when the dispute has already hardened.
Contact us for a case-specific assessment — collection strategy for management entities, or defense review for owners.
This article is general information, not legal advice. Positions stated reflect Dubai law and published judicial principles as of August 2026.
Frequently Asked Questions
When does service-charge liability start in Dubai — handover or title deed?
Never from the title deed. Liability begins at project completion for buyers recorded in the interim register (or from their first payment default), and beyond any argument from handover of the unit. The deed’s issue date is irrelevant to when liability began.
Can the management sue me without a court case first?
Effectively yes. After a RERA-form written notice giving 30 days to pay, an approved service-charge claim becomes enforceable directly before the execution judge — no full trial precedes it.
Can my unit really be sold for unpaid service charges?
Yes, as the final step: the execution judge can attach the unit and order sale at public auction, with the defaulting owner bearing fees and costs. Before that, the Article 32 lien already blocks any sale of the unit until charges are settled.
I rent my unit out — isn’t my tenant responsible for service charges?
No. Under Article 16(b) of Law 6/2019 the owner remains liable to the management even if the lease passes the cost to the tenant; the lease only gives the owner a claim against the tenant.
Do I have to pay if the services are poor?
Withholding payment is not a lawful self-remedy and leads to enforcement. Documented service failures should be raised through the proper channels while charges are paid — the sequencing protects you.
Which charges can I legitimately challenge?
Charges not approved through RERA/Mollak, amounts above the approved budget, billing for periods before completion/delivery, and claims built on a defective 30-day notice.
Where do I check what I actually owe?
Through Mollak — invoices issue quarterly against the RERA-approved budget for your building and your unit’s entitlement share.