realestatelaw.ae is published by Cendale Documents Clearing Services FZCO (Trade Licence 78065), a documents-clearing and transfer-execution company. We are not a law firm and do not provide legal representation. Matters requiring legal advice or court representation are referred to independent licensed advocates.
Jointly owned property
If you own an apartment or a villa in a managed community, Law No. 6 of 2019 is your constitution: it defines who manages the building, how service charges are set and collected, and what owners can do about both. It is also the law that quietly decides whether your future sale completes on time — because arrears block the NOC.
Plain-language explainer. Challenges to specific charges and management conduct run through the regulator’s channels; contested positions belong with an advocate.
Unpaid service charges carry collection mechanisms of their own — and one commercial consequence that surprises owners: the developer or manager will not clear you for transfer. Arrears surface precisely when you sell, as a blocked No Objection Certificate. The NOC mechanics are documented at noobjectioncertificate.ae.
The route is procedural before it is legal: obtain the approved budget and your statement through Mollak, raise the discrepancy with the manager in writing, escalate through the regulator’s channels. Matters that harden beyond that belong with an independent licensed advocate.
Withholding creates arrears with consequences of their own — challenge through the channels while keeping the account clean.
Budgets approved through the regulatory process, invoiced through Mollak.
They block the NOC, and the NOC gates the transfer.
The supervised body through which owners engage the manager on budgets and performance.
Last updated: 28 July 2026 · Editorial method