Dubai service charges in instalments: how RERA’s Tayseer plan works and who it helps
RERA’s Tayseer initiative lets owners clear overdue service charges in instalments of at least six months, and management companies hold off enforcement while the plan is kept. Nineteen companies joined at launch in March 2025; the DLD service page now lists 23. Terms and limits.
The service charge is the one compulsory annual cost of owning an apartment in Dubai. There is no property tax, so owners fund the upkeep of the building, pools, security and lifts. When charges go unpaid for several years, the debt becomes a real problem: the management company goes to the dispute centre, and without a no-dues certificate the unit cannot be sold. For owners in that position, the market regulator RERA set up Tayseer — an instalment plan for charges already overdue.
How it works
- Who. Owners of units in jointly owned buildings with outstanding service charges.
- Through whom. Participating management companies. Nineteen joined when Tayseer launched on 24 March 2025; the Land Department's service page now lists 23 and invites more.
- Term. A minimum of six months, with the schedule agreed with the management company.
- Protection. While the plan is honoured, the management company does not start enforcement. RERA monitors compliance.
The regulator's stated aims were fewer service-charge cases at the Rental Disputes Centre, fewer complaints and steadier funding for building maintenance. The logic is plain: a management company would rather collect a debt over six months than litigate it for a year.
How to use it
- Check whether your management company is on the participant list on the Land Department's Tayseer page.
- Contact the company directly and request an instalment plan for the current arrears.
- Agree a schedule of at least six months and keep to it — a missed instalment restores the company's right to enforce.
What it does not solve
New charges. The plan covers accumulated arrears. Charges for the next period must be paid as normal, or a new debt builds up alongside the old one.
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A sale. Until the debt is cleared in full, the management company will not issue a no-dues certificate, and without it the transfer cannot be registered. If a quick sale is needed, the arrears are usually settled from the sale price rather than by instalments.
The rate itself. Tayseer does not change the service charge, which is approved per building under RERA's service charge index — see our note on who approves the rate.
What a buyer should read into it
For a buyer, Tayseer is also a signal. A building with many owners on instalment plans is struggling to collect, and sooner or later that shows in maintenance and in the reserve fund. With Dubai's 2026 building quality and safety law now requiring owners to hold a certificate and carry out repairs after inspections, management companies' costs are going up, not down. On a resale, ask not only for the seller's own no-dues letter but for the building's overall collection rate.
The service charge feeds straight into yield. How to price a developer's "three years without service charges" offer is covered in our breakdown of developer packages.
Before comparing apartments on price per square foot, run them with the service charge and every other owner's cost — the full list is in what a Dubai owner actually pays.
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