Apartment ownership costs in Dubai: service charges and utilities

Separate purchase costs from the cost of ownership

An asking price is only one part of a property budget. Keep the one-off costs of the transaction separate from recurring expenses, refundable deposits and the owner’s financing arrangements. That distinction makes two apartments easier to compare and avoids treating a refundable deposit as an annual operating expense.

Dubai Land Department’s sale-registration service sets out the applicable registration process and fees. Ask for a transaction-specific statement rather than assuming that every cost, or the allocation between the parties, is identical for every purchase.

Service charges: use the building and the budget year

DLD’s Service Charge Index allows an enquiry by project, use and year. The approved charge relates to the relevant building or project and budget period. Obtain the current statement and confirm the basis on which the charge is applied to your unit. A figure from a neighbouring building or an earlier year is not a substitute.

Keep the statement, the relevant year and the unit’s chargeable area together. If the approved calculation uses an annual rate per square foot, the basic calculation is the applicable rate multiplied by the applicable area. Check the actual statement for separate components, adjustments and any outstanding amount.

For Park Heights, the exact tower matters. The current catalogue distinguishes Tower 1 and Tower 2 within Park Heights 2. We have not verified a building-specific service-charge amount for the apartments shown, so no tower-specific rate is presented here.

Utilities, cooling and the apartment itself

DEWA currently lists a refundable residential security deposit of AED 2,000 for an apartment. Activation charges are separate. This deposit is a move-in cash requirement, not an estimate of electricity or water consumption.

Check whether cooling is billed separately and which charges apply to the specific account. Include maintenance inside the apartment, insurance where applicable, furnishing or replacement needs, and any management agreement you intend to use. Do not assume the building service charge pays for every expense inside the unit.

Gross and net rental figures answer different questions

Gross rental yield compares annual rent with a stated acquisition basis. A net operating comparison subtracts the expenses borne by the owner and an explicitly stated allowance for vacancy or other costs. Financing and transaction costs need their own stated treatment.

For example, a useful comparison sheet keeps these inputs separate:

• Annual rent supported by the actual tenancy or a clearly identified rental assumption.
• Annual service charges for the exact unit and budget year.
• Other owner-paid operating costs and the basis for any vacancy allowance.
• Net operating income: annual rent less those owner-paid costs and allowances.
• Purchase-price or total-acquisition-cost denominator, identified consistently for every property.

An asking rent for a different apartment is not the contracted income of the apartment you are buying. Without a verified tenancy and cost statement, a numerical “net return” would imply knowledge we do not have.

What to request before making a decision

Ask for the title and unit details, the current service-charge statement, tenancy and possession information, relevant utility or cooling arrangements and a dated transaction-cost breakdown. Keep sources and assumptions beside the figures. Then compare properties on the same basis rather than choosing the highest advertised percentage.

Explore our ready-apartment selection and permanent Park Heights guide, or send a listing enquiry to request a property-specific cost review. A calculation based on documents is useful; a return is never guaranteed by the calculation itself.

Sources

• Dubai Land Department — service-charge service
• DEWA — move-in deposits and activation
• Dubai Land Department — property sale registration

Sources checked on 9 October 2026.