Abu Dhabi freehold property owners saw 6% drop in service, community charges in 2023
Taken together, these savings work out to nearly Dh40m for 2023
Dubai: Abu Dhabi's freehold property owners had a 6 per cent reduction in their service and community charges during 2023, which combined represents a saving of Dh39.7 million from 2022 figures. This was confirmed by the Abu Dhabi Real Estate Centre.
"The lowered fees incentivised investors and potential real estate buyers in Abu Dhabi," said ADREC in a statement. "These reductions are anticipated to streamline property management, cut operational expenses, elevate returns on real estate investments, and uphold competitive pricing for homeowners in Abu Dhabi, both locally and regionally."
In 2020, Abu Dhabi's Department of Municipalities and Transport had launched a fee monitoring system to regulate service and community charges and thus 'fostering' sustainable growth in Abu Dhabi's real estate sector.
"This framework safeguards the rights of both owners and developers by ensuring fair pricing," the agency said. "It resulted in service charge reductions by 18.1 per cent in 2020, by 8.3 per cent in 2021, and by over 6 per cent in 2022."
Property owners must maintain their share of communal areas to avoid these fees, which require ADREC's approval under the Department of Municipalities and Transport.
The total value of annual budgets intended for jointly owned property development projects until end of 2023 was Dh685 million.