New System Launched to Record Dh4 Billion in Real Estate

Dubai developers are no longer allowed to collect service charges from property owners as a new law comes into effect removing developers from setting charges or collecting funds. Developers have only a month left to start invoicing all service charges on ready properties through the Dubai Land Department's Mollak system, which was launched by the Dubai Land Department. Mollak, an electronic platform for tenants and home owners to pay service fees, is on track to record Dh4 billion towards service fees. The platform has so far registered 231,277 real estate units, 1,240 properties, and 89 real estate companies. "At present, the total amount of service fees audited in the system exceed Dh1.3 billion," according to DLD. The introduction of Mollak ensures that henceforth developers have to invoice service charges on properties only through the new electronics payment platform. The initiative is in line with the Common Properties Law, No. 6 of 2019, which comes into effect on Tuesday. Mollak, which has been designed to be more fair and transparent, comprises an online automation process that requires the developer and the joint ownership property management, through its manager, to provide accurate information regarding the services provided in joint ownership properties so that Real Estate Regulatory Agency (Rera) can approve the service fees. The system also assists joint ownership property owners and ascertains smooth and easy operations with property managers as well as provides a new and integrated structure to monitor accounts related to service charges in these projects by relying on the financial accounts that operate as per to the mechanism of the escrow account, DLD said.