An Owners Committee in Dubai is neither a board nor a client for works. Law No. 6 of 2019 introduces its powers with the word "exclusively" and then lists eight of them: verify, review, request, notify. The building itself is managed by whoever the project's category puts in charge — the developer in major projects, a hotel management company in hotel projects, and in everything else a management company selected and contracted by RERA. Worked through the official text on the Dubai Legislation Portal.
Verified on 15 September 2026 against official sources: the text of Law No. 6 of 2019 comes from the Dubai Legislation Portal (dlp.dubai.gov.ae). Source links sit next to every article of the law and again at the end. This is not legal advice: how it applies to a particular building depends on its category and its statute.
"Who do I go to about the leaking roof and the line item I do not understand" sounds the same in every building, and the answer depends on which category the project falls into. That is not a colloquial classification; it is a rule of law.
The governing text is Law No. (6) of 2019 Concerning Ownership of Jointly Owned Real Property in the Emirate of Dubai, issued on 4 September 2019.
Three categories, three different managers
Article 18 divides jointly owned property into three categories precisely for the purposes of managing the common parts.
Category 1 — Major Projects:
«Projects in this category will be determined in accordance with the criteria prescribed under the relevant resolution issued by the Director General. The Developer will be responsible for the management, operation, maintenance, and repair of Common Parts and Utility Services.» — Law No. (6) of 2019, Article 18
Category 2 — Hotel Projects:
«These are projects wherein the management of Common Parts must be outsourced by the Developer to a Hotel Project Management Company in accordance with the relevant rules approved by the Director General.»
Category 3 — everything else:
«The management of Common Parts in these projects will be undertaken by a specialised management company selected and contracted by RERA.»
The difference is not cosmetic. In Category 1 the developer answers for the common parts; in Category 3 the management company is chosen by the regulator, not by the residents and not by the developer.
The Owners Committee: who sits on it and how it comes about
Article 22 covers composition:
«The Owners Committee of a Real Property project that falls in Category 1 or Category 3… will be constituted of a maximum of nine (9) members appointed by RERA.»
Two facts there cut against the usual expectations: the committee exists in Categories 1 and 3, and its members are appointed by RERA.
The threshold at which it comes into being is also stated:
«An Owners Committee will be constituted upon the registration of at least ten percent (10%) of the total Units of the Jointly Owned Real Property on the Real Property Register.»
So the committee arises once at least 10% of all units are registered on the property register.
The requirements for a member are a closed list:
«be of full legal capacity; be an Owner residing in the Jointly Owned Real Property; be of good character and repute; pay the Service Charges and Usage Charges; and attend, and actively participate in, the meetings»
Full legal capacity, an owner residing in that building, good repute, payment of the service charges, and active participation in meetings. Which has a direct consequence: someone in arrears cannot sit on the committee, and an investor who lets the flat out and lives elsewhere does not meet "residing".
Three more rules in the same article:
- The developer may be a member only if he owns unsold units.
- The committee elects its chairman from among its own members.
- RERA may reconstitute the committee at any time, and membership terminates if an owner ceases to meet any requirement.
Eight powers — and the word "exclusively"
Article 24 opens with the word that governs everything after it: the committee «will exclusively» —
«1. verify that the Management Entity undertakes the management, operation, maintenance, and repair of the Common Parts in accordance with this Law; 2. review, and provide the necessary recommendations on, the annual budgets for the maintenance; 3. discuss the obstacles and difficulties related to the management, operation, maintenance, and repair of Common Parts; 4. receive, and notify to the Management Entity, the complaints and suggestions submitted by Owners and Occupants; 5. request RERA to replace the Management Entity of any Real Property project that falls in Category 3; 6. notify the Management Entity or RERA of any defects in the structural parts or any damage requiring urgent repair; 7. coordinate with RERA, the Management Entity, or the Competent Authority with respect to any safety, environmental, security matter; and 8. submit to the Management Entity any proposals regarding the method of use of Common Parts.»
Read the verbs rather than the items: verify, review and recommend, discuss, receive and pass on, request a replacement, notify, coordinate, submit proposals. Not one verb says "manage", "engage", "contract" or "approve the budget". The committee is an organ of oversight and liaison, not a client for works.
The hotel category is dealt with expressly as well — the committee there
«will not be authorised to participate in the management of the Hotel Project or its Common Parts»
What this means in practice
If you are unhappy with the management company. Item 5 of Article 24 gives the committee the right to ask RERA to replace the management entity — but only in Category 3. In Category 1 the developer answers for the common parts, and that lever is not in the list.
If you disagree with the charge. The committee reviews and recommends on the budget; the rate itself is approved by the regulator through a separate mechanism — covered in the article on service charges and Mollak.
If there is a structural defect. Item 6 is the direct channel: notify the management entity or RERA. Since 2026 older buildings also carry a standalone duty to prove their condition: the quality and safety certificate under Law No. 3 of 2026.
If you are a tenant. Item 4 mentions complaints from occupants, not only owners. The parties' repair obligations inside the apartment, however, live in a different law: Articles 15–22 of Law No. 26 of 2007.
What we are NOT claiming here
- Which category a particular building falls into. The criteria for a "major project" are set by a separate resolution of the Director General, which we do not quote.
- Who sits on the committee in your building. Members are appointed by RERA; we keep no such list.
- The procedure for requesting a change of management company. The law gives the committee the right to request; the procedure comes from the statute and RERA's resolutions, whose text is outside this piece.
- Any amounts. There is not a single rate here: this article is about powers, not money.
Sources
- Law No. (6) of 2019 Concerning Ownership of Jointly Owned Real Property in the Emirate of Dubai — Dubai Legislation Portal: Article 18 (the three categories and who manages each), Article 22 (composition, appointment by RERA, the 10% threshold, member requirements, a developer with unsold units, the chairman, reconstitution), Article 24 (the eight powers introduced by "exclusively"). Issued 4 September 2019.
