Real estate & property
Real estate debt collection in the UAE
Service charges, rent arrears, brokerage commission, fit-out balances and damages beyond the deposit. Property debt splits cleanly into claims worth pursuing hard and claims that need a different route entirely.
What we recover
- Service and community charges owed by owners to owners' associations and management companies. Volume work, usually well documented, and among the more recoverable property debt.
- Commercial rent arrears where a tenant has vacated or is holding over without paying.
- Brokerage commission — the classic dispute being a deal that completed after the agency period, or a client who went direct.
- Fit-out and contracting balances owed to contractors by landlords or tenants. See construction.
- Damages and dilapidations beyond the security deposit.
- Developer and off-plan balances where instalments were not met.
Landlord and tenant disputes in the UAE have their own dedicated forums and procedures, which differ by emirate. Where your matter is properly a tenancy dispute rather than a simple money claim, the right route may be that forum rather than a collection process — and we will tell you so instead of taking the file. Which route applies is a question for a licensed advocate; we are a collection agency, not a law firm.
Service charge recovery
The most common property instruction we receive, and usually the most recoverable. The entitlement is documented, the amounts are calculated on a published basis, and the debtor almost always still owns the asset — which means, unlike most debt, they have not gone anywhere.
These are typically placed as a ledger rather than as individual claims. Batch placement reduces per-file overhead, and it lets us triage — overseas owners, recently transferred units and long-term defaulters each need a different approach.
Brokerage commission claims
These turn almost entirely on documentation, and the pattern is consistent: the agreement signed at the start decides the outcome, and a great many brokers do not have one that survives contact with a dispute. What matters is whether the agency terms were agreed in writing, whether the introduction can be evidenced, and whether the transaction that completed is the one the agreement covered.
What to send
- The tenancy contract, sale agreement, agency agreement or association constitution.
- The statement of account and the invoices or charge notices.
- Evidence of the amount's basis — the approved service charge budget, the agreed rent, the commission rate.
- Any cheques given and returned. See cheque recovery.
- The correspondence trail, particularly anything acknowledging the balance.
Real estate FAQs
Common questions
Can you recover service charges from an owner living overseas?
Often yes, and it is common work. The owner still holds the asset, which is a materially stronger position than most debt recovery starts from. Contact is made wherever they are.
Our tenant left owing rent and the deposit does not cover it.
Recoverable as a money claim, and the strength depends on the tenancy contract, the cheques you hold, and whether the tenant remains in the country. Note that if the matter is properly a tenancy dispute it may belong in the dedicated rental forum instead — we will tell you which we think it is.
The client completed the deal directly after our introduction. Can we claim commission?
It depends almost entirely on the signed agency agreement and whether the introduction can be evidenced. Send the agreement with the claim — without one the position is considerably weaker, and we would rather tell you that at the outset.
Can you handle a whole building's arrears?
Yes. Ledger placement is the norm for service charge recovery and the volume is reflected in the commission rate.