Yes, but not by a vote at a general assembly. In Dubai, only the Owners Committee can raise a request to replace an underperforming management company, and only the Real Estate Regulatory Agency (RERA) can approve it. That authority sits under Law No. 6 of 2019, the Jointly Owned Property Law, and the procedure for the Committee to invoke it is set out in Circular No. RERASC 26C03, the RERA-approved Articles of Association for Owners Committees, effective 1 July 2026. Below, Strata Global walks through who actually holds this authority, how the answer changes with your building’s category, the RERA process step by step, and what makes a replacement request stick.
Quick summary
- Individual owners cannot vote out a management company directly. Only the Owners Committee can raise the issue with RERA.
- The legal basis is Article 38 of Law No. 6 of 2019, in force since 2019. Circular No. RERASC 26C03 (effective 1 July 2026) adds a defined procedure for the Committee to formally request a replacement.
- Whether owners have a realistic route to replace the manager depends on the building’s category under Article 18 of Law No. 6 of 2019.
- For standard residential and mixed-use towers, the process starts with a 14-day correction notice, moves to a RERA-ordered assessment, and can end in a formal warning or a replacement.
- Proven financial irregularities, such as funds collected outside approved channels, let RERA act immediately, without the full notice cycle.
- A Committee’s request does not automatically trigger a replacement. RERA studies and decides on every case before acting.
Who actually controls a building’s management in the UAE?
Most owners assume the building they live in is run by an owners’ association they can vote in and out. That model ended with Law No. 6 of 2019, which replaced the older Law No. 27 of 2007 and removed owners’ associations as a managing legal entity. In their place, every jointly owned property in Dubai now has an Owners Committee of up to nine members, including a chairman and vice chairman.
Owners are not shut out of that committee. Under the Articles of Association, any owner may nominate themselves or apply to join, provided they meet the membership conditions and RERA formally approves the committee’s formation. To be eligible, a member must be an owner resident in the property, have full legal capacity, be between 21 and 65, be current on all service and usage charges, and hold no business or financial interests that conflict with the role.
The Committee’s role is oversight and advisory only. It reviews budgets, reads audit reports, relays complaints, and can request changes, but it cannot sign contracts, hire staff, or manage the building day-to-day. It has no independent legal personality, so it cannot create a contractual or financial obligation in the building’s name except through the management company. That day-to-day job sits with a RERA-licensed community management company. This is a distinction we work with constantly through our owners’ association management services, and it is the starting point for every conversation we have with a new committee about what they can and cannot decide on their own.
The power to replace a management company is not new. It has existed under Article 38 of Law No. 6 of 2019 since the law came into force. What Circular No. RERASC 26C03 adds is a defined procedure for the Owners Committee to formally request a replacement, codifying the committee’s role in a process that RERA ultimately decides. The circular also sets out how a Committee has to operate day-to-day, covering formation, membership, meetings and voting, and requires that meetings, agendas and votes be documented in the Mollak system to be valid. We broke down the full Articles of Association in our earlier update on the new governance framework. This article focuses specifically on the part of that framework that governs replacing a management company. For the practical side of keeping a Committee’s own paperwork and Mollak filings in order, our governance and compliance team handles that directly for the communities we manage.
If your building’s Committee is not yet properly registered, that has to happen before any of this applies. We covered the registration requirement in our guide to registering an owners’ committee.
First, Check Your Building’s Category
Before anything else, the answer to “can we change the manager?” depends on how your property is categorised under Article 18 of Law No. 6 of 2019. The law sorts every jointly owned development into one of three categories, and the category decides who appoints the management company and, under Articles 37 and 38, who can remove it. This is the single most useful thing to establish about your own building.
| Category | What it covers | Who can replace the manager |
|---|---|---|
| Category 1 — Major Projects | Large developments designated as major projects, where the developer manages common areas (and may delegate to a management company). | The CEO of RERA, under Article 37, where the developer is proven incompetent. A high bar, and not a route owners can drive. |
| Category 2 — Hotel Projects | Jointly owned units inside a licensed hotel establishment, managed by a hotel project management company. | The CEO of RERA, under Article 37, where the hotel management company is proven incompetent. Owners have no independent route. |
| Category 3 — All other projects | Standard residential and mixed-use towers, the majority of Dubai buildings. Managed by a company selected and contracted by RERA. | RERA, under Article 38. The Owners Committee can request a replacement, following the process below. |
In short: if you own in a standard residential or mixed-use tower (Category 3), your committee has a direct route to ask RERA to replace the manager under Article 38, and the rest of this article applies to you. If you own in a major or hotel project, replacement is not something owners can drive at all. Under Article 37, only the CEO of RERA can act, and only where the developer or hotel project management company is proven incompetent. If you are not sure which category your building falls into, our owners’ association management team can confirm it against the Real Property Register.
Can owners vote to replace the management company?
Not directly, and not by majority vote at a general assembly. An individual owner with a complaint takes it to the Owners Committee first. The Committee refers it to the management company and, if it is not resolved, can raise the matter with RERA, but it cannot terminate a contract on its own authority. Only RERA can approve a replacement. What matters is that the complaint is properly documented and escalated, not how many owners signed it.
The RERA Process to Replace a Management Company, Step by Step
Article 38 of Law No. 6 of 2019 sets the legal framework, and Article 9 of Circular No. RERASC 26C03 sets out how a Committee invokes it: a structured escalation rather than a single request-and-approve step. Here is how it runs:
- The Owners Committee, coordinating with RERA, formally notifies the management company in writing of specific observations and violations, giving it up to 14 days to correct them.
- If the issues are not fixed within that window, RERA can step in directly, including assigning independent technical or financial specialists to assess the property and the company’s performance.
- If those assessments confirm shortcomings, RERA issues a formal warning with its own deadline, and the management company must commit to a written corrective plan with periodic progress reports.
- If the company still does not comply, RERA terminates the contract and replaces the management company, with the outgoing company given 30 days to hand over.
- Where financial reports or an audit uncover serious irregularities, such as service charges collected outside approved channels, RERA can act immediately, including replacing the company on the spot, without waiting through the full notice cycle.
At every stage, the final decision sits with RERA. A Committee’s request alone does not automatically remove a management company; RERA studies and evaluates it first. According to Dubai Land Department’s guidance on owners committees, this structure is designed to strengthen governance and accountability across Dubai’s residential communities, not to make replacement a quick or informal step.
What Evidence Strengthens a Replacement Request
RERA’s assessment leans heavily on documentation. A Committee with a paper trail moves through the process faster than one relying on verbal complaints. Useful evidence includes:
- Dated, written complaints logged with the Owners Committee rather than raised only verbally at meetings.
- Documented safety or maintenance failures, ideally with photos, dates, and copies of any correspondence sent to the company.
- Financial irregularities, such as service charges collected outside approved Mollak accounts or unexplained gaps between budgeted and audited figures.
- A record showing the company was formally notified and given the chance to correct the issue before the complaint escalated.
At a Glance: Who Can Do What
| Party | What they can do |
|---|---|
| Individual owner | Raise a written complaint with the Owners Committee. Cannot vote to remove the management company directly. |
| Owners Committee | Notify the management company of violations and request a replacement from RERA. Cannot terminate a contract itself, and has no independent legal personality. |
| Management company | Has up to 14 days to correct notified violations before a RERA assessment begins. |
| RERA | Assesses the property and the company’s performance, issues warnings, and makes the final decision on replacement. |
Frequently Asked Questions
Can owners vote out the management company directly?
No. Individual owners raise complaints with the Owners Committee, and only RERA can approve a replacement. There is no general assembly vote that removes a management company on its own.
Is a majority owner vote required?
No. A single owner’s documented complaint can start the process through the Owners Committee. What matters is whether the complaint is properly raised and, if needed, escalated to RERA, not how many owners signed it.
Does this apply to every building in Dubai?
The committee-to-RERA route described here applies to Category 3 projects, standard residential and mixed-use towers, under Article 38. In major projects and hotel projects, replacing an incompetent developer or hotel project management company is a decision for the CEO of RERA under Article 37, and owners have no independent route.
Was this possible before the 2026 circular?
Yes. Article 38 of Law No. 6 of 2019 has allowed RERA to replace an incompetent management company since 2019. The circular formalises the Owners Committee’s role in starting that process and sets out the steps it must follow.
How long does the RERA replacement process take?
It depends on the case. The initial correction window is up to 14 days, and RERA’s own assessment and warning stages add further time. Once RERA decides, the outgoing company has 30 days to hand over. Proven financial irregularities can move much faster, since RERA can act immediately in those cases.
What happens during the handover period?
Once RERA approves a replacement, the outgoing company hands over building records, contracts, and financial documentation to the incoming manager within the 30-day window. The Owners Committee should confirm this handover is complete and documented before treating the transition as finished.
Does this process apply outside Dubai?
No. Law No. 6 of 2019 and Circular No. RERASC 26C03 are Dubai-specific. Abu Dhabi and the northern emirates operate under their own jointly owned property rules, and DIFC-registered properties follow a separate framework.
Strata Global provides community management and owners’ association services across Dubai. Learn more about what we do.
