The Dubai housing fee on DEWA bills explained (2026)

The housing fee in Dubai is a charge that Dubai Municipality makes for its services to people living in the emirate. It is collected on the monthly bill from the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA), as its own line.

The municipality's own description calls it an additional, annual charge, paid along with the DEWA bill. DEWA collects it; the money is the municipality's. So the housing fee is not part of the electricity tariff and does not change with how much power or water you use.

It is one of the running costs of living in a Dubai home, alongside service charges, utilities and, for some buildings, district cooling. Our guide to the true cost of buying off-plan in Dubai sets out all of them. This guide covers the housing fee alone: who pays it, how it is worked out, and what to do if it is wrong.

For a tenant, the housing fee is 5% of the yearly rent, divided into 12 monthly instalments on the DEWA bill. The UAE government portal states that tenants must pay housing fees to Dubai Municipality at 5% of the yearly rental charges, and DEWA's bill guide describes the same 5% of annual rent split into 12 monthly instalments.

The official formula is:

• Annual housing fee = yearly rent × 5%
• Monthly line on the DEWA bill = annual housing fee ÷ 12

On an AED 100,000 lease that is AED 5,000 a year, or AED 416.67 on each monthly bill.

The rent used is the registered rent. The tenancy contract is registered on Ejari, the Dubai Land Department's lease system, and the tenant's DEWA account is opened against it. Dubai Municipality's Housing Fees service works from the DEWA and Ejari account details. So the rent on your Ejari certificate is the figure to check against.

It is not a deposit. The housing fee is a charge for the year, paid month by month. It is not refunded at the end of a lease the way a DEWA security deposit is.

Multiply the yearly rent by 5% for the annual fee, then divide by 12 for the monthly line. The table below applies the official formula to five rents.

The same numbers in text, for reference:

Worked example 1: a one-bedroom apartment

A tenant signs a one-year lease at AED 85,000 and registers it on Ejari.

1. Annual housing fee: AED 85,000 × 5% = AED 4,250.
2. Monthly line on the DEWA bill: AED 4,250 ÷ 12 = AED 354.17.

Add that to the tenant's monthly budget for the home, on top of electricity, water and any cooling.

Worked example 2: a rent change at renewal

At renewal the rent on the same flat rises to AED 90,000, within the limits of the rental index, and the new contract is registered on Ejari.

1. New annual fee: AED 90,000 × 5% = AED 4,500.
2. New monthly line: AED 4,500 ÷ 12 = AED 375.

The monthly line rises by AED 20.83. Rent increases at renewal are capped by Decree No. 43 of 2013; see our rental index guide.

Worked example 3: a family villa

A family rents a villa at AED 250,000 a year.

1. Annual fee: AED 250,000 × 5% = AED 12,500.
2. Monthly line: AED 12,500 ÷ 12 = AED 1,041.67.

On larger rents the housing fee is one of the bigger monthly lines on the bill, so include it when comparing a villa with an apartment.

Worked example 4: checking your own bill

Your DEWA bill shows a housing fee of AED 500 a month. Work backwards:

1. AED 500 × 12 = AED 6,000 a year.
2. AED 6,000 ÷ 5% = AED 120,000.

The fee is based on a yearly rent of AED 120,000. If your Ejari rent is AED 95,000, the fee should be AED 395.83 a month, and you can ask Dubai Municipality to adjust it.

When a home is let, the tenant pays. When it is empty or lived in by its owner, the holder of the DEWA account pays, which is usually the owner.

The UAE government portal is direct: tenants must pay housing fees to Dubai Municipality, and the fee is added to the tenant's monthly electricity and water bills. In practice, the fee follows the DEWA account:

• A let home. The tenant opens a DEWA account using the registered Ejari contract. The housing fee for the tenancy appears on that account.
• A home the owner lives in. The DEWA account is in the owner's name, and the housing fee is charged on it.
• A home between tenants. If the owner has the DEWA account back in their name while the home is empty, check the bill. Ask Dubai Municipality how the fee is set for that period.

For landlords. The housing fee is not one of the costs you pay while a tenant holds the DEWA account. It does matter when you hand over: close or transfer your DEWA account before the tenant moves in, so the tenant's account carries the fee from the start. Our Ejari guide covers that hand-over, including how DubaiNow now links the DEWA connection to the lease.

What a lease cannot change. A lease may say who pays utilities, and most Dubai leases put them on the tenant. The housing fee is billed to the DEWA account holder either way, so if you agree something different in the lease, you settle it between yourselves.

An owner who lives in their own home also pays a housing fee on the DEWA bill. There is no Ejari rent for the formula to use, so Dubai Municipality bases the fee on the unit's rental value.

Dubai Municipality's services list describes its housing fee adjustment as covering both leased and owned units, adjusted based on the unit's rental value. Its Housing Fees service asks the applicant to state whether they are the owner or the tenant, and an owner applies with the DEWA account only.

What to do as an owner-occupier.

1. Read the housing fee line on your first full DEWA bill after you move in.
2. Work out the annual figure: the monthly line × 12.
3. Ask Dubai Municipality how the rental value for your unit was set, if the figure looks out of line with similar homes in your building.
4. Apply to adjust it through the municipality's service if you think the rental value is wrong, with your DEWA account number and the unit details.

You can see recent rents for comparable homes through the Dubai Land Department's rental index on the Dubai REST app. That gives you a reference point before you contact the municipality.

After handover of an off-plan home. The housing fee starts once a DEWA account is active for the home and someone is living there, whether that is you or a tenant. Plan for it with the other costs that begin at handover, set out in our handover guide.

As a separate line, usually labelled as the housing fee or Dubai Municipality fee, beside the electricity, water and sewerage charges. The total you pay DEWA includes it.

Three practical points:

• It is fixed each month. It does not rise in summer when the electricity charge does, because it is based on rent, not use.
• It is paid with the bill. You cannot pay the electricity and water and leave the housing fee; it is part of the amount due on the account.
• It shows the rent behind it. As in worked example 4, the monthly line × 12 ÷ 5% gives the rent the fee is based on. That is the quickest check that the right contract is linked.

If your building has district cooling, that is billed separately by the cooling provider, not on the DEWA bill. The housing fee does not apply to that bill.

Apply to Dubai Municipality to adjust it. The municipality runs an Adjust Housing Fees service for leased and owned units, and states a reply time of three working days.

Common reasons for a wrong amount:

• An old rent is still linked. The lease was renewed at a different rent but the new contract is not reflected on the account.
• A rent cut is not reflected. If you agreed a lower rent and registered it, the fee should follow.
• The wrong unit or premises number. The DEWA account is linked to a different unit or to an incorrect contract.
• An owner's rental value looks high. The owner believes the assessed rental value does not reflect the unit.

How to apply. Dubai Municipality's Housing Fees user manual says the service is available without registering with the municipality. You need a DEWA account and, for a tenant, the Ejari account. An owner enters the DEWA account number; a tenant enters the DEWA and Ejari details. The form asks for the property type, area, number of bedrooms and contract end date, and for an acknowledgement that the information is correct.

Have these ready:

1. Your DEWA account number and the premises number from the bill.
2. For a tenant, the registered Ejari certificate showing the yearly rent.
3. For an owner, the title deed details and the unit size and bedrooms.
4. A recent DEWA bill showing the housing fee line.

What happens next. The municipality reviews the request and updates the fee if it agrees. Ask how any amount already overpaid will be credited, and keep the reference number until you see the corrected line on a bill.

The housing fee is one of several charges around a Dubai home. It helps to know which are paid once, which recur, and who pays each.

For owners comparing costs. The housing fee is not one of an owner's costs while a tenant holds the DEWA account, but service charges are, because the law makes the owner liable for them. Our guide to service charges in Dubai explains how they are set and approved. The full list of what an owner pays, once and every year, is in our guide to property tax in Dubai.

No. Dubai has no annual property tax on homes. The housing fee is a charge for municipal services tied to living in a home, and it is collected on the utility bill, not on ownership.

The difference matters for two reasons:

• It follows the occupier, not the deed. A landlord whose home is let does not pay it; the tenant does.
• It is based on rent, not value. For a tenant the base is the rent paid. A home's purchase price is not the basis of the official formula for tenants.

A short list, to keep the fee right from the first bill.

Tenants

1. Register the lease on Ejari before you open the DEWA account.
2. Check the first full bill: housing fee line × 12 ÷ 5% should equal your Ejari rent.
3. Register each renewal, so a new rent is reflected.
4. If the line is wrong, apply to Dubai Municipality to adjust it, and keep the reference.
5. When you leave, close the DEWA account so the fee stops with your tenancy.

Landlords

1. Close or transfer your DEWA account before the tenant moves in.
2. Keep the Ejari registration current at each renewal.
3. Between tenancies, check how the fee is charged on any account in your name.
4. If you move into the home yourself, check the housing fee on your first bill and ask the municipality how the rental value was set.

Buyers of off-plan homes

1. Budget for the housing fee from the month you or a tenant move in.
2. If you plan to let, the tenant will pay it; if you plan to live there, you will.
3. Ask Dubai Municipality how the fee is set if you plan to run the home as a holiday home.

The housing fee described here is Dubai's. Other emirates set their own municipality charges on tenancies and collect them in their own way.

The UAE government portal says Abu Dhabi charges a municipality fee on tenancies, collected over 12 months on the water and electricity bill. Sharjah registers leases with Sharjah Municipality. Check the current rate and basis with the emirate's own municipality before you rely on a Dubai figure elsewhere.

• Housing fee. Dubai Municipality's charge for its services, collected on the DEWA bill.
• DEWA. Dubai Electricity and Water Authority, which supplies electricity and water and collects the housing fee.
• Ejari. The Dubai Land Department's system for registering tenancy contracts. The registered rent is the basis of a tenant's housing fee.
• Rental value. For an owner who lives in the home, the value Dubai Municipality uses as the basis of the fee.
• Adjust Housing Fees. Dubai Municipality's service for correcting the fee on a leased or owned unit.
• Premises number. The DEWA identifier for the property, printed on the bill.

If you are budgeting for a Dubai home, start with the true cost of buying off-plan, then read our guides to Ejari and service charges. To compare homes and rents, browse all off-plan projects or ready projects.