The 5% on your DEWA bill.
Dubai Municipality charges a housing fee on residential occupation, collected through DEWA in twelve instalments. Here is what it comes to on your rental value.
The Dubai housing fee is 5% of the annual rental value, split across twelve DEWA bills. A home with an annual rent of AED 120,000 carries AED 6,000 a year, or AED 500 a month. A tenant pays it against the rent registered in Ejari. An owner living in the property pays it against a rental value the Municipality assesses. UAE nationals do not pay it.
AED 6,000 a year, divided across twelve bills rather than demanded at once.
The housing fee is charged by Dubai Municipality and collected through DEWA, which is why it appears on a utility bill rather than as a separate invoice. Where a property is let, the tenant pays it against the Ejari rent. Where the owner lives there, the Municipality estimates a rental value from its own records, so the figure can differ from what you would expect. It is separate from the service charge, which the owner pays whoever is living there.
What it comes to
| Annual rental value | Per year | Per DEWA bill |
|---|---|---|
| 60,000 | 3,000 | 250 |
| 90,000 | 4,500 | 375 |
| 120,000 | 6,000 | 500 |
| 180,000 | 9,000 | 750 |
| 250,000 | 12,500 | 1,042 |
| 400,000 | 20,000 | 1,667 |
Dubai Municipality housing fee, charged at 5% of annual rental value and collected through DEWA. Read 18 September 2026.
Worth knowing
Liability follows residential occupation.
A let property puts the fee on the tenant against the Ejari rent. Where you live in it yourself, it falls to you against an assessed value. Owners moving between letting and occupying should check what the DEWA account is registered against during the changeover, since that is where an unexpected charge tends to appear.
The Ejari link is what sets a tenant's figure.
The fee tracks the rent registered against the DEWA account. A renewal at a new rent that was never registered, or an account still linked to an old contract, leaves the fee running against a number that no longer applies.
An owner-occupier's valuation can be challenged.
Because the Municipality estimates the rental value rather than reading it from a contract, there is something to disagree with. A reassessment is the route if the estimate looks out of step with what comparable homes in the building let for.
It runs alongside the service charge.
For an owner who lives in their own apartment, both are running at once: the service charge through Mollak, the housing fee through DEWA. Counting only one of them understates what the year costs.
The housing fee is set by Dubai Municipality at 5% of annual rental value and collected through DEWA. Described as published and read on 18 September 2026. Exemptions and assessment practice can change. General information for property owners, not tax or financial advice.
Questions
- How is the Dubai housing fee calculated?
- Five per cent of the annual rental value, divided by twelve and added to each DEWA bill. On a rent of AED 120,000 that is AED 6,000 a year, or AED 500 a month. It is not billed separately, so it appears inside the DEWA charge rather than as its own invoice.
- Who pays the housing fee, the owner or the tenant?
- It attaches to residential occupation, so a let property puts it on the tenant, calculated on the rent registered in Ejari, and an owner living in their own home pays it themselves. The service charge behaves differently and stays with the owner either way.
- Who is exempt from the Dubai housing fee?
- UAE nationals do not pay it. Commercial premises sit outside the residential housing fee altogether rather than being exempt from it, and carry their own municipal charge instead.
- I own the home I live in. What rent is the fee based on?
- An estimate. Dubai Municipality assesses a rental value for the property rather than reading one off a contract, and the published service allows you to apply for a reassessment if you think it is wrong. The number is not yours to set, and it can differ from what you would guess the property might let for.
- Is the housing fee the same as the service charge?
- No, and they are easy to confuse because both are recurring property costs. The service charge pays for running the building and is billed to the owner through Mollak. The housing fee is a municipal charge on occupation, collected through DEWA from whoever lives there.
- What happens if the fee on my bill looks wrong?
- It is usually the rental value behind it rather than the arithmetic, since the rate is a flat five per cent. A tenant should check that the DEWA account is linked to the current Ejari contract, because an old or missing link leaves the fee running against the wrong figure. An owner-occupier who thinks the estimated value is too high can apply to the Municipality to have it reassessed.
Mulki keeps every running cost against the unit it belongs to, the municipal ones included.
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