DEWA Deposit, Move In and Housing Fee in Dubai: Every Cost of Moving Into a Home

How Much Is the DEWA Deposit?

When you sign up for a new home, DEWA requests a deposit to be paid prior to connecting the home to your property. Such a deposit will be made in the event you close the account without paying the bill – you will receive the deposit upon closing of the account.

DEWA move in service guide, checked 8 November 2026. One-off fees: activation AED 125 (large meter AED 300) plus AED 10 each for registration, knowledge and innovation.

It does not matter how many rooms in your dwelling - the same deposit is asked of all applicants (AED 2,000 for both a studio and a three bedroom apartment). DEWA does not include a separate requirement for townhouses – they offer one for flats properties and another for villas properties. Make sure to look at the correct amount noted in the welcome email prior to making payment. Nationals within the UAE pay the same as others.

Should you have either a Sanad card (people of determination) or a Thukher card (seniors), you qualify for a 50% discount upon activation of service. There is no such discount on the deposit amount though.

The same deposit applies whether you enter as tenant or owner. You only receive the deposit back should you sell the house. Should you want to move out of a house you own – you will not receive your deposit.

DEWA Move In: How to Get Electricity and Water Connected

Your DEWA move in process will typically automatically begin upon registration of your Ejari. The information will go directly to DEWA. They will send a text and an e mail with your account number, deposit and link to pay – no form or upload required.

1. Get the 9 digit DEWA premise number from the door or landlord. The Ejari office needs this to link the contract to the right meter.
2. Register the Ejari. Online via Dubai REST or the Dubai Land Department for AED 177.75 or from a typing centre for AED 220.
3. Look for the DEWA welcome email and text – these will contain your account number and amount due.
4. Pay the deposit and fees via the link, the DEWA app or any other DEWA payment channel.
5. Allow up to 15 working hours – DEWA counts working hours from 7am till 8pm, Monday to Saturday – excluding public holidays. If the power is still off after this period then call DEWA on 04 601 9999.

Neither owners nor tenants within free zones receive this automatic link – there is no Ejari behind such an account. These parties apply on the DEWA website or app under Activation of Electricity and Water. The owner enters the title deed or sale agreement while free zone tenants enter their tenancy contract. All pay online.

DEWA Deposit Refund: How to Get Your Money Back

Your deposit comes back when you close the account – DEWA calls this a “move out”. You have to clear up any earlier bills first though. Then DEWA will read the meter on the date you picked and send the final bill via email within 24 working hours. The final bill gets taken out of the deposit and the remainder is refunded. If the final bill ends up bigger than the deposit then that difference has to be paid.

DEWA refund and move out pages, checked 8 November 2026.

The move out itself costs AED 125 for a standard meter with an additional AED 10 each for knowledge and innovation. The bank account has to be in the same name as the DEWA account. DEWA does not switch off supply on Sundays or public holidays.

There is, however, a shortcut at the end of a lease period. Where the landlord cancels the Ejari then DEWA will email the tenant a link whereby they can pay the final bill, choose a move out date and pick on how the refund should be paid.

Housing Fee in Dubai: The Dubai Municipality Charge on Your DEWA Bill

In a DEWA bill there is a separate line item for housing fee. For properties where individuals are not UAE nationals the housing fee is set by Dubai Municipality. DEWA collects this on behalf of the municipality but they will not change this fee for you. This is not applied to UAE nationals or commercial spaces. Additionally there is no VAT on this item.

For rental agreements noted on Ejari platforms individuals pay 5% of annual rent in twelve separate monthly payments. For homeowners who occupy their own property the rate is 5% of annual rent as determined by the RERA Rental Index for that specific property – regardless of original purchase price.

For a lease beginning on the 15th the charges begin on that date until the lease ends. Should a property remain empty individuals will still be charged until either closing or pausing their DEWA account.

For a flat with an annual rental price of AED 100,000 the housing fee will be AED 5,000 per year or roughly AED 417 per monthly DEWA bill.

Housing Fee by Area: What 206,657 New Leases Show

To give a view of how the housing fee looks within real homes we looked at 480,748 one year residential leases registered with the Dubai Land Department between 1 February and 25 October 2026. We focused upon the 206,657 new leases and left out renewals. A new lease generally indicates someone moving into a home – these are the people paying for a DEWA deposit and starting their housing fee. Of this group 187,241 were apartments with the remainder comprising villas or townhouses.

Al Ranim analysis of Dubai Land Department tenancy contracts: new one year residential leases registered 1 February to 25 October 2026 (renewals left out). Typical rent is the median; housing fee is 5% of it, over 12 months.

Same analysis, villas and townhouses.

The typical rent for a new apartment lease came in at AED 71,400 per year representing a housing fee of around AED 298 per month. For villas and townhouses the figure was AED 180,000 per year – around AED 750 per month. Size does make a difference with flats under 45 square metres featuring a housing fee of around AED 183 per month whilst those over 180 square metres came to around AED 688.

The moves are not even throughout the year though. September brought 34,933 new leases – the busiest month whilst March was the quietest with 13,807 new leases. If you are thinking of making a move around September ensure you book your movers and move in permit well in advance.

Why Is My Housing Fee Higher Than Expected?

Most commonly, if the housing fee appears to be incorrect there is a straightforward explanation:

• The lease started partway into a month – hence the first housing fee was longer than you may have anticipated.
• The property features two DEWA meters yet the fee was applied to both. Dubai Municipality only charges this to one meter – they will correct this within approximately 5 working days.
• As owner the housing fee is based upon the Rental Index for the type of property you own (not the price you paid). This is updated annually.
• The property was empty but the DEWA account was not closed – hence the continued charging of this fee.
• You are a UAE national or you rent a commercial space – the fee was incorrectly charged.

You can request to correct this via the Adjust Housing Fees service available on the municipality website or app or via Dubai Now. This is free and typically takes around 3 working days to complete. The Ejari number and DEWA account number will be required. According to the municipality’s current description such an ability only exists if the fee was indeed incorrectly calculated – any refund would be issued as credit to your DEWA account.

Chiller Fees in Dubai: Empower, Emicool and Chiller Free Homes

Many Dubai towers make use of district cooling (a cooling company instead of individual air conditioning). In chiller free buildings the landlord and/or the building is responsible for paying for cooling. In chiller paid buildings individuals open their own account with the cooling company, make a deposit and receive a separate bill every month.

One main cooling company – Empower – features two fees. The first is a capacity fee of AED 750 per refrigeration ton per year. The developer establishes how many tons are allotted to each villa or apartment. The example shows an apartment rated at 6 tons would incur AED 4,500 per year (AED 375 per month) even without cooling use. On top of this comes a usage fee of AED 0.568 per ton hour. All Empower bills are subject to VAT.

There is no set connection and deposit fee for Empower – both are project based so the users are told this information upon registration online. Emicool collects AED 200 plus VAT to open an account. Before you sign a lease be sure to ask your landlord which cooling company they use and whether the building is chiller free.

Move In Permit: Booking the Move With Your Community

If you are moving into many towers and gated communities, you will need a move in permit from the community manager to allow movers to enter the complex.

For Emaar communities, the procedure is to apply via the Sakani portal – at least one working day before the move – using your passport, Emirates ID and Ejari. Owners simply log in.

You might not be able to gain such a permit should the landlord still owe service charges on this unit. Ensure before applying that there are no outstanding charges with the landlord.

Emaar also asks for AED 200 per access card (in case the landlord never provided them). Again not all community managers will reveal their damage deposit and permit fees so inquiring with building management a few days prior to the move is best.

Total Move In Cost: Two Worked Examples

Using median rent data from our research here is what a typical villa and flat tenant would pay prior to paying the first rent cheque. These industry standard fees are not dictated by any legislation so your actual cost may differ.

DEWA, Dubai Land Department and Dubai Municipality fees checked 8 November 2026; standard meter assumed. Rents are the medians from our lease analysis.

Furnished apartments request a 10% deposit whereas unfurnished properties only need 5%. Some property companies require a minimum fee too. At the end of tenancy upon returning the apartment in good condition and having paid all bills, both the landlord deposit and DEWA deposit will be refunded.

Moving Into a Home You Bought

If you are the new owner then you basically follow the same steps but without using Ejari. You apply directly to DEWA using the sale contract or the title deed. The deposit of either AED 2,000 or AED 4,000 (whichever applies) will be held by DEWA until you sell the property. Additionally if you intend to live within the property you will also have to pay a housing fee which is worked out based upon the type of property and Rental Index.

You will also have to pay annual service charges which are approved by RERA for each building and paid through Mollak. If you are soon to receive the keys to your new off plan property – check out our snagging guide before finalising and signing the handover form as some of these fees can commence from the very day the property is completed.

The Bottom Line

• The DEWA deposit and fees mean that you can easily budget for AED 2,155 for a flat or AED 4,155 for a villa (assuming a standard meter).
• Many people forget about the housing fee – simply take 5% of the annual rent and divide it by twelve to see exactly how much gets added onto each DEWA bill.