Budget electricity and water from the official tariffs, add the 5% housing fee on your rent, then ask whether cooling is already in the rent. In these scenarios a flat using 450 kWh of electricity and 15 cubic metres of water pays AED 286.13 a month in Dubai and AED 238.20 in Abu Dhabi, including VAT. These are chosen usage levels, not measured bills.
Go to: Dubai · Abu Dhabi · Housing fee · Move-in cash · Cooling
Dubai: DEWA electricity and water
DEWA's slab page, checked on 6 October 2026, prices residential electricity at 0.230 dirhams per kWh up to 2,000 kWh, then 0.280, 0.320 and 0.380 in the higher slabs. Residential water is AED 7.700 per cubic metre up to 27 m3, AED 8.800 from 27 to 54 m3 and AED 10.120 above that. The October 2026 fuel surcharges are 0.060 per kWh and AED 1.100 per m3. A type 1 meter costs AED 5 a month for electricity and AED 5 for water, and 5% VAT applies to these tariffs.
Every scenario below stays in the first slab for both, with one type 1 meter for each.
| Scenario | kWh | Cubic metres | Electricity, fuel and meter | Water, fuel and meter | Total with 5% VAT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Low | 250 | 8 | 77.50 | 75.40 | 160.55 |
| Middle | 450 | 15 | 135.50 | 137.00 | 286.13 |
| Summer | 900 | 25 | 266.00 | 225.00 | 515.55 |
The Dubai bill also carries Dubai Municipality's sewage fee: 2.0 fils per gallon of water used from 1 January to 31 December 2026, under Decree No. 47 of 2024. Residential units occupied by UAE nationals are exempt under Decree No. 1 of 2015.
Abu Dhabi: TAQA expat apartment
The TAQA Distribution tariff PDF, checked on 6 October 2026, sets out the published rates from 1 January 2025. For expatriate flats it uses average daily use:
| Use | Green, at or under the daily allowance | Red, over the allowance |
|---|---|---|
| Electricity | 26.8 fils per kWh, up to 20 kWh a day | 30.5 fils per kWh |
| Water | AED 7.84 per 1,000 litres, up to 700 litres a day | AED 10.41 per 1,000 litres |
One thousand litres is one cubic metre. The TAQA tariff page says the published 2025 charges include 5% VAT. No monthly fuel surcharge is shown, and the scenarios below use the rates as published. UAE national and social-card rates on the same file are lower. Villa allowances are larger. These rows are the expat flat only.
A 30-day month gives a green allowance of 600 kWh and 21 cubic metres. The summer row crosses both allowances.
| Scenario | kWh | Cubic metres | Electricity | Water | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Low | 250 | 8 | 67.00 | 62.72 | 129.72 |
| Middle | 450 | 15 | 120.60 | 117.60 | 238.20 |
| Summer | 900 | 25 | 252.30 | 206.28 | 458.58 |
Connection fees on the TAQA page apply to new builds and renovations that need a new supply point. They are not the charge for moving into a home that already has meters. Set aside any account deposit separately from the monthly usage bill.
The 5% housing fee on your rent
Both emirates add a municipality fee to the monthly utility bill, and on many rents it is larger than the electricity and water. In Dubai, the UAE Government portal says tenants pay Dubai Municipality 5% of the yearly rent, added to the monthly electricity and water bills. In Abu Dhabi, TAQA Distribution collects 5% of the rent or the rental index, whichever is higher, in monthly instalments.
On a rent of AED 60,000 a year, the fee is AED 3,000 a year, or AED 250 a month on top of the bills above. DEWA's VAT page says VAT is not charged on the housing fee, the sewage fee, the irrigation fee, or the knowledge and innovation fees. The Dubai and Abu Dhabi living-cost guides place rent and bills in a whole month.
Dubai move-in cash, separate from the bill
DEWA's move-in page sets a refundable security deposit of AED 2,000 for a residential flat and AED 4,000 for a villa. For small meters the activation charges are AED 125 to connect electricity and water, AED 10 registration, AED 10 knowledge and AED 10 innovation. That activation total is AED 155. Thukher and Sanad cardholders who are UAE nationals get 50% off the activation charges.
| Cash at move-in, flat, small meters | AED | What happens to it |
|---|---|---|
| Security deposit | 2,000 | Refundable, on the conditions DEWA states |
| Activation | 155 | Paid charge |
| Cash to have ready | 2,155 | Deposit and charge together |
Cooling: check the building and lease
Read the tenancy. Cooling arrangements vary by building. Ask the landlord or building manager whether district cooling applies, who bills for it, and whether the lease includes the charge.
Emicool's FAQ says the activation fee is AED 200, and the refundable deposit is eight months of the contracted capacity charge. Use the capacity rate and the consumption rate per refrigeration-ton hour in your contract. A late fee of AED 100 applies if the bill, issued on the 1st, is unpaid after 15 days. Emicool's fuel surcharge follows DEWA's published monthly fuel tariff.
Before you sign, ask the landlord or agent for the provider, the contracted tons, the consumption rate, the yearly capacity or demand rate, the fuel surcharge, the deposit and whether any of it is already in the rent.
Official sources checked on 6 October 2026. Cover generated with AI for illustration.
