Dubai property, explained › Living here
DEWA move-in
Opening the electricity and water on a Dubai home: what it needs, what it costs, the housing fee that rides on every bill, and where the account is closed when you leave.
Written September 2026 · 4 min read
DEWA is the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority, the emirate's one supplier of power and water, and move-in is its name for opening an account on a home. Nothing runs until it is done, and it cannot be done without an Ejari or a title deed, which is why the registration comes first and the movers come last. Done in the right order it takes a day. The deposit and the fees are fixed and published, and they are below, with the one charge that surprises everyone: the housing fee that rides on the bill.
Before you start
- The Ejari number if you are renting — the registration of your tenancy contract — or the title deed if you own the home
- Your Emirates ID, or the passport and visa while the ID is being issued
- The DEWA premise number, which is on the meter, on any previous bill for the home, and on the Ejari itself; it is not the Makani number on the door
- A mobile number and an email address for the account, and a card for the deposit
How it is done
In the DEWA app, on its website, or through Dubai Now: choose Move-in, enter the premise number and the Ejari or deed, upload the ID, and pay. The supply is switched on remotely, usually the same day and within twenty-four hours at most. A home that has been empty for a while may need a technician to visit, and a home whose previous account was never closed cannot be activated until it is, which is worth asking the landlord about before moving day rather than on it.
What it costs
| Item | Amount | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Security deposit, apartment | AED 2,000 | Refundable when you move out |
| Security deposit, villa | AED 4,000 | Refundable when you move out |
| Activation fee, apartment | AED 100 + AED 20 | The connection charge for a small meter, plus the AED 10 knowledge and AED 10 innovation fees |
| Activation fee, villa | AED 300 + AED 20 | The same, for a large meter |
| Housing fee | 5% of the annual rent, in twelve monthly parts | Dubai Municipality's charge, collected on the DEWA bill; an owner who occupies pays it on a rental value the municipality assesses |
The deposit is the figure people budget for and the housing fee is the one they do not. On an annual rent of AED 120,000 it is AED 6,000 a year, AED 500 a month, on every bill for as long as you live there, and it is not DEWA's money: the authority collects it for the municipality. The housing fee has who pays it, what it comes to in each area from the register, and how to correct it when the figure is wrong; the cost of living in Dubai sets the deposit, the fee and the bill beside the rent the register records for a studio, a one-, two- and three-bedroom home.
The bill
Monthly, and built from slabs: the more you use, the more each unit costs. Electricity is charged per kilowatt-hour at 23 fils for the first 2,000 units in a month, 28 to 4,000, 32 to 6,000 and 38 beyond, with a fuel surcharge that moves with the oil price; water per gallon on the same principle, from 3.5 fils to 4.6. The bill colours the slabs green through red so you can see which one you are in. Air conditioning is most of a Dubai power bill and summer is most of the year's, so a one-bedroom apartment commonly runs to several hundred dirhams a month between June and September and a villa with a garden and a pool several times that.
District cooling
In many towers the air conditioning is not DEWA's at all. The building buys chilled water from a district cooling company, Empower, Emicool or Tabreed, and the resident opens a second account with them, with its own deposit of a similar order and a bill that has a fixed capacity charge whether the home is occupied or not. Some buildings fold the cooling into the service charge or the rent, which the listing calls chiller-free, and it is worth a great deal. Ask which arrangement applies before you sign, because the difference over a year is a month's rent.
Move-out
The account is closed the same way it was opened, with a move-out request in the app for the day you hand over. DEWA reads the meter remotely, issues a final bill, and once it is paid returns the deposit and issues the clearance certificate the landlord and the Ejari cancellation wait for. The move-out page has the request, the final bill, the certificate and the deposit's way back, in the order they run.
Where this leads
The pages that pick up from here
Ejari →
The registration DEWA asks for before it will open a residential account.
DEWA move-out →
The other end of the account — the request, the final bill, the clearance certificate, and how the deposit comes back.
Ejari cancellation →
The registration closed in the same week as the move-out — who cancels it, and why the next tenant’s DEWA waits on it.
The housing fee →
The 5% that rides on every bill — who pays it, what it costs in each area, and how to correct it when the municipality has estimated the rent.
The cost of living in Dubai →
The deposit and the bill in their place on a budget: what a home rents for on the register, by layout and by area, and the six charges that ride on it.
Chiller-free →
The second account in most towers — what the district cooling bill is made of, what Empower and Emicool charge, and who pays it.
The DEWA premise number →
The number the move-in is typed against — where the bill prints it, the business partner and account numbers beside it, and who has it when you do not.
Makani numbers →
The number on the door, which is not the premise number DEWA wants — and how the four numbers of a Dubai home differ.
Service charges and Mollak →
The other running cost of a home here, paid by the owner rather than the tenant.
The area guides →
Every Dubai community, with what it sells for and rents for from the registers.
Questions people ask
DEWA move-in, answered
What do I need to activate DEWA?
An Ejari number if you rent or the title deed if you own, your Emirates ID or passport and visa, the DEWA premise number of the home, and a card for the deposit. It is done in the DEWA app, on its website or through Dubai Now, and the supply is usually on the same day.
How much is the DEWA deposit?
AED 2,000 for an apartment and AED 4,000 for a villa, refundable when you move out and the final bill is paid. On top of it there is an activation fee: AED 100 for an apartment’s meter or AED 300 for a villa’s, plus the AED 10 knowledge and AED 10 innovation fees.
What is the housing fee on the DEWA bill?
Dubai Municipality’s charge, collected on the DEWA bill: 5% of the annual rent, divided into twelve monthly parts, for as long as you live there. An owner who occupies their own home pays it on a rental value the municipality assesses instead. It is not DEWA’s money; the authority collects it for the municipality.
How is the DEWA bill calculated?
Monthly, on slabs: electricity at 23 fils a kilowatt-hour for the first 2,000 units in a month, then 28, 32 and 38 as use rises, plus a fuel surcharge; water per gallon on the same principle. Air conditioning is most of the bill and summer most of the year’s.
Is district cooling included in DEWA?
No. In many towers the air conditioning is chilled water from Empower, Emicool or Tabreed, with its own account, deposit and a fixed capacity charge whether you are home or not. A chiller-free building folds it into the service charge or the rent; ask which before you sign.
How do I get the DEWA deposit back?
Request the move-out in the app for the day you hand over. DEWA reads the meter remotely and issues a final bill; once it is paid the balance of the deposit is refunded to the account or card you named, and the clearance certificate the landlord asks for is issued. The move-out page has the order it runs in.
Regulation here is stated as regulation, and what the market merely does is marked as convention. Figures were checked in September 2026; the rest of the set is written the same way.