DEWA

dubai mall open after coronavirus lock down

Dubai Municipality pushing back plans to charge expat housing fees

Dubai expat housing feesDubai Municipality is pushing back its plans to charge all expat housing fees.

Currently, the housing fee is imposed in some residential districts of Dubai. The authorities have planned to roll it out across the emirate by June 2012.

However, a series of delays means only 65 percent of expats are currently being charged.

Housing fees, billed through residents’ monthly utility bills, are calculated at five percent of the tenant’s annual rent. Freehold property owners pay five percent of the annual rental value, as calculated by the RERA index.

Among the areas not yet fully covered include Al Barsha, Discovery Gardens, Palm Jumeirah, Burj Khalifa area and Dubai Marina.

Emiratis do not pay the charge, leading some residents to dub the fee an “expat tax”. This is one of the hidden costs of living in Dubai.

As one expat said, Dubai is replacing the word tax with fees.

dubai mall open after coronavirus lock down

DEWA to add fuel surcharge to electricity and water tariff

DEWA to add fuel surcharge to electricity and water tariffAnother sign that Dubai government has planned to cut on subsidies and passing on the budget deficit to residents.

As Gulf News reports, Shaikh Hamdan Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of Dubai Executive Council, issued a decision to approve limited revision of electricity and water tariff in the emirate.

The decision will allow Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa), the emirate’s sole utility provider, to introduce a fuel surcharge that will fluctuate in line with the global prices and will feature separately in the bills.

The variable fuel surcharge will be based on the global fuel price and would be measured in comparison with the fuel price in 2010.

As usual, UAE nationals are exempted from this decision.

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