DEWA for New Owners in 2026: Move-In, Move-Out & Fees Explained

DEWA, the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority, is the sole provider of electricity and water in Dubai. No property can legally run without an active DEWA account, whether you plan to live in it, rent it out, or leave it vacant.

New owners usually discover the real cost only after their first bill lands. That bill can bundle a security deposit, an activation fee, a partial billing cycle, and Dubai Municipality's housing fee all at once, and the totals catch most people off guard.

Miss a step at move-out or during a property transfer, and DEWA can hold your deposit refund or block your next connection entirely.

This guide is for you if:

• You just bought a property in Dubai and need to activate DEWA before you can move in or hand it over to a tenant.
• You are selling or vacating a property you own and want to close your DEWA account without losing your deposit.
• You own more than one Dubai property and are moving between them, and want to transfer your DEWA account instead of paying a new deposit.
• You want a clear, single breakdown of DEWA's actual fees and the housing fee before your first bill arrives.
• You manage a rental portfolio and need a repeatable checklist for utilities at every handover, tenancy change, or sale.

Owners apply for a new connection directly through DEWA's website or app. This differs from the tenant process, which is triggered automatically once an Ejari certificate is issued, according to DEWA's move-in service page.

Before you apply

• Confirm your DEWA premises number from your title deed, handover pack, or a previous bill.
• Gather your title deed or Sale and Purchase Agreement, part of the standard documents required to buy property in Dubai.
• Have your Emirates ID ready, or passport copy if you are a GCC national or investor.
• For a new-build handover, confirm the developer has filed the completion certificate and DEWA NOC.
• For a company or SPV-held property, prepare the trade licence, board resolution, and authorised signatory letter.

To apply

• Go to dewa.gov.ae or open the DEWA Smart App and select Activation of Electricity/Water (Move-in)
• Select Owner as the account type and enter your premises number.
• Upload your documents
• Pay the security deposit and activation fees online.
• Track your request using the notification number DEWA issues.
• Watch for the SMS confirming supply is connected, usually within 15 working hours of payment.

If supply is not connected within 15 working hours of payment, DEWA's own guidance says to call the Customer Care Centre on 04-601 9999. DEWA activation is one step inside the wider property buying process in Dubai, and it is worth mapping it against your full handover timeline so nothing gets missed.

These figures come directly from DEWA's published fee schedule for the Activation of Electricity/Water (Move-in) service.

Fee	Apartment	Villa	Refundable?
Security deposit	AED 2,000	AED 4,000	Yes, but for owners only on sale of the premises
Connection charge (small/large meter)	AED 125	AED 300	No
Registration fee	AED 10	AED 10	No
Knowledge fee	AED 10	AED 10	No
Innovation fee	AED 10	AED 10	No
Total upfront cost	AED 2,155	AED 4,330	Deposit portion refundable

Thukher (senior Emirati) and Sanad (People of Determination) cardholders get a 50% discount on activation charges.

One detail matters more for owners than tenants: DEWA states the security deposit for property owners is refunded only upon sale of the premises, not simply on closing the account, so owner-occupiers keeping the property should not expect a refund from a routine move-out request.

This sits alongside other one-off purchase costs new owners tend to underestimate, covered in our breakdown of DLD and property purchase fees in Dubai.

Use this when you are selling with vacant possession, holding a unit vacant long-term, or leaving Dubai. All previous DEWA bills must be paid in full before a move-out request is accepted.

• Log in with your DEWA User ID or UAE Pass, or continue without login using your contract account number and 9-digit premises number.
• Select the contract account you want to close.
• Pay any outstanding balance shown on the account.
• Choose your move-out date and time. Supply is disconnected on that date and a final meter reading is taken.
• Choose your deposit refund method: IBAN transfer, cheque, or transfer to another active DEWA account.
• If refunding by IBAN, attach bank proof with the IBAN and a beneficiary name matching your DEWA account exactly.
• Submit the request and save your reference number.
• Watch for your final bill by email within 24 working hours

Fee	Small meter	Large meter
Disconnection charge	AED 125	AED 300
Knowledge fee	AED 10	AED 10
Innovation fee	AED 10	AED 10

Demolition move-outs follow a slightly different fee structure: AED 100 disconnection (small meter) or AED 300 (large meter), plus the AED 20 in knowledge and innovation fees, plus a separate AED 100 demolish admin fee. (Source: DEWA Deactivation service fees)

DEWA deducts your final bill from the deposit first, then refunds whatever is left. As of an April 2026 update, refunds up to AED 4,000, which covers roughly 90% of all refund requests, now process in about eight minutes with no human involvement, down from 30 minutes and originally four days (WAM, 26 April 2026).

IBAN transfer is available for refunds up to AED 200,000; refunds above that threshold are paid by cheque, per DEWA's published move-out process.

This pace of digital adoption is not an isolated change. DEWA's customer base reached 1,346,985 accounts by the end of March 2026, up 5.08% year on year, reflecting how fast Dubai's population and property stock keeps growing (WAM, 26 April 2026).

If your DEWA refund is unusually delayed or disputed, it helps to understand what a security deposit actually covers and how refund timelines work in Dubai more broadly.

Dubai Municipality adds a housing fee to every DEWA bill, equal to 5% of the property's annual rental value, split into 12 monthly instalments. For an owner-occupier, this value is set using the RERA rental index rather than actual rent paid.

Assessed annual rental value	Annual housing fee	Added to monthly bill
AED 50,000	AED 2,500	AED 208
AED 90,000	AED 4,500	AED 375
AED 120,000	AED 6,000	AED 500

**Note:**UAE nationals occupying their own property are exempt from the housing fee.

UAE VAT has applied to DEWA consumption bills at 5% since January 2018. According to DEWA's own VAT guidance, the housing fee, sewerage fee, and irrigation fee are all exempt from VAT, and so are the knowledge fee and innovation fee charged at move-in and move-out. (Source: DEWA, VAT information)

This is worth knowing because several third-party guides list conflicting VAT treatment for activation fees. Check the current bill breakdown on your DEWA account if you need an exact figure for accounting purposes.

Not every owner's DEWA journey looks the same. Some keep an account active on a vacant unit between tenants, others juggle several premises numbers across one building, and some sit in a free zone exempt from Ejari altogether.

Whatever situation fits you, the same fees, deposits, and timelines in this guide still apply, just scaled to your property count and status.

This is where paperwork gets messy fast, especially for owners holding more than one property.

Lets Prosper offers real-time dashboards for owners to track purchase details, ROI, expenses, and documents across every property they hold, from a single vacant unit to a full portfolio. It sits alongside the common mistakes new property owners make in Dubai, most of which trace back to a missed step like these.

Whether you hold one unit or ten, keeping DEWA records, deposit status, and renewal dates in a single view saves real time when it matters most.

Sign up on Lets Prosper today to streamline your property management in Dubai.