# DEWA, villa vs apartment, JLT vs Jumeirah Village



## SilverClover (May 30, 2011)

I'm house-hunting right now, and have a few questions that I'm hoping the lovely community here can help me with.  

I've seen a villa at Jumeirah Village that's within my budget. Can anyone tell me what it's like living there? 

Otherwise, apartments in JLT are within my budget. What's it like there? I know it's still in development with beautification going on right now, but what are there pros and cons? 

I'm working in Media City, so I'm looking for a pet-friendly place nearby. Any other suggestions? Better Homes are taking me out next Saturday. 

Finally, how is DEWA charged? Is it a monthly payment, is it/can it be included in the residential agreement? I've heard that it can get very expensive?


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## wandabug (Apr 22, 2010)

DEWA (Water and Electricity) is not included in your rental. It is an account in your name and paid monthly. Added to your monthly DEWA bill is the annual housing fee (5% of your annual rent divided by 12 .)
Some apartment buildings include the chiller in the service charges which the landlord pays. This will reduce the DEWA bill.
IF you get a villa then it will be more expensive if you have to water a garden.
Some areas are also supplied by water cooling company for the air con and this will be billed separately to your DEWA. JLT is one of these areas and you pay Palm District Cooling for your a/c. How much you pay will depend on how you use your a/c. The DEWA bill will be lower because of this.


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## Tropic (Mar 15, 2011)

wandabug said:


> DEWA (Water and Electricity) is not included in your rental. It is an account in your name and paid monthly. Added to your monthly DEWA bill is the annual housing fee (5% of your annual rent divided by 12 .)
> Some apartment buildings include the chiller in the service charges which the landlord pays. This will reduce the DEWA bill.
> IF you get a villa then it will be more expensive if you have to water a garden.
> Some areas are also supplied by water cooling company for the air con and this will be billed separately to your DEWA. JLT is one of these areas and you pay Palm District Cooling for your a/c. How much you pay will depend on how you use your a/c. The DEWA bill will be lower because of this.


What about in Burj Khalifa? Does the rent include all service charges as non of the broker websites mention any of this?


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## SilverClover (May 30, 2011)

wandabug said:


> DEWA (Water and Electricity) is not included in your rental. It is an account in your name and paid monthly. Added to your monthly DEWA bill is the annual housing fee (5% of your annual rent divided by 12 .)
> Some apartment buildings include the chiller in the service charges which the landlord pays. This will reduce the DEWA bill.
> IF you get a villa then it will be more expensive if you have to water a garden.
> Some areas are also supplied by water cooling company for the air con and this will be billed separately to your DEWA. JLT is one of these areas and you pay Palm District Cooling for your a/c. How much you pay will depend on how you use your a/c. The DEWA bill will be lower because of this.


Cripes, that works out at a lot! 

Just to check my maths... Monthly charges to DEWA, for a rent that's 57000Dhs PA, would be a minimum of 237.5dhs, plus whatever electricity and water I need to pay on top of that? What would an average DEWA amount be for an apartment/small villa on a monthly basis, during the summer? I have pets, so I'll need to keep the AC on all the time.


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## pamela0810 (Apr 5, 2010)

I live in a small villa with a big garden and I have a dog so the AC is on all day. My bill each month is approximately AED1,200/- . Hope this helps


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## SilverClover (May 30, 2011)

It does, thank you Pamela!


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## catb (Jun 24, 2011)

pamela0810 said:


> I live in a small villa with a big garden and I have a dog so the AC is on all day. My bill each month is approximately AED1,200/- . Hope this helps


Hey I'm moving over in august with my dog and finding it kinda hard to find villa/apartment that allows pets, can you let me know the name of the area you are renting?


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## pamela0810 (Apr 5, 2010)

Hello CatB, if you rent a villa in any area, you will be allowed to have a dog. A lot of the apartment buildings have pet restrictions but these too have eased up now due to the shortage of tenants.
I live in the Springs. It's a great neighbourhood for families with little children. Not sure if that's what you're looking for but you'll find a lot of people walking around with their dogs in the evening.


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## catb (Jun 24, 2011)

pamela0810 said:


> Hello CatB, if you rent a villa in any area, you will be allowed to have a dog. A lot of the apartment buildings have pet restrictions but these too have eased up now due to the shortage of tenants.
> I live in the Springs. It's a great neighbourhood for families with little children. Not sure if that's what you're looking for but you'll find a lot of people walking around with their dogs in the evening.


Thanks so much for the info we may be swayed to a 2 bed villa just to have to back garden for the dog, will look into rentals in the springs  Thanks again!


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## pamela0810 (Apr 5, 2010)

If you're looking for a 2br villa in the Springs, try and find an end unit. The gardens are bigger.


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## SilverClover (May 30, 2011)

Hi CatB, I'm looking at a villa in Jumeirah Village, they allow pets in there.  Pet-friendly is one of my requirements too, as I have two rabbits who'll be joining me once I'm settled into a place.


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## catb (Jun 24, 2011)

Just one more question regarding renting, I have seen on a lot of properties is payment by 1 cheque in advance, is this the case with most rentals?


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## Jynxgirl (Nov 27, 2009)

You get a better deal if you pay in one check (cheque). The more checks, the more they hike the cost up. If you can get your company to agree to pay you inadvance and take the sum out monthly, works out better. Some companies will do this, but seems most are not doing this on contracts lately.


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## SilverClover (May 30, 2011)

Jynxgirl said:


> You get a better deal if you pay in one check (cheque). The more checks, the more they hike the cost up. If you can get your company to agree to pay you inadvance and take the sum out monthly, works out better. Some companies will do this, but seems most are not doing this on contracts lately.


Sadly my company is one of those that aren't going to give me a year in advance... or even three months. When I went to them and asked if they would, they basically said 'tough shizz' and sent me off!


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## Jynxgirl (Nov 27, 2009)

We all (well most of us) feel your pain... Good luck!


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## SilverClover (May 30, 2011)

Jynxgirl said:


> We all (well most of us) feel your pain... Good luck!


Just gotta keep those fingers crossed, right?  

It's all just a waiting game now. Gotta wait for my medical for my visa before getting a place... but I can't wait to be out of Gloria Hotel Apartments. XD It's convenient for work, but so frickin' noisy!


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## Jynxgirl (Nov 27, 2009)

SilverClover said:


> I can't wait to be out of Gloria Hotel Apartments. XD It's convenient for work, but so frickin' noisy!


I know a number of people who live in the Gloria and how loud they can be in other times whilst not at 'home'  ... so also feel your pain  

(BUT I would much rather be there then Discovery Gardens... So look on the bright side of things, you are not in disovery ghetto :spit


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## SilverClover (May 30, 2011)

Jynxgirl said:


> I know a number of people who live in the Gloria and how loud they can be in other times whilst not at 'home'  ... so also feel your pain
> 
> (BUT I would much rather be there then Discovery Gardens... So look on the bright side of things, you are not in disovery ghetto :spit



I've not heard anything good about Discovery Gardens. XD That's why I'm refusing to look at places there. Gloria's ok, the apartment's nice, the view is nice, but there are little things that seem to be getting increasingly more, and they just niggle away... XD


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## Richdufai (May 25, 2011)

What's a 'Chiller' ? is this like a deep freezer or something?


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## RT666 (Jun 30, 2012)

pamela0810 said:


> I live in a small villa with a big garden and I have a dog so the AC is on all day. My bill each month is approximately AED1,200/- . Hope this helps


Thanks for this - just answered a question I came on here to look for the answer to!

Just to check, does that bill include the housing fee?


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## rsinner (Feb 3, 2009)

RT666 said:


> Thanks for this - just answered a question I came on here to look for the answer to!
> 
> Just to check, does that bill include the housing fee?


I would not think so. 
Also, be aware that this was last year. The DEWA bills have increased by c. 15% (some indexation to the fuel prices)


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## Felixtoo2 (Jan 16, 2009)

I live in the marina, A/C is included in the rental and Dewa averages 180dhs pcm for a 1700sqft apt. A friend lives in JVC in a similarly sized two bed villa with absolutely no grass and his Dewa is averaging 1600pcm.


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## RT666 (Jun 30, 2012)

rsinner said:


> I would not think so.
> Also, be aware that this was last year. The DEWA bills have increased by c. 15% (some indexation to the fuel prices)


Thank you - hadn't noticed that. Have written another post asking for some info about what to expect for DEWA now :thumb:


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## Radioactive (Jun 15, 2012)

Richdufai said:


> What's a 'Chiller' ? is this like a deep freezer or something?


For some reason, it's what some of the expats here call an air conditioner.


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## Tropicana (Apr 29, 2010)

Air conditioning and chiller are not the same thing 

In some areas, you have "district cooling", which involves an extra fee referred to commonly as "chiller fees"...

In areas/towers without district cooling, there are no extra charges, and what you pay is just the electricity bill....

So agents refer to the 2nd type as "chiller free" to indicate that there are no extra charges to be paid , which could have been anything from 200 to 800 dhs a month


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## XDoodlebugger (Jan 24, 2012)

My DEWA bill, I'm hoping the electricity is for the two months as I moved in May 1 but the bill ends June 26 . Two bedroom in The Torch.


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## RT666 (Jun 30, 2012)

XDoodlebugger said:


> My DEWA bill, I'm hoping the electricity is for the two months as I moved in May 1 but the bill ends June 26 . Two bedroom in The Torch.


That's really helpful-thank you! Is the property District cooled?


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## XDoodlebugger (Jan 24, 2012)

RT666 said:


> That's really helpful-thank you! Is the property District cooled?


Cooling is taken care of in the rent, not sure if that is normal as I specifically asked for it when I made an offer.


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## rsinner (Feb 3, 2009)

XDoodlebugger said:


> Cooling is taken care of in the rent, not sure if that is normal as I specifically asked for it when I made an offer.


There are actually three kinds of cooling.

1. District cooling - big air conditioning plants cool the air for an entire locality. What you have to pay for is generally a capacity charge (fixed monthly) and a metred usage charge. This is on top of the DEWA bill, and is charges by the disrict cooling agency [Most energy efficient theoretically - but since there is hardly any oversight, the cooling agencies which are owned by the developers themselves overcharge]

2. Chiller - buildings have (central) air conditioning units. The air is cooled centrally for the building, and when you switch on the AC, you just are switching on fans to circulate the cooled air in your apartment. Usually, this is included in the service charges of the building, and since the landlord pays the service charges the tenant does not pay this. So your DEWA bill just includes the charges for the "fan" under the DEWA bill, but the more expensive cooling charges are borne by the landlord [Medium energy efficicieny]. Hence a lot of ads saying "chiller free"

3. Window AC - we all know that. 

I believe Xdoodleburger's DEWA bill above falls in the "chiller" category. As an example, for Palm residents, there is an additional district cooling charges on top of the DEWA bill


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