Abu Dhabi’s Department of Municipal Affairs and Transport has introduced a new municipality fee for foreign residents renting homes in the capital, according to government statement in the official gazette.

The statement says that the new fees will be three per cent of the annual rent of the property; similar to the five per cent housing fees applicable in Dubai.

The newly introduced fee, which UAE citizens are exempt from, will be backdated to February 2015, although it is unclear when it will be added to utility bills across Abu Dhabi.

In January 2015, the authorities in Abu Dhabi reformed power and water tariffs. The move saw the cost of water for expatriates increase by 170 per cent, from AED2.2 (60 cents) a thousand litres to AED5.95 for up to 700 litres a day for an apartment and 5,000 litres a day in a villa, with cost-reflective tariffs introduced for higher usage. Emiratis who used to pay nothing for their water supply were also forced to start paying AED1.7 a thousand litres for usage of up to 700 litres a day in an apartment and 7,000 litres a day in a villa, and AED1.89 a thousand litres for consumption higher than this.

The reforms over the past year are part of the emirate’s move to increase municipal revenues amid low oil prices and limited federal spending.

In December 2016, The Federal National Council (FNC) passed the UAE’s a federal budget of AED48.7bn ($13.3bn) for 2017.

Details of the budget were released in October when the UAE cabinet adopted the general federal budget for 2017-21 with total spending of AED248bn ($68bn) over five years.

For 2017, the budgeted spending will be AED48.7bn for 2017, which is slightly more than the AED48bn allocated for 2016.

The government says AED25.2bn, or 52 per cent of the spending in 2017, will be directed towards social services.