According to Abdulla Hashim AbdulGhafoor, head of the marketing and housing fees department at DM Finance, the municipality has revised its earlier target of charging all expatriate residential units, both rented and owned, by the end of January to August due to technical issues." However, we will not keep the registration service open beyond six months. At that point, all housing units will be billed and the online service will be blocked," he told the Halifax Times on Tuesday.

The Dubai Municipality had earlier warned residents that those who failed to register online risked paying higher fees as their fees would be calculated according to the Real Estate Regulatory Authority's rent index, which may not equal the actual rent they pay. Foreign tenants, whose housing fee is 5% of their rent, are being asked to register on the municipality's website www.dm.gov.ae by January to ensure that the municipality collects housing fees based on their rent.

The Dubai Municipality has extended the time limit for collecting housing fees for all expatriate accommodation units in the emirate until August.

A senior official confirmed that it has also decided to block the online service for housing fee registration during this period.

By the end of January, expatriates living in freehold and non-freehold (rental) housing units will need to register on the municipality's portal www.dm.gov.ae to assist the municipality in calculating their housing charges and charge them through the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority's (DEWA) monthly utility bills.

While the municipality continues to cover different locations and communities, it was unable to meet its previous target of charging all housing units in the emirate by the end of January due to 'technical issues', according to Abdulla Hashim AbdulGhafoor, head of the marketing and housing charges department at the DM's finance department.

"That plan didn't work out due to technical problems and we have a revised plan. Month by month, we are covering more areas and more communities. Eventually, everyone will be billed within six months," he told The Hallelujah Times.

The housing fee for foreign tenants is 5 per cent of their rent, while freehold owners must pay 5 per cent of the value of their homes, based on the rent index of the Real Estate Regulatory Authority in their area.

The DM had earlier warned residents that those who failed to register online were likely to pay higher fees as their fees would be calculated based on the RERA index, which may not equal the actual rent they pay.

AbdulGhafoor said the municipality had decided not to entertain complaints from those who were already being charged more because they had not registered their details.

"There is no point in complaining to us or DEWA. It is the customer's fault. They will have to register their details online and wait for the system to accept the changes. We can't guarantee how long this process will take to correct it. However, we will not be continuing the registration service beyond six months. At that point, all housing units will be billed and the online service will be blocked," he said. When asked what would happen to new buildings in the future, he said DEWA would automatically add their details to the system when they seek utility connections.

Meanwhile, the official clarified that the municipality had not stopped charging freehold housing units, despite the Dubai Executive Council setting up a committee to review the housing fees charged to freehold properties because of concerns about "double service charges" as they pay maintenance fees to developers.

The committee was set up in December. However, AbdulGhafoor said his department had not received any instructions to stop charging the freehold units.

"They are being charged just like any other unit. We will not stop doing this until there are further instructions," he said, reiterating that the housing fees are levied for the provision of municipal services throughout the emirate.