UAE price hikes: 3 things that may cost more for residents in 2025

It is barely two weeks before we say goodbye to 2024. For many, this is the perfect opportunity to once again strategise regarding the upcoming year’s budgets. If you’re based in Dubai or frequently travel to the Emirate for business or work, there are some things that might slightly pinch your pockets more than before.

The imminent increases are part of a plan to enhance the quality of public services including better traffic control. A similar case goes to two entities that have increased their fees, and this will be their very first increase in rates for at least a period of more than ten years.

Some residents are already off the mark, looking for ways in which they may be able to make savings to counterbalance the extra expenses.
Here is a summary of the most recent hike announcements of prices for good or services likely to affect your 2025 budget:

1. Dubai parking fees

As of March 2025, drivers in Dubai will be required to fork out Dh6 per hour for 'prime’ parking spots only during certain peak periods. 

The new changes has been summarized below:

Here's a map where 'premium' areas are marked in pink and 'standard' spots are in green

Areas that have high demand, such as those with 500 metres of a parking bay around the Metro, are also subject to the Dh6 parking charge, as are closing hours during lounge periods and time spaces used for markets and business activities.

Also, there will be an hourly charging rate of Dh25 for the public parking spaces made available for general use but located around event areas such as the Dubai World Trade Centre from February 2025 onwards at busy periods.

2. New Salik toll prices

According to a new report, for drivers who pass through Dubai's Salik toll barriers, for additional charges for their trips according to when untimely peaks there are to be implemented, seeking refuge from the effects of the cost of living crisis, but the proposition would see the agency collaging Salik charges to smooth out losses on leased toll roads.”

They will shift towards the introducing ‘dynamic pricing’ that will be Higher fee of 6 Dirham in peak hours starting January 2025 according to the new pricing policy. Here’s a guide to new pricing per location:

This is the first occasion when the Salik charges have been altered since the installation of toll gates ten years ago in 2007. 

The new fee structure has been designed with the purpose of improving traffic management in Dubai. Salik, which is a public joint stock company, is now also believed to earn additional revenue of Dh60 million to Dh110 million on an annual basis.

3. New sewerage tariffs

• Sewage fees are projected to rise over the next three years for residents and businesses within Dubai, with the first increase starting in 2025.

• This increase will affect future charges for current accounts that include sewage collection charges within Dubai Municipality areas.

Here's the revised tariff structure:

By implementing the fee increase, the Dubai Municipality intends to encourage residents of the emirate to conserve water while developing appropriate infrastructure, ready for the future requirements of the increasing population of the emirate. This is the first fee change of the local civic body in the last 10 years.

What about rent and salaries?

The soaring costs over the last few years have made rent one of the essentials that most residents have been up in arms about. Rent rates for both apartments as well as Villa rental rates have gone through the roof in various areas, but there could be some good news for the years to come.

Rents in some neighbourhoods could fall as it has been reported more than one hundred thousand new apartments and villas are expected to be completed and occupied by 2025. With respect to the current trends, This additional supply is expected to relieve the present rent pressure and also contain rent increases in the future.

Based on a number of reports, UAE employees may be able to get a ‘respectable’ salary rise. 

According to the Robert Half annual salary guide for the recruitment of talented individuals, those in the technology and legal industries are poised to receive a salary increase. There will also possibly be increases among those working in finance, accounting and HR.

However, another survey conducted in the UAE demonstrated that salaries in the base year 2025 across all industries will increase on the average by four percent. The Mercer poll included over 700 companies from various sectors such as energy, financial services, engineering, construction, real estate, manufacturing, retail and wholesale, services and life sciences, technology.

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