Predictions

1:58 A tip lasts only as long as the rule under it, and Gmail's choice of a From address is one that has lasted; what follows is what we think happens next to the fees, rules and products these tips rest on.

These are Vi.ki's own predictions and opinions, not reported facts. Each one says what we base it on and when it can be checked. We will mark each one right or wrong when it resolves.

Will Dubai's housing fee stay at 5% of rent?

We think the rate does not move: Dubai Municipality's page still says 5% of the annual rental value on Mar 31, 2027.

Confidence: Likely. Check by: Mar 2027.

Why we think so: the municipality's Adjust Housing Fees service is built around correcting the rent figure, not the rate, and the rate is the same one George Vanous's notes worked back from his bills in 2023 (DEWA Housing Fee). A city that raises money this way changes the rent estimates, which it did to his two villas, before it changes the percentage.

What would prove us wrong: the service page, or a DEWA bill, showing any rate but 5% by then.

Will filling a pool from the tap cost more in 2027?

We think it does, by about AED 299 on a 170 cubic meter fill, and from sewerage alone: the water tariff's top slab stays at AED 10.12 a cubic meter.

Confidence: Likely. Check by: Mar 2027.

Why we think so: Dubai announced its sewerage fees years ahead, 2 fils a gallon in 2026 and 2.8 fils from January 2027, while DEWA's slab tariff has no change announced. Even so the tap stays far under the price of tanker trucks (Filling a Pool in Dubai).

What would prove us wrong: a sewerage rate other than 2.8 fils on a bill for February 2027, or a new top slab.

Will a late Dubai driving license still cost AED 10 a month?

We think RTA's fee list still shows AED 10 for each month expired, capped at AED 500, at the end of June 2027.

Confidence: Likely. Check by: Jun 2027.

Why we think so: the figure on RTA's renewal page today is the one George was charged in July 2023 (Dubai Driving License Renewal After Expiry), and a fine capped that low is a nudge, not a source of income anyone would bother to raise.

What would prove us wrong: a different monthly fine or cap on that page.

Will brothers and sisters get Dubai's 0.125% gift fee?

We think not: the Land Department's list of who may receive a gifted property still ends at parents, spouse and children in June 2027.

Confidence: Likely. Check by: Jun 2027.

Why we think so: a gift is registered for 0.125% of the valuation and a sale for 4%, so every relative added to the list is a sale that can be dressed as a gift (Gifting a Dubai Property Share). The department has every reason to keep the list short.

What would prove us wrong: siblings, or any relative beyond the first degree, named on that page.

Will Google keep app passwords?

We think app passwords are still offered to ordinary Google accounts with 2-Step Verification at the end of March 2027, although Google would plainly like them gone.

Confidence: Likely. Check by: Mar 2027.

Why we think so: Google's app passwords page calls them not recommended, yet printers, scanners and mail programs that cannot do a modern sign-in still depend on them, and so does sending from another address (Gmail Send Mail As a Custom Domain). Removing them breaks hardware Google cannot update.

What would prove us wrong: that page saying app passwords are no longer available, or the setting gone from a personal account.

Will Canada still charge CAD 45 to keep a passport during a renewal?

We think the fee to keep using a valid passport is still CAD 45 after the yearly adjustment due by April 2027, while the child passport fee abroad rises.

Confidence: Likely. Check by: Apr 2027.

Why we think so: the Mar 31, 2026 fee change raised the passport fees and left the service fees where they were, and it is the service fee that the tip turns on (Canadian Child Passport Renewal Abroad).

What would prove us wrong: a retention fee other than CAD 45 on Canada's fee page for applicants abroad.

Will WordPress stop running cron on page loads?

We think it does not: the WordPress release current in September 2027 still checks its scheduled tasks when a page is requested, unless the site owner turns that off.

Confidence: Likely. Check by: Sep 2027.

Why we think so: the Plugin Handbook explains the design as the only one that works on hosts with no system scheduler, and those hosts are still where most small sites live (WordPress Cron on Every Page Load).

What would prove us wrong: a release whose notes say WP-Cron no longer starts from page loads by default.

Our take

We think the tips that last are the ones that sit on a fee schedule. A government fee in Dubai is published, changes rarely and changes on an announced date, so a tip built on one can be checked in a minute. The tips built on a company's product (a router's hidden link, a mail setting, a block list) are right until an update, and two of the fourteen here had already changed under George's notes by the day we checked them.

We think the most valuable line on any of these pages is the one where the notes were wrong. The pool estimate left out three charges and the gift notes named relatives the Land Department does not; a tip that has been checked and corrected is worth more than one that was merely written down.

Sources

• Adjust Housing Fees, Dubai Municipality, read Nov 10, 2026
• New sewerage fees announced for Dubai, The National, Nov 5, 2024
• Slab tariff, DEWA, read Nov 10, 2026
• Renew Driving Licence, Roads and Transport Authority, read Nov 10, 2026
• Property Gift Registration, Dubai Land Department, read Nov 10, 2026
• Sign in with app passwords, Google Account Help, read Nov 10, 2026
• Passport fee changes, Government of Canada, read Nov 10, 2026
• Cron, WordPress Plugin Handbook, read Nov 10, 2026
• Send emails from a different address or alias, Google Workspace, Dec 1, 2022 (video)