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Dubai: Is the tenant or the landlord responsible for the property's maintenance?
The landlord shall be responsible for any breakdown, impairment, defect, or damage sustained by the real property for reasons beyond the control of the tenant
- PUBLISHED: Sun 11 Jan 2026, 8:37 AM
- By:
- Ashish Mehta
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Question: I am seeing many contradictory explanations online about who is responsible for maintenance in Dubai buildings – the landlord or the tenant.
How is this determined, and what does the law say? My landlord says that minor maintenance, such as changing bulbs and fixing small bathroom fitting leaks, must be handled by me, while major issues like air conditioning or windows are his responsibility. Is this correct?
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Answer: In Dubai, it is the responsibility of a landlord to carry out the maintenance and repair works of a rented apartment.
This is in accordance with Article 16 of Law No. 26 of 2007 Regulating the Relationship between Landlords and Tenants in the Emirate of Dubai, which states, “Unless otherwise agreed by the parties, a landlord shall, during the term of the lease contract, be responsible for the real property maintenance works and for repairing any breakdown or defect that affects the tenant's full intended use of the real property.”
Furthermore, a landlord may be responsible for rectifying any breakdown, damages or defects caused to a rented apartment if such breakdown, damages or defects are caused due to reasons which are beyond the control of a tenant.
This is in accordance with Article 17 of the Dubai Rent Law, which states, “A landlord may not make to the real property, or any of its facilities or appurtenances, any changes that preclude the intended use of the same.
The landlord shall be responsible for any such changes, whether made by him or by any other person authorised by him. In addition, the landlord shall be responsible for any breakdown, impairment, defect, or damage sustained by the real property for reasons beyond the control of the tenant.”
A tenant must pay rent on time and take reasonable care of the property. A tenant is only responsible for minor restorations or maintenance that are agreed upon or customary for tenants.
Any changes, repairs, or restorations must be approved by a landlord and the necessary official authorities.
This is in accordance with Article 19 of the Dubai Rent Law, which states, “The tenant must pay the rent on due dates and maintain the real property in such a manner as an ordinary person would maintain his own property.
Without prejudice to the tenant’s obligation to carry out the restorations that have been agreed upon or which are customary for tenants to undertake, the tenant may not make any changes or carry out any restoration or maintenance works to the real property unless so permitted by the landlord and after obtaining required licences from the competent official entities.”
In view of the above, it is the responsibility of your landlord to carry out the maintenance and repair works of the rented apartment unless it is agreed in the tenancy contract that specific maintenance and repair works are undertaken by you at your own cost.
However, as a tenant, it is your responsibility to maintain the rented apartment in good condition and not to make any changes and/or carry out restoration or maintenance works without obtaining the permission of your landlord and the competent authorities.
Ashish Mehta is the founder and Managing Partner of Ashish Mehta & Associates. He is qualified to practise law in Dubai, the United Kingdom and India. Full details of his firm on: www.amalawyers.com. Readers may e-mail their questions to: news@khaleejtimes.com or send them to Legal View, Khaleej Times, PO Box 11243, Dubai.
