Did You Know Your Landlord Cannot Deny Property Maintenance

When moving into a new house or apartment, some of the first questions a new tenant may ask is “who is responsible for property maintenance if something stops working?” On many occasions, real estate agents and landlords try to deny maintenance work to their properties, but according to law, it is their responsibility to fix any issues that may arise during your tenancy agreement.

Under the Dubai Rental Law, Article 15, 16 of Law No. 26 of 2007, which regulates the relationship between landlords and tenants in the emirate of Dubai, it states that the “Landlord shall be committed to hand over the property in good condition that enables tenant to obtain the benefit subject of the tenancy contract,” and that the “Landlord shall, during validity of the tenancy contract, be liable for undertaking maintenance of the property and shall rectify any defects or faults that affect tenant’s intended benefit from the property, unless the two parties agree otherwise.”

So if you ever run into issues regarding the general maintenance of your leased property, follow the steps outlined below.

3 Steps To Rectify Maintenance Issues:

Step 1: Contact the Landlord

Since the maintenance of your leased home is the responsibility of the landlord, the first step is to contact them, either directly or through the real estate agent who established your lease. It is best to communicate via email in order to provide written documentation. You may also call them to inform them of the email.

Step 2: Contact the Building Management

If for any reason the landlord or real estate agent is ignoring your efforts to communicate the maintenance issue, the next step is to speak to the building management. Again it is also best to communicate via email.

Step 3: Launch a complaint at Dubai Land Department

If your efforts of contacting the landlord have still been ignored, and the building management seems to be of little help, it is best to contact the Dubai Land Department. Within the DLD is the Rental Disputes Center, which will help you launch a complaint against the landlord.

To launch a dispute at the Rental Disputes Center you must provide them with the following documents:
1. Printed tenancy copy in Arabic
2. Printed emails or communication between yourself and the landlord/real estate agent and building management

Once you have visited the center, they will assist you to open up a claim against your landlord. From here you can deal directly with the Rental Disputes Center who will provide you with an appropriate time to follow up on the case. If the appropriate time passes and there is still no communication from the landlord, you can approach the Rental Dispute Center and file a follow-up complaint to demand the landlord to fix the maintenance issues. In the event the landlord still does not fix the issue, you may consult the Rental Dispute Center to take appropriate action against the landlord.

Remember, the landlord is responsible for the property maintenance work and repairing any defect or damage that may affect a tenants intended use of the rental space.

For advice on Real Estate in the UAE, Contact Us at 04 336 8833 or by email on info@alkhoulilaw.com.

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