Maintenance Obligations

Maintenance obligations define who fixes what in a rented property — the most frequent source of friction in UAE tenancies. The default position under Dubai tenancy law is that the landlord is responsible for maintenance and for repairing defects that affect the tenant's use of the property, unless the parties agree otherwise; in practice, contracts almost always do agree otherwise, with the common formula putting 'major' maintenance on the landlord and 'minor' maintenance on the tenant, often defined by a dirham threshold per incident. Because the statute defers to the contract here, the wording governs: a clear clause stating the threshold and listing examples (AC servicing, plumbing, appliances, common-area issues belonging to the building) prevents most disputes. Tenants should report defects in writing immediately — delay invites arguments about misuse — and may approach the Rental Disputes Centre if a landlord ignores serious defects. At move-out, unresolved maintenance arguments typically resurface as deposit deductions.