Maintenance coordination

Who pays for what

Dubai law expects a landlord to hand over a property fit for use and to carry out necessary maintenance, unless the contract says otherwise. Many tenancy contracts and addenda split responsibility: the tenant often handles minor upkeep and damage they cause, while the landlord covers major repairs and the building's fixed systems. The contract is what counts, so we read it before assigning any cost. Our landlord maintenance obligations guide explains the general position; confirm specifics with RERA or a legal adviser if a cost is disputed.

How a repair request is handled

1. Log. The tenant reports the fault to us with photos or a short video. 2. Triage. We judge urgency — water leaks, electrical faults and AC failures in summer come first — and check responsibility under the contract. 3. Quote. For non-urgent work we obtain quotes from suitable contractors. 4. Approval. Work within your agreed limit goes ahead. Anything above it comes to you with the quotes and our recommendation. 5. Access. We agree a time with the tenant and, where needed, obtain building permission for contractors. 6. Close-out. We confirm the fix with the tenant, collect the invoice and update your maintenance log.

Planned maintenance

Most expensive repairs in Dubai rentals trace back to skipped servicing. We agree a simple plan at onboarding: regular AC servicing and duct cleaning, checks on water heaters, seals and drainage, and a look at fixtures during periodic inspections. Villas need more — see villa management. Our annual maintenance calendar shows a typical schedule.

Building and community issues

Some faults are not yours to fix. Problems with common areas, shared plant, chilled water supply or the building's structure usually fall to the building management or owners' association, funded through service charges under Law No. 6 of 2019. We report these to the right party and keep chasing on your behalf. If the issue becomes a service-charge question, our Mollak guide explains the route.

What you provide and what you receive

You provide: an approval limit, any preferred contractors, warranty documents for appliances or a recent handover, and how you want urgent issues handled when you cannot be reached.

You receive: a log of every request with its status, quotes for larger jobs, invoices and photos, and a short note after each inspection with anything worth fixing before it gets worse.