{"id":39070,"date":"2026-09-01T09:28:04","date_gmt":"2026-09-01T05:28:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/truhauz.com\/landlord-tenant-maintenance-dubai\/"},"modified":"2026-09-01T09:28:04","modified_gmt":"2026-09-01T05:28:04","slug":"landlord-tenant-maintenance-dubai","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/truhauz.com\/fa\/landlord-tenant-maintenance-dubai\/","title":{"rendered":"Who Pays for Repairs in Dubai: Landlord and Tenant Maintenance Rules"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<!-- ============================================================\n  TRUHAUZ.COM \u2014 TENANCY GUIDE \/ REPAIRS & MAINTENANCE\n  Title:    Who Pays for Repairs in Dubai: Landlord and Tenant Maintenance Rules\n  Slug:     landlord-tenant-maintenance-dubai\n  Keywords: landlord maintenance responsibilities dubai, who pays for repairs dubai rental\n  ============================================================ -->\n\n<style>\n@import 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*\/\n.mt-contact{background:#3d001e;padding:60px 0}\n.mt-contact-inner{display:grid;grid-template-columns:1fr 1.4fr;gap:52px;align-items:start}\n.mt-ci{display:flex;gap:12px;align-items:flex-start;margin-bottom:14px}\n.mt-ci span:first-child{font-size:1.1rem;flex-shrink:0;margin-top:2px}\n.mt-ci-text{font-size:.86rem;color:rgba(255,255,255,.7)!important;line-height:1.5}\n.mt-ci a{color:rgba(255,255,255,.9)!important;text-decoration:underline!important}\n.mt-form-wrap{background:rgba(255,255,255,.05);border:1px solid rgba(255,255,255,.12);border-radius:14px;overflow:hidden}\n.mt-footer-strip{background:#660033;color:rgba(255,255,255,.8)!important;text-align:center;padding:14px 20px;font-size:.75rem;line-height:1.6}\n.mt-footer-strip a{color:rgba(255,255,255,.8)!important}\n\n\/* RESPONSIVE *\/\n@media(max-width:960px){\n  .mt-area-grid{grid-template-columns:1fr 1fr}\n  .mt-2col{grid-template-columns:1fr;gap:36px}\n  .mt-forecast{grid-template-columns:1fr 1fr}\n  .mt-contact-inner{grid-template-columns:1fr;gap:36px}\n  .mt-cta-in{flex-direction:column;text-align:center}\n  .mt-strip-in{grid-template-columns:repeat(2,1fr)}\n}\n@media(max-width:640px){\n  .mtc{padding:0 16px}\n  .mts{padding:44px 0}\n  .mt-hero{min-height:auto}\n  .mt-hero-content{padding:48px 16px 56px}\n  .mt-hero h1{font-size:clamp(1.8rem,7.5vw,2.6rem)}\n  .mt-area-grid{grid-template-columns:1fr}\n  .mt-forecast{grid-template-columns:1fr}\n  .mt-strip-in{grid-template-columns:repeat(2,1fr)}\n  .mt-si{padding:15px 8px}\n  .mt-title{font-size:clamp(1.4rem,6vw,1.9rem)}\n  .mt-contact{padding:48px 0}\n}\n@media(max-width:480px){.mtc{padding:0 14px}}\n\n.mt-quote{background:#fdf0f5;border-left:4px solid #660033;padding:18px 22px;border-radius:0 8px 8px 0;margin:22px 0;color:#3d001e;font-family:'Playfair Display',serif;font-size:1.02rem;font-style:italic;line-height:1.7}\n<\/style>\n\n<div class=\"mt\">\n\n<!-- \u2550\u2550\u2550 HERO \u2550\u2550\u2550 -->\n<section class=\"mt-hero\">\n  <div class=\"mt-hero-bg\"><\/div>\n  <div class=\"mt-hero-pat\"><\/div>\n  <div class=\"mt-hero-ov\"><\/div>\n  <div class=\"mt-hero-content\">\n    <span class=\"mt-eyebrow\">Tenancy Guide \u00b7 Repairs &amp; Maintenance \u00b7 Updated September 2026<\/span>\n    <h1>Who Pays for Repairs in Dubai<br><span>The Landlord and Tenant Maintenance Rules, Article by Article<\/span><\/h1>\n    <p class=\"mt-hero-sub\">The air conditioning fails in August. The water heater goes. A tap has been dripping since the day you moved in. Dubai law has a clear default answer about who pays &mdash; and a four-word phrase in the same sentence that lets your tenancy contract change it. Here is what the law actually says, and what to check in your own lease.<\/p>\n    <div class=\"mt-hero-meta\">\n      <div class=\"mt-hm\">\ud83d\udcdc <strong>Law No. 26 of 2007<\/strong><\/div>\n      <div class=\"mt-hm\">\u2696\ufe0f <strong>Articles 15&ndash;21 Explained<\/strong><\/div>\n      <div class=\"mt-hm\">\ud83d\udd27 <strong>Common Disputes Covered<\/strong><\/div>\n    <\/div>\n  <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n<!-- \u2550\u2550\u2550 DATA STRIP \u2550\u2550\u2550 -->\n<div class=\"mt-strip\">\n  <div class=\"mtc\">\n    <div class=\"mt-strip-in\">\n      <div class=\"mt-si\"><span class=\"mt-sv\">Article 16<\/span><span class=\"mt-sl\">The Default Maintenance Rule<\/span><\/div>\n      <div class=\"mt-si\"><span class=\"mt-sv\">Landlord<\/span><span class=\"mt-sl\">Responsible Unless Agreed Otherwise<\/span><\/div>\n      <div class=\"mt-si\"><span class=\"mt-sv\">Not Amended<\/span><span class=\"mt-sl\">Article 16 Untouched by Law 33 of 2008<\/span><\/div>\n      <div class=\"mt-si\"><span class=\"mt-sv\">Wear &amp; Tear<\/span><span class=\"mt-sl\">Excluded From Tenant Liability<\/span><\/div>\n    <\/div>\n  <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<!-- \u2550\u2550\u2550 OVERVIEW \u2550\u2550\u2550 -->\n<section class=\"mts\">\n  <div class=\"mtc\">\n    <div class=\"mt-2col\">\n      <div class=\"mt-body\">\n        <span class=\"mtt\">The Default Position<\/span>\n        <h2 class=\"mt-title\">What Article 16 Actually Says<\/h2>\n        <p>The governing instrument is <strong>Law No. (26) of 2007 Regulating the Relationship between Landlords and Tenants in the Emirate of Dubai<\/strong>, issued on 26 November 2007. On maintenance, everything turns on a single sentence in Article 16:<\/p>\n        <div class=\"mt-quote\">&#8220;Unless otherwise agreed by the parties, the Landlord will, during the term of the Lease Contract, be responsible for the Real Property maintenance works and for repairing any defect or damage that may affect the Tenant&#8217;s intended use.&#8221;<\/div>\n        <p>Two things follow from that, and most disputes come from people noticing only one of them. The first is that the <strong>default is the landlord<\/strong>. If your tenancy contract says nothing about maintenance, the landlord carries it &mdash; not just for structural failures, but for any defect or damage affecting your intended use of the property.<\/p>\n        <p>The second is the opening clause: <em>unless otherwise agreed by the parties<\/em>. Article 16 is a default rule, not a mandatory one. A tenancy contract can lawfully shift some or all of the maintenance burden onto the tenant, and in the Dubai market a great many of them do. That is why the answer to &#8220;who pays for repairs in Dubai&#8221; is never settled by quoting the law alone. It is settled by reading your own contract first and falling back on Article 16 only where the contract is silent.<\/p>\n        <p>It is worth knowing what has <em>not<\/em> changed. Law No. (33) of 2008, issued on 1 December 2008, amended Law No. 26 of 2007 &mdash; but it replaced Articles 2, 3, 4, 9, 13, 14, 15, 25, 26, 29 and 36. Article 16 is not among them. The maintenance default has stood unamended since 2007, which is why it remains the reference point in rental disputes almost two decades later. The contract itself still has to be registered; our <a href=\"https:\/\/truhauz.com\/ejari-registration-dubai\/\">Ejari registration guide<\/a> covers that step, and our guide to the <a href=\"https:\/\/truhauz.com\/tenancy-contract-dubai\/\">Dubai tenancy contract<\/a> covers what else the lease has to contain.<\/p>\n        <div class=\"mt-hbox\"><strong>TruHauz perspective:<\/strong> Before you argue about a repair, find the maintenance clause in your tenancy contract and read it word for word. If there is no such clause, Article 16 puts the cost on the landlord and the conversation is short. If there is one, its wording &mdash; not the law &mdash; decides the outcome, and vague drafting is where most of these disputes actually live. A clause that says the tenant handles &#8220;minor maintenance&#8221; without defining the term is an invitation to a dispute at the <a href=\"https:\/\/truhauz.com\/rental-dispute-centre-dubai\/\">Rental Dispute Centre<\/a>.<\/div>\n      <\/div>\n      <div>\n        <div class=\"mt-ov\">\n          <div class=\"mt-ov-head\">\n            <h3>The Legal Position at a Glance<\/h3>\n            <p>Maintenance under Dubai tenancy law<\/p>\n          <\/div>\n          <div class=\"mt-ov-row\"><span class=\"mt-ov-l\">Governing law<\/span><span class=\"mt-ov-r burg\">Law No. 26 of 2007<\/span><\/div>\n          <div class=\"mt-ov-row\"><span class=\"mt-ov-l\">Issued<\/span><span class=\"mt-ov-r\">26 November 2007<\/span><\/div>\n          <div class=\"mt-ov-row\"><span class=\"mt-ov-l\">Amended by<\/span><span class=\"mt-ov-r\">Law No. 33 of 2008<\/span><\/div>\n          <div class=\"mt-ov-row\"><span class=\"mt-ov-l\">Amendment issued<\/span><span class=\"mt-ov-r\">1 December 2008<\/span><\/div>\n          <div class=\"mt-ov-row\"><span class=\"mt-ov-l\">Maintenance article<\/span><span class=\"mt-ov-r\">Article 16<\/span><\/div>\n          <div class=\"mt-ov-row\"><span class=\"mt-ov-l\">Article 16 amended?<\/span><span class=\"mt-ov-r up\">No<\/span><\/div>\n          <div class=\"mt-ov-row\"><span class=\"mt-ov-l\">Default responsibility<\/span><span class=\"mt-ov-r burg\">The landlord<\/span><\/div>\n          <div class=\"mt-ov-row\"><span class=\"mt-ov-l\">Can it be varied?<\/span><span class=\"mt-ov-r\">Yes, by agreement<\/span><\/div>\n          <div class=\"mt-ov-row\"><span class=\"mt-ov-l\">Tenant&#8217;s standard of care<\/span><span class=\"mt-ov-r\">An ordinary person&#8217;s<\/span><\/div>\n          <div class=\"mt-ov-row\"><span class=\"mt-ov-l\">Handback standard<\/span><span class=\"mt-ov-r\">As received, less wear<\/span><\/div>\n        <\/div>\n      <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n  <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n<!-- \u2550\u2550\u2550 TABLE \u2550\u2550\u2550 -->\n<section class=\"mts mtg\">\n  <div class=\"mtc mtct\">\n    <span class=\"mtt\">Article by Article<\/span>\n    <h2 class=\"mt-title\">The Seven Provisions That Decide Repair Disputes<\/h2>\n    <p class=\"mt-sub\">Maintenance is not governed by Article 16 alone. Seven consecutive articles of Law No. 26 of 2007 together set out what the landlord must deliver, what the tenant must preserve, and how the property must come back at the end.<\/p>\n  <\/div>\n  <div class=\"mtc\">\n    <div class=\"mt-table-wrap\">\n      <table class=\"mt-table\">\n        <thead>\n          <tr>\n            <th>Article<\/th>\n            <th>What It Provides<\/th>\n            <th>Binds<\/th>\n          <\/tr>\n        <\/thead>\n        <tbody>\n          <tr>\n            <td>Article 15<\/td>\n            <td>The landlord must hand over the property in a good condition which allows the tenant to fully use it as stated in the lease contract. As amended in 2008, the parties may agree to rent an uncompleted property, with the tenant responsible for completion.<\/td>\n            <td><span class=\"mt-badge top\">Landlord<\/span><\/td>\n          <\/tr>\n          <tr>\n            <td>Article 16<\/td>\n            <td>Unless otherwise agreed, the landlord is responsible during the lease term for maintenance works and for repairing any defect or damage affecting the tenant&#8217;s intended use.<\/td>\n            <td><span class=\"mt-badge top\">Landlord<\/span><\/td>\n          <\/tr>\n          <tr>\n            <td>Article 17<\/td>\n            <td>The landlord bears responsibility for structural changes, and for any defect, damage, deficiency and wear and tear occurring to the property for reasons not attributable to the fault of the tenant.<\/td>\n            <td><span class=\"mt-badge top\">Landlord<\/span><\/td>\n          <\/tr>\n          <tr>\n            <td>Article 18<\/td>\n            <td>The landlord must provide the approvals required for the tenant&#8217;s decoration work, provided that work does not affect the structure.<\/td>\n            <td><span class=\"mt-badge top\">Landlord<\/span><\/td>\n          <\/tr>\n          <tr>\n            <td>Article 19<\/td>\n            <td>The tenant must pay rent on the due dates and maintain the property in such a manner as an ordinary person would maintain his own property. The tenant may not make changes or carry out restoration or maintenance works without the landlord&#8217;s permission and the required licences from the competent official entities.<\/td>\n            <td><span class=\"mt-badge high\">Tenant<\/span><\/td>\n          <\/tr>\n          <tr>\n            <td>Article 20<\/td>\n            <td>The landlord may obtain a security deposit from the tenant to ensure maintenance, refundable upon expiry of the lease contract.<\/td>\n            <td><span class=\"mt-badge mid\">Both<\/span><\/td>\n          <\/tr>\n          <tr>\n            <td>Article 21<\/td>\n            <td>The tenant must surrender the property in the same condition in which it was received, except for ordinary wear and tear or damage due to reasons beyond the tenant&#8217;s control.<\/td>\n            <td><span class=\"mt-badge high\">Tenant<\/span><\/td>\n          <\/tr>\n        <\/tbody>\n      <\/table>\n    <\/div>\n    <p style=\"font-size:.78rem;color:#999;margin-top:10px;text-align:center\">Article summaries and quoted wording taken from Law No. (26) of 2007 Regulating the Relationship between Landlords and Tenants in the Emirate of Dubai, and from Law No. (33) of 2008 Amending Law No. (26) of 2007, both published on the Dubai Legislation portal at dlp.dubai.gov.ae and retrieved 1 September 2026. Article 15 is quoted as amended by Law No. 33 of 2008.<\/p>\n  <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n<!-- \u2550\u2550\u2550 THE CLAUSE \u2550\u2550\u2550 -->\n<section class=\"mts\">\n  <div class=\"mtc\">\n    <div class=\"mt-body\" style=\"max-width:900px\">\n      <span class=\"mtt\">Where the Money Actually Moves<\/span>\n      <h2 class=\"mt-title\">The &#8220;Minor Maintenance&#8221; Clause and What It Really Means<\/h2>\n      <p>Walk through a hundred Dubai tenancy contracts and you will find some version of the same clause: the tenant is responsible for minor maintenance up to a stated amount per incident, and the landlord picks up anything above it. It is so widespread that many tenants and a fair number of agents believe it is a rule of law.<\/p>\n      <p>It is not. <strong>Law No. 26 of 2007 sets no monetary threshold for maintenance of any kind.<\/strong> Article 16 draws no distinction between minor and major works &mdash; it makes the landlord responsible for maintenance and for repairing defects, full stop, and then allows the parties to agree something different. Any figure in your contract is a commercial term the parties negotiated, not a statutory line. We have deliberately not published a &#8220;standard&#8221; amount in this guide, because we could not verify any such threshold in the legislation, and repeating a customary figure as though it were law is how the misunderstanding spreads.<\/p>\n      <p>The practical consequence is that the clause is negotiable, and it is worth negotiating. Two questions decide how much it will cost you over a year. Does the threshold apply <em>per incident<\/em> or <em>in aggregate across the tenancy<\/em>? And does it cover only consumable repairs, or does it extend to plant such as the air-conditioning system and the water heater, where a single failure can dwarf the threshold? A clause that is silent on both points tends to be read expansively by whichever party is holding the invoice.<\/p>\n      <div class=\"mt-hbox\"><strong>Before you sign:<\/strong> Ask for the maintenance clause to state a threshold, say whether it is per incident or annual, and list explicitly what falls outside it. Where the property is served by a district cooling provider, establish separately who pays the cooling charges &mdash; that is a different bill with a different basis, covered in our guides to <a href=\"https:\/\/truhauz.com\/district-cooling-charges-dubai\/\">district cooling charges<\/a> and to what <a href=\"https:\/\/truhauz.com\/chiller-free-dubai\/\">chiller free<\/a> actually means in practice.<\/div>\n    <\/div>\n  <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n<!-- \u2550\u2550\u2550 CARDS \u2550\u2550\u2550 -->\n<section class=\"mts mtg\">\n  <div class=\"mtc mtct\">\n    <span class=\"mtt\">In Practice<\/span>\n    <h2 class=\"mt-title\">Six Disputes That Come Up Again and Again<\/h2>\n    <p class=\"mt-sub\">How the articles above tend to apply to the repairs Dubai tenants and landlords actually argue about. Your contract can change each of these outcomes.<\/p>\n  <\/div>\n  <div class=\"mtc\">\n    <div class=\"mt-area-grid\">\n\n      <div class=\"mt-area-card\">\n        <div class=\"mt-area-head\">\n          <div class=\"mt-area-name\">Air Conditioning Failure<\/div>\n          <div class=\"mt-area-type\">Articles 16 &amp; 17<\/div>\n        <\/div>\n        <div class=\"mt-area-body\">Cooling failure plainly affects the tenant&#8217;s intended use, so absent a contrary clause it sits with the landlord under Article 16. Where the contract makes the tenant responsible for servicing, the distinction between routine servicing and the failure of the unit itself becomes the point in issue.<\/div>\n      <\/div>\n\n      <div class=\"mt-area-card\">\n        <div class=\"mt-area-head\">\n          <div class=\"mt-area-name\">Plumbing and Water Leaks<\/div>\n          <div class=\"mt-area-type\">Article 17<\/div>\n        <\/div>\n        <div class=\"mt-area-body\">Article 17 places on the landlord any defect, damage or deficiency arising for reasons not attributable to the tenant&#8217;s fault. A failed pipe or seal is the classic example. A blockage caused by misuse is the classic counter-example.<\/div>\n      <\/div>\n\n      <div class=\"mt-area-card\">\n        <div class=\"mt-area-head\">\n          <div class=\"mt-area-name\">Condition on Move-In<\/div>\n          <div class=\"mt-area-type\">Article 15<\/div>\n        <\/div>\n        <div class=\"mt-area-body\">The property must be handed over in a condition allowing full use as stated in the contract. Defects present on day one are the landlord&#8217;s, which is why a dated photographic record at handover is worth the hour it takes. Our <a href=\"https:\/\/truhauz.com\/dubai-snagging-handover-rights\/\">snagging and handover guide<\/a> covers the same discipline for buyers.<\/div>\n      <\/div>\n\n      <div class=\"mt-area-card\">\n        <div class=\"mt-area-head\">\n          <div class=\"mt-area-name\">Tenant Alterations<\/div>\n          <div class=\"mt-area-type\">Articles 18 &amp; 19<\/div>\n        <\/div>\n        <div class=\"mt-area-body\">Under Article 19 the tenant may not carry out changes, restoration or maintenance without the landlord&#8217;s permission and the required licences. Article 18 obliges the landlord to provide the approvals needed for decoration work that does not affect the structure.<\/div>\n      <\/div>\n\n      <div class=\"mt-area-card\">\n        <div class=\"mt-area-head\">\n          <div class=\"mt-area-name\">Repainting at Handback<\/div>\n          <div class=\"mt-area-type\">Article 21<\/div>\n        <\/div>\n        <div class=\"mt-area-body\">The tenant returns the property as received, <em>except for ordinary wear and tear<\/em>. Faded paint after a long tenancy is ordinarily wear; a wall repainted a colour the landlord did not approve is not. The exception is doing a great deal of work in that sentence.<\/div>\n      <\/div>\n\n      <div class=\"mt-area-card\">\n        <div class=\"mt-area-head\">\n          <div class=\"mt-area-name\">The Security Deposit<\/div>\n          <div class=\"mt-area-type\">Article 20<\/div>\n        <\/div>\n        <div class=\"mt-area-body\">Article 20 permits the landlord to hold a deposit to ensure maintenance, refundable on expiry of the contract. Deductions have to relate to something the tenant was actually responsible for &mdash; which brings you straight back to the contract clause and to Article 21.<\/div>\n      <\/div>\n\n    <\/div>\n  <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n<!-- \u2550\u2550\u2550 CTA STRIP \u2550\u2550\u2550 -->\n<div class=\"mt-cta-strip\">\n  <div class=\"mtc\">\n    <div class=\"mt-cta-in\">\n      <div>\n        <h3>Not sure what your tenancy contract puts on you?<\/h3>\n        <p>Send us the maintenance clause and TruHauz will tell you what it covers before you sign or renew.<\/p>\n      <\/div>\n      <a href=\"https:\/\/truhauz.com\/contact\/\" class=\"mtbtn\">Ask TruHauz \u2192<\/a>\n    <\/div>\n  <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<!-- \u2550\u2550\u2550 ANALYSIS \u2550\u2550\u2550 -->\n<section class=\"mts mtdk\">\n  <div class=\"mtc mtct\">\n    <span style=\"display:inline-block;background:rgba(255,255,255,.15);color:#fff!important;font-size:.68rem;font-weight:700;letter-spacing:.14em;text-transform:uppercase;padding:5px 15px;border-radius:100px;margin-bottom:16px;\">Three Things Most People Get Wrong<\/span>\n    <h2 class=\"mt-title white\">Reading the Law Correctly<\/h2>\n    <p class=\"mt-sub white\" style=\"margin:0 auto 48px;\">Almost every maintenance dispute we see turns on one of these three misreadings.<\/p>\n  <\/div>\n  <div class=\"mtc\">\n    <div class=\"mt-forecast\">\n      <div class=\"mt-fc\">\n        <span class=\"mt-fc-val\">1<\/span>\n        <h4>&#8220;The law says the landlord pays&#8221;<\/h4>\n        <p>Only where the contract is silent. Article 16 opens with <em>unless otherwise agreed by the parties<\/em>, which makes it a default rather than a protection you cannot sign away. Read the lease before you cite the statute.<\/p>\n      <\/div>\n      <div class=\"mt-fc\">\n        <span class=\"mt-fc-val\">2<\/span>\n        <h4>&#8220;There is a legal minor-repair limit&#8221;<\/h4>\n        <p>Law No. 26 of 2007 sets no monetary threshold. Any figure in a Dubai tenancy contract is a negotiated commercial term. Treating a customary number as a statutory one is the most common error in this whole area.<\/p>\n      <\/div>\n      <div class=\"mt-fc\">\n        <span class=\"mt-fc-val\">3<\/span>\n        <h4>&#8220;Wear and tear is the tenant&#8217;s problem&#8221;<\/h4>\n        <p>The opposite. Article 17 puts wear and tear not attributable to the tenant&#8217;s fault on the landlord, and Article 21 expressly carves ordinary wear and tear out of the tenant&#8217;s handback obligation.<\/p>\n      <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    <div style=\"background:rgba(255,255,255,.07);border:1px solid rgba(255,255,255,.15);border-radius:12px;padding:22px 24px;margin-top:32px;font-size:.93rem;color:rgba(255,255,255,.78)!important;line-height:1.75;\">\n      <strong style=\"color:#fff!important;\">The bottom line:<\/strong> Dubai&#8217;s maintenance rules are more tenant-friendly than the market&#8217;s standard contracts are, and the gap between the two is entirely contractual. The law hands the landlord the maintenance obligation and then permits the parties to move it; the market has largely moved it. If you are a tenant, the leverage is at signature and renewal, not after the air conditioning fails. If you are a landlord, an unclear clause is a false economy &mdash; it does not save you the cost, it just decides it later and more expensively. Where the parties cannot agree, the <a href=\"https:\/\/truhauz.com\/rental-dispute-centre-dubai\/\" style=\"color:#fff!important;text-decoration:underline\">Rental Dispute Centre<\/a> is the venue. Note also that maintenance of the <em>shared<\/em> parts of a building is a separate matter funded by the owner&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/truhauz.com\/service-charges-dubai\/\" style=\"color:#fff!important;text-decoration:underline\">service charge<\/a>, not by either party to the lease. <em>This guide is general information about Dubai tenancy law and is not legal advice. Article wording is summarised and, where quoted, taken from the published English text. Take advice from a qualified UAE lawyer on any specific tenancy, and rely on the official Arabic text of the legislation, which prevails.<\/em>\n    <\/div>\n  <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n<!-- \u2550\u2550\u2550 FAQ \u2550\u2550\u2550 -->\n<section class=\"mts mtg\">\n  <div class=\"mtc mtct\">\n    <span class=\"mtt\">FAQ<\/span>\n    <h2 class=\"mt-title\">Frequently Asked Questions<\/h2>\n    <p class=\"mt-sub\">The questions Dubai tenants and landlords ask most often about repairs and maintenance.<\/p>\n  <\/div>\n  <div class=\"mtc\">\n    <div class=\"mt-faq-list\">\n      <div class=\"mt-faq-item\">\n        <div class=\"mt-faq-q\" onclick=\"mtFaq(this)\">Who is responsible for maintenance in a Dubai rental, the landlord or the tenant?<span class=\"mt-faq-icon\">+<\/span><\/div>\n        <div class=\"mt-faq-a\">By default the landlord. Article 16 of Law No. 26 of 2007 Regulating the Relationship between Landlords and Tenants in the Emirate of Dubai provides that, unless otherwise agreed by the parties, the landlord will during the term of the lease contract be responsible for the property&#8217;s maintenance works and for repairing any defect or damage that may affect the tenant&#8217;s intended use. The opening words matter as much as the rule: Article 16 applies where the tenancy contract is silent, and the parties are free to agree something different. Many Dubai contracts do exactly that, so the contract has to be read before the statute is cited.<\/div>\n      <\/div>\n      <div class=\"mt-faq-item\">\n        <div class=\"mt-faq-q\" onclick=\"mtFaq(this)\">Is there a legal limit in Dubai below which the tenant must pay for repairs?<span class=\"mt-faq-icon\">+<\/span><\/div>\n        <div class=\"mt-faq-a\">No. Law No. 26 of 2007 sets no monetary threshold for maintenance, and Article 16 draws no distinction between minor and major works. The clause commonly found in Dubai tenancy contracts making the tenant responsible for repairs up to a stated amount per incident is a negotiated commercial term, not a statutory rule. Because it is contractual it is also negotiable, and it is worth establishing whether the stated figure applies per incident or in aggregate across the tenancy, and whether it extends to plant such as air conditioning and water heaters where a single failure can far exceed it.<\/div>\n      <\/div>\n      <div class=\"mt-faq-item\">\n        <div class=\"mt-faq-q\" onclick=\"mtFaq(this)\">Does the landlord have to fix the air conditioning in Dubai?<span class=\"mt-faq-icon\">+<\/span><\/div>\n        <div class=\"mt-faq-a\">Where the tenancy contract does not say otherwise, yes. A cooling failure plainly affects the tenant&#8217;s intended use of the property, which is the test Article 16 applies. Article 17 reinforces the position by placing on the landlord any defect, damage, deficiency and wear and tear occurring for reasons not attributable to the tenant&#8217;s fault. Where the contract makes the tenant responsible for servicing, the question usually becomes whether what failed was routine servicing or the unit itself. Cooling charges billed by a district cooling provider are a separate matter from repairing the equipment.<\/div>\n      <\/div>\n      <div class=\"mt-faq-item\">\n        <div class=\"mt-faq-q\" onclick=\"mtFaq(this)\">Can a landlord in Dubai deduct repainting from the security deposit?<span class=\"mt-faq-icon\">+<\/span><\/div>\n        <div class=\"mt-faq-a\">Only for damage the tenant was actually responsible for. Article 20 permits the landlord to obtain a security deposit from the tenant to ensure maintenance, refundable upon expiry of the lease contract. Article 21 then requires the tenant to surrender the property in the same condition in which it was received, except for ordinary wear and tear or damage due to reasons beyond the tenant&#8217;s control. Faded paint after a long tenancy is ordinarily wear and tear and sits outside the tenant&#8217;s obligation. A wall repainted in a colour the landlord never approved is a different matter, because Article 19 bars the tenant from making changes without permission.<\/div>\n      <\/div>\n      <div class=\"mt-faq-item\">\n        <div class=\"mt-faq-q\" onclick=\"mtFaq(this)\">Can a tenant carry out their own repairs or alterations in Dubai?<span class=\"mt-faq-icon\">+<\/span><\/div>\n        <div class=\"mt-faq-a\">Not unilaterally. Article 19 provides that the tenant must maintain the property in such a manner as an ordinary person would maintain his own property, and that the tenant may not make any changes or carry out restoration or maintenance works unless permitted by the landlord and after obtaining the required licences from the competent official entities. The counterpart obligation sits in Article 18: the landlord must provide the approvals required for the tenant&#8217;s decoration work, provided that work does not affect the structure of the property.<\/div>\n      <\/div>\n      <div class=\"mt-faq-item\">\n        <div class=\"mt-faq-q\" onclick=\"mtFaq(this)\">Has the maintenance rule in Dubai changed since 2007?<span class=\"mt-faq-icon\">+<\/span><\/div>\n        <div class=\"mt-faq-a\">Article 16 has not been amended. Law No. 33 of 2008, issued on 1 December 2008, amended Law No. 26 of 2007, but it replaced Articles 2, 3, 4, 9, 13, 14, 15, 25, 26, 29 and 36. Article 16 is not among them, so the maintenance default has stood unchanged since the original law was issued on 26 November 2007. Article 15 was amended, and now requires the landlord to hand over the property in a good condition allowing the tenant to fully use it as stated in the lease contract.<\/div>\n      <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n  <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n<!-- \u2550\u2550\u2550 CONTACT \u2550\u2550\u2550 -->\n<section class=\"mt-contact\" id=\"mt-contact\">\n  <div class=\"mtc\">\n    <div class=\"mt-contact-inner\">\n      <div>\n        <span style=\"display:inline-block;background:rgba(255,255,255,.15);color:#fff!important;font-size:.68rem;font-weight:700;letter-spacing:.14em;text-transform:uppercase;padding:5px 15px;border-radius:100px;margin-bottom:18px;\">Talk to TruHauz<\/span>\n        <h2 style=\"font-family:'Playfair Display',serif;font-size:clamp(1.5rem,4vw,2.1rem);color:#fff!important;margin-bottom:10px;line-height:1.2;\">Know What Your Lease Puts on You<\/h2>\n        <p style=\"color:rgba(255,255,255,.72)!important;font-size:.93rem;line-height:1.75;margin-bottom:24px;\">TruHauz reviews the maintenance, deposit and handback clauses on every tenancy we handle &mdash; for landlords and tenants alike &mdash; so the obligations are clear before anything breaks. Send us your contract.<\/p>\n        <div class=\"mt-ci\"><span>\ud83d\udcde<\/span><span class=\"mt-ci-text\"><strong style=\"color:#fff!important;display:block;margin-bottom:2px;\">Phone \/ WhatsApp<\/strong><a href=\"tel:+971529715488\">+971 52 971 5488<\/a><\/span><\/div>\n        <div class=\"mt-ci\"><span>\ud83d\udce7<\/span><span class=\"mt-ci-text\"><strong style=\"color:#fff!important;display:block;margin-bottom:2px;\">Email<\/strong><a href=\"mailto:info@truhauz.com\">info@truhauz.com<\/a><\/span><\/div>\n        <div class=\"mt-ci\"><span>\ud83c\udfe2<\/span><span class=\"mt-ci-text\"><strong style=\"color:#fff!important;display:block;margin-bottom:2px;\">RERA Licensed<\/strong><span>60838 \u2014 Dubai, UAE<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n        <div style=\"margin-top:24px;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/truhauz.com\/contact\/\" class=\"mtbg\">Get in Touch \u2192<\/a><\/div>\n      <\/div>\n      <div class=\"mt-form-wrap\">\n        <iframe aria-label=\"Contact Us\" frameborder=\"0\" style=\"height:520px;width:100%;border:none;display:block;\" src=\"https:\/\/forms.zohopublic.com\/elchintru1\/form\/ContactUs\/formperma\/_DensyNXfgDItjE-TsZ92uQERcSIhTnizr-QPf3wrBk\"><\/iframe>\n      <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n  <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n<div class=\"mt-footer-strip\">\n  \u00a9 2026 TruHauz Real Estate \u00b7 RERA Reg. 60838 \u00b7 Dubai, UAE<br>\n  <a href=\"https:\/\/truhauz.com\/buy\/\">Buy<\/a> \u00b7 <a href=\"https:\/\/truhauz.com\/status\/off-plan\/\">Off Plan<\/a> \u00b7 <a href=\"https:\/\/truhauz.com\/golden-visa\/\">Golden Visa<\/a> \u00b7 <a href=\"https:\/\/truhauz.com\/mortgage-guide\/\">Mortgage Guide<\/a>\n<\/div>\n\n<\/div><!-- end .mt -->\n\n<script>\nfunction mtFaq(el){var item=el.parentElement;var wasOpen=item.classList.contains('mt-open');document.querySelectorAll('.mt-faq-item.mt-open').forEach(function(i){i.classList.remove('mt-open');});if(!wasOpen)item.classList.add('mt-open');}\n(function(){function init(){var w=document.querySelector('.mt');if(!w)return;var e=w.parentElement;while(e&&e!==document.documentElement){e.style.setProperty('padding-left','0px','important');e.style.setProperty('padding-right','0px','important');e.style.setProperty('padding-top','0px','important');e.style.setProperty('overflow','visible','important');e.style.setProperty('max-width','none','important');e=e.parentElement;}['.post-header-wrap','.post-thumbnail-wrap'].forEach(function(s){var el=document.querySelector(s);if(el)el.style.setProperty('display','none','important');});document.body.style.setProperty('overflow-x','hidden','important');}document.readyState==='loading'?document.addEventListener('DOMContentLoaded',init):init();})();\n<\/script>\n\n\n\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\">{\n \"@context\": \"https:\/\/schema.org\",\n \"@type\": \"FAQPage\",\n \"@id\": \"https:\/\/truhauz.com\/landlord-tenant-maintenance-dubai\/#faq\",\n \"url\": \"https:\/\/truhauz.com\/landlord-tenant-maintenance-dubai\/\",\n \"mainEntity\": [\n  {\n   \"@type\": \"Question\",\n   \"name\": \"Who is responsible for maintenance in a Dubai rental, the landlord or the tenant?\",\n   \"acceptedAnswer\": {\n    \"@type\": \"Answer\",\n    \"text\": \"By default the landlord. Article 16 of Law No. 26 of 2007 Regulating the Relationship between Landlords and Tenants in the Emirate of Dubai provides that, unless otherwise agreed by the parties, the landlord will during the term of the lease contract be responsible for the property's maintenance works and for repairing any defect or damage that may affect the tenant's intended use. The opening words matter as much as the rule: Article 16 applies where the tenancy contract is silent, and the parties are free to agree something different. Many Dubai contracts do exactly that, so the contract has to be read before the statute is cited.\"\n   }\n  },\n  {\n   \"@type\": \"Question\",\n   \"name\": \"Is there a legal limit in Dubai below which the tenant must pay for repairs?\",\n   \"acceptedAnswer\": {\n    \"@type\": \"Answer\",\n    \"text\": \"No. Law No. 26 of 2007 sets no monetary threshold for maintenance, and Article 16 draws no distinction between minor and major works. The clause commonly found in Dubai tenancy contracts making the tenant responsible for repairs up to a stated amount per incident is a negotiated commercial term, not a statutory rule. Because it is contractual it is also negotiable, and it is worth establishing whether the stated figure applies per incident or in aggregate across the tenancy, and whether it extends to plant such as air conditioning and water heaters where a single failure can far exceed it.\"\n   }\n  },\n  {\n   \"@type\": \"Question\",\n   \"name\": \"Does the landlord have to fix the air conditioning in Dubai?\",\n   \"acceptedAnswer\": {\n    \"@type\": \"Answer\",\n    \"text\": \"Where the tenancy contract does not say otherwise, yes. A cooling failure plainly affects the tenant's intended use of the property, which is the test Article 16 applies. Article 17 reinforces the position by placing on the landlord any defect, damage, deficiency and wear and tear occurring for reasons not attributable to the tenant's fault. Where the contract makes the tenant responsible for servicing, the question usually becomes whether what failed was routine servicing or the unit itself. Cooling charges billed by a district cooling provider are a separate matter from repairing the equipment.\"\n   }\n  },\n  {\n   \"@type\": \"Question\",\n   \"name\": \"Can a landlord in Dubai deduct repainting from the security deposit?\",\n   \"acceptedAnswer\": {\n    \"@type\": \"Answer\",\n    \"text\": \"Only for damage the tenant was actually responsible for. Article 20 permits the landlord to obtain a security deposit from the tenant to ensure maintenance, refundable upon expiry of the lease contract. Article 21 then requires the tenant to surrender the property in the same condition in which it was received, except for ordinary wear and tear or damage due to reasons beyond the tenant's control. Faded paint after a long tenancy is ordinarily wear and tear and sits outside the tenant's obligation. A wall repainted in a colour the landlord never approved is a different matter, because Article 19 bars the tenant from making changes without permission.\"\n   }\n  },\n  {\n   \"@type\": \"Question\",\n   \"name\": \"Can a tenant carry out their own repairs or alterations in Dubai?\",\n   \"acceptedAnswer\": {\n    \"@type\": \"Answer\",\n    \"text\": \"Not unilaterally. Article 19 provides that the tenant must maintain the property in such a manner as an ordinary person would maintain his own property, and that the tenant may not make any changes or carry out restoration or maintenance works unless permitted by the landlord and after obtaining the required licences from the competent official entities. The counterpart obligation sits in Article 18: the landlord must provide the approvals required for the tenant's decoration work, provided that work does not affect the structure of the property.\"\n   }\n  },\n  {\n   \"@type\": \"Question\",\n   \"name\": \"Has the maintenance rule in Dubai changed since 2007?\",\n   \"acceptedAnswer\": {\n    \"@type\": \"Answer\",\n    \"text\": \"Article 16 has not been amended. Law No. 33 of 2008, issued on 1 December 2008, amended Law No. 26 of 2007, but it replaced Articles 2, 3, 4, 9, 13, 14, 15, 25, 26, 29 and 36. Article 16 is not among them, so the maintenance default has stood unchanged since the original law was issued on 26 November 2007. Article 15 was amended, and now requires the landlord to hand over the property in a good condition allowing the tenant to fully use it as stated in the lease contract.\"\n   }\n  }\n ]\n}<\/script>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What Law No. 26 of 2007 says about maintenance in a Dubai tenancy, article by article: the Article 16 default, the four words that let your contract change it, the wear-and-tear rule, and the six repair disputes that come up most often.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":35547,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"0","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_joinchat":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-39070","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-dubai-real-estate-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v28.4 (Yoast SEO v28.4) - 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