In this note
Ask landlords what hurts a rental and most will say vacancy or a tenant who doesn't pay. In my experience, it's the repair that didn't get done on time.
An AC that takes two weeks to fix, or a leak that waits for the weekend. Each one costs more than the repair: the tenant's goodwill, the next renewal, and the apartment itself.
The repair is yours by law
In Dubai, unless your contract says otherwise, maintenance is the landlord's job. The law makes the landlord responsible for repairing any defect that affects the tenant's use of the property, and for damage that isn't the tenant's fault. The tenant's side is to look after the unit as they would their own, and not to carry out works without your permission.
Official English text
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's intended use of the Real Property.
Arabic original, which prevails
يكون المؤجر مسؤولاً أثناء مدة الإيجار عن أعمال صيانة العقار وعن إصلاح أي عطل أو خلل يؤثر في استيفاء المستأجر للمنفعة المقصودة، ما لم يتفق الطرفان على خلاف ذلك.
Official English text and Arabic original: Dubai Legislation Portal, read 27 October 2026. The Arabic text prevails. The Rental Disputes Centre quotes the Arabic text word for word in its 2026 rulings.
There are two exceptions. The law expects the tenant to handle the minor upkeep that's customary for tenants. And many contracts move small repairs onto the tenant, often those under AED 500 for an apartment. Anything beyond that is yours, so check what your contract says.
What a slow repair can cost at the Rental Disputes Centre
When a repair drags on, some tenants stop asking and take it to the Rental Disputes Centre. Since January 2024, tenants have brought 230 residential cases that included a maintenance claim.
- The tenant won something in 4 out of 5 of them.
- When the landlord was ordered to pay, the typical amount was about AED 14,700. That's around 11% of a year's rent. It can include the deposit back, compensation and the repair costs.
When the landlord was ordered to pay (158 cases), the median award was AED 14,710, about 11% of a year’s rent.
Source: Rental Disputes Centre first-instance verdicts, residential cases brought by tenants that included a maintenance claim, 1 January 2024 to 30 September 2026. Outcomes and award amounts were extracted from the published Arabic verdicts; a sample of rulings was checked against the original text. Awards can include the deposit back and compensation as well as the repair. Rentinit analysis.
Show the numbers(6 figures)
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Cases | 230 |
| Tenant won something (granted, fully or in part) | 184 (80.0%) |
| Not granted | 46 (20.0%) |
| Landlord ordered to pay an amount | 158 |
| Median award | AED 14,710 |
| Median award against the year’s rent | 11.0%median annual rent AED 120,862 |
The verdicts show the shape of it. A tenant fixes the AC or the plumbing themselves and claims it back. A committee orders the landlord to carry out repairs listed in an expert's report. A landlord pays compensation for the tenant's lost use of the home, or after a leak damaged their things. In the worst cases the committee ends the lease and orders compensation as well.
None of that includes the repair you'll still have to do, or the cost of the tenant leaving.
The bigger cost is the tenant who leaves
Tenants rarely leave over one broken thing. They leave over how long it took.
- In a 2026 survey of 3,002 US renters, those satisfied with how repairs were handled were 81% more likely to renew. Most satisfied renters had their problems fixed within days. Over half of the unhappy ones had waited weeks.
- Dubai's own records show what a settled tenant is worth. Tenants who had already renewed once renewed again 85% of the time. Tenants in their first year did so only 62% of the time.
Losing a tenant who was happy to stay brings back the empty weeks and the risk of someone new. I worked through that cost in renew or re-let.
Sources: Dubai Land Department Ejari records, residential tenancies that began in 2024. AppFolio, 2026 Renter Preferences Report: 3,002 US renters, fielded January and February 2026, commissioned by a software company; the report does not publish how its figure was worked out. Rentinit analysis of the Ejari records.
Show the numbers(3 figures)
| Group | Tenancies | Renewed again |
|---|---|---|
| Had already renewed (Dubai) | 247,758 | 84.6% |
| First year with this landlord (Dubai) | 73,071 | 62.4% |
| Renters satisfied with how repairs were handled (US survey) | 3,002 renters surveyed | As stated: 81% more likely to renew |
And small problems don't stay small
Water is the clearest case. In US insurance data, an average water-damage claim now costs around $14,000, nearly double a decade earlier. A leak that runs for days does far more damage than one stopped within the hour, and the fix grows with it.
In Dubai the AC does the same quiet damage. It works hard for most of the year, and desert dust clogs filters and coats coils. Manufacturers recommend servicing at least once a year, twice for heavy use. A unit nobody services is the one that fails in August, and an annual service costs less than a replacement compressor.
How Hazel keeps repairs moving
The difference between a good landlord or manager and a poor one is rarely skill. It's follow-through. That's the part I take on:
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Every request gets logged, with the photos, against the right unit.
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I get the quote, ask whoever pays to decide, and schedule the work.
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I keep chasing until the job is marked done, so nothing sits waiting for someone to remember it.
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You see the history, unit by unit.
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If you manage your own flat, the repair gets handled without you chasing anyone.
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If you run a management team, every unit is handled the same way, every time. With me behind them, every manager on your team delivers good service.
Add your property, and I'll reach out on WhatsApp. The next time something breaks, I'll get it moving.
How Hazel measured this
- Law: Dubai Law No. 26 of 2007, Articles 16, 17 and 19, read on 27 October 2026.
- Case data: Rental Disputes Centre first-instance verdicts, January 2024 to September 2026, residential cases brought by tenants that included a maintenance claim.
- Outcomes and award amounts were extracted from the published Arabic verdicts.
- A sample of rulings was checked against the original text.
- Award amounts can include more than the repair, such as the deposit and compensation.
- Renewal: Dubai Land Department Ejari records, tenancies that began in 2024.
- Other sources:
- AppFolio 2026 Renter Preferences Report: 3,002 US renters, commissioned by a software company.
- Insurance Information Institute, from ISO/Verisk: US homeowner water-damage claims, 2018–2022.
- Daikin Middle East: AC servicing.
General information about Dubai residential tenancies, not legal advice.