In this note
One landlord came to me about unpaid parking fines appearing on his service-charge statement. Months of reminders had gone nowhere. He wanted to know whether eviction was an option.
After reviewing the lease, I advised him to lead with a reimbursement demand. The tenant's obligation to follow the building's parking rules helped his position, provided the fine records could connect the charges to the tenant. Eviction was a much less convincing starting point on those facts.
Then he explained the problem with using the deposit: the fines would consume most of it, and he wanted it available for any legitimate handover deductions. The tenancy had been a long one. He expected work would be needed.
That changed the practical recommendation. Pursue the fine reimbursement now; assess the condition of the property separately. I sent him a draft demand requiring direct payment, without offering the deposit as a payment option. A security deposit already has a job. It does not need every outstanding bill applying for the same vacancy.
A longer clause does not settle the underlying disagreement
In a separate conversation, another landlord asked me for a clause allowing up to 60 days to refund a deposit, and longer if the tenant disputed the deductions. I can see the practical attraction: inspections take arranging, bills arrive at different times and people do not always reply promptly.
But Article 20 of Dubai Law No. 26 of 2007 says the deposit, or its remainder, is to be refunded upon expiry. It does not set a general 60-day allowance.1
So a proposed 60-day clause raises a legal question of its own. Putting a period into an addendum does not establish that withholding is lawful in every circumstance. Nor does the tenant’s silence establish agreement to the deductions.
My reply pushed back on making the whole refund wait for the tenant to agree. The same landlord had also asked what to do when a tenant stopped responding after receiving a deduction statement. I advised sending an itemised account and returning the undisputed balance where payment details were available. If the details were missing, document the request and keep the refund available.
The part you agree is due should be returned promptly. If a final bill is pending, explain that specific issue and seek a documented arrangement. An open-ended hold leaves both parties uncertain.
Years of use will leave a property looking used
The refurbishment question deserves care. Article 21 requires the tenant to return the property in the condition received, with an express allowance for ordinary wear and tear and damage beyond the tenant’s control.1
I made that point to the landlord with the parking fines too. I recommended an inspection, dated photographs and a quote that separated repairs from upgrades. A property needing work does not tell us, by itself, who should pay for every item on the contractor's quote. Years of ordinary use are not a refurbishment fund supplied by the tenant.
Faded paint after ordinary use and a broken door recorded as intact at move-in raise different questions. Those examples are starting points for assessing evidence, not automatic legal classifications. The original condition, length of occupation, cause of the damage and work being proposed all matter.
Articles 16–19 also address maintenance and the respective obligations of landlord and tenant.1 The signed terms belong alongside those rules. I would want a deduction explained in terms of a particular responsibility and a supported cost, rather than a general wish to make the apartment look new again.
A dated inventory and clear photographs are valuable here. They give a later discussion something concrete to return to.
A bill on the owner’s statement still needs explaining
Landlords have also asked me about unpaid utilities and tenant-related charges appearing on their own statements.
The starting questions are straightforward: who incurred the charge, which period does it cover, why is the tenant responsible, and has any of it already been paid? Then there is the separate question of the basis for applying the deposit to that debt.
For a utility bill, the statement and the contractual responsibility need to line up. For a building charge or parking fine, appearing on the owner’s account is not enough, on its own, to establish the tenant’s liability or the right to deduct it.
In the parking-fine case, reading the actual lease mattered. It contained a building-rules obligation, but the utility clause did not expressly cover every kind of parking penalty. My advice depended on the fine records connecting the claim to the tenant's use. A line on an owner's statement is a starting point for that explanation.
The demand I provided kept reimbursement separate from the deposit and reserved any later recovery rights. He now had a draft he could send, alongside a clear list of the evidence to assemble.
Any agreed set-off should appear once in the account, so the same charge is not recovered twice.
The refund should be easy to follow
A deposit statement should let the tenant see the deposit received, each proposed deduction, the evidence, amounts already settled and the balance to return. If an item is disputed, say so.
For illustration, an AED 5,000 deposit with an agreed AED 450 deduction leaves AED 4,550 to return. If the AED 450 is only a disputed estimate, putting it in a spreadsheet does not turn it into an agreed debt.
When the parties cannot resolve a condition dispute, Article 21 refers the matter to the tribunal. The RDC FAQ also identifies a payment-writ route for deposit recovery; the appropriate procedure depends on the claim and its requirements.1, 2
What I take from these conversations is the value of preparing for the end of a tenancy while the evidence is still easy to gather. A clear handover record, an explained bill and a timely reconciliation give both sides a better chance of resolving the deposit without months of unanswered messages.
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Based on real landlord conversations, with questions paraphrased and identifying details omitted. General information for Dubai tenancies governed by Law No. 26 of 2007, as amended; individual contracts and disputes may require legal advice. Sources checked 6–7 September 2026. Arabic prevails if the official English legislation translation conflicts.
Sources
- Dubai Law No. 26 of 2007, Articles 16–21, read with its amendments.
- RDC frequently asked questions: security-deposit recovery and payment writs.