Water coming from an air conditioner is normal — it is condensation, and in Dubai humidity a single split unit can produce litres a day. Water coming out of the wrong place is not.
Why it leaks
A blocked drain line. The most common cause by far. Dust, algae and biofilm clog the condensate pipe, the tray overflows, and water finds the ceiling or the wall. In older towers the shared drain stack itself can be partly blocked.
A frozen coil that melts. Ice builds up from low airflow or low refrigerant, then thaws all at once and overwhelms the tray.
A tilted or cracked drain pan. Common in units that have been removed and refitted, or in fan coils over 8–10 years old.
Poor insulation on chilled pipework. In high humidity, uninsulated copper sweats along its whole length. You get drips far from the unit, which makes people chase the wrong fault.
Why it is urgent in a tower
Ceiling voids in Dubai apartments are shared. A slow leak above a gypsum ceiling can soak insulation for days, then drop a section of ceiling — sometimes in the apartment below yours. Once it damages a neighbour, you are dealing with building management, an insurance claim and a liability argument, not a 300 dirham drain flush.
Turn the unit off at the isolator, put a container under the drip, and get it looked at the same day.
Who pays: tenant or landlord?
Dubai tenancy contracts vary, and the split is contractual, not statutory. In practice:
- Routine maintenance and cleaning — usually the tenant, unless the contract says otherwise.
- Major repairs and replacement of failed equipment — usually the landlord.
- Damage caused by neglected maintenance — often pushed back to the tenant.
Read the maintenance clause in your Ejari-registered contract before you authorise expensive work, and keep the invoice and the technician''s written diagnosis. That paperwork is what settles the argument.
What a proper fix looks like
A technician should flush and vacuum the drain line, clean the tray and coil, check the pipe fall, verify insulation and confirm no refrigerant fault is causing icing. A fix that is only "we wiped it and it stopped" will be back within a month.
Prevention
- Service before summer, not during it.
- Clean filters monthly from April to October.
- Ask for the drain line to be flushed at every service — it is a few minutes of work that prevents the most expensive AC-related damage in apartments.
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