Who pays for AC repair in Dubai — tenant or landlord?

This is the most argued-about maintenance question in Dubai renting, and the honest answer is: read your contract. Dubai tenancy law lets the parties allocate maintenance responsibility between them, so the clause in your agreement is what governs.

The common split in practice

Usually the tenant: filter cleaning, routine servicing, minor consumables, and anything caused by misuse or neglect. Many contracts also make the tenant liable for repairs under a stated threshold — AED 500 or AED 1,000 is typical.

Usually the landlord: major repairs and replacement of failed equipment — compressors, fan coil units, motors, and structural or ducting issues, plus anything that was already faulty at handover.

Contested: refrigerant leaks, drainage blockages and water damage. These sit in the grey zone because both neglect and equipment age can cause them.

How to protect yourself

1. Read the maintenance clause before you sign, and get any threshold amount stated in numbers.
2. Do a handover inspection. Photograph every unit, run each one, note the date, and email the agent. An AC that never cooled properly from day one is not your liability.
3. Keep every service invoice. Proof of routine maintenance is what defeats a "tenant neglect" claim.
4. Get the diagnosis in writing. A technician''s report saying "compressor failed due to age" is worth more in a dispute than any phone call.
5. Notify in writing before authorising major work, unless it is an emergency. Many contracts require landlord approval above a threshold, and unapproved spend is hard to reclaim.

If cooling is centrally supplied

In many Dubai towers and master communities, cooling comes from a district cooling provider and is billed separately, with consumption and capacity charges. In that case the in-apartment fan coil and thermostat are typically the landlord''s equipment while the chilled-water supply is the provider''s responsibility — and a "no cooling" fault may be neither, but an unpaid or disconnected account. Check the account status before you book a technician.

If you cannot agree

Dubai has a formal rental dispute process through the Rental Dispute Settlement Centre. It is rarely worth it over a service call, but it exists for larger repair and habitability disputes. Bring the contract, the invoices, the written diagnosis and your email trail.

A practical note

Whoever ends up paying, the fastest path is a clear, documented diagnosis. When you request a technician through us, the request captures the property type, the symptom and the history, and you get a written record of what was reported and when.

This article is general information about common contract practice, not legal advice. Check your own tenancy contract and take professional advice for a dispute.