Tenant-Side · Maintenance · Access Record

Landlord not fixing maintenance? Build the repair record.

“Maintenance” can describe anything from a minor consumable to a serious building-system failure. A useful tenant file identifies the exact fault, contractual allocation, notice given, access offered, response, attempted repair, continuing condition and any urgent safety action.

Describe the fault precisely

Avoid a one-line message such as “maintenance not done.” Record:

• affected room, system or appliance;
• first date observed;
• photographs or video;
• effect on use of the property;
• whether water, electricity, cooling, access or safety is affected;
• action already taken; and
• whether the condition is changing or recurring.

For an emergency or immediate safety risk, contact the appropriate building, utility or public emergency route first. Do not wait for an administrative review.

Read the contract and property records

Collect the tenancy contract, Ejari, addenda, inventory, move-in condition report, building-management rules and maintenance clauses. Record what each document says about landlord, tenant, property manager, facilities manager or service-provider responsibility.

Do not reduce the issue to a universal monetary threshold. Contract wording, the nature and cause of the fault, common-area responsibility and applicable law may matter.

Prove notice and access

Build a dated log showing:

• report sent to the landlord or manager;
• channel and recipient;
• photographs or report attached;
• reference number;
• reply or proposed appointment;
• dates and times access was offered;
• attendance, diagnosis and work completed; and
• whether the fault remained or returned.

If access was not possible, record why and offer reasonable alternative dates. If the landlord or manager disputes responsibility, preserve that response.

Preserve expenditure separately

If the tenant paid for inspection, emergency protection or repair, keep the quotation, approval request, invoice, proof of payment and evidence of the work. Do not assume the expense is automatically recoverable or deduct it from rent without case-specific advice.

Consider the correct recipient

The landlord may not be the only relevant operational party. Depending on the fault, the property manager, facilities manager, developer, owners’ association manager, utility or insurer may hold part of the record. Identify each party without turning a factual request into an unsupported allegation.

RDC route

Unresolved landlord-tenant maintenance disputes may fall within the RDC’s jurisdiction, but the claim, evidence, requested order and urgent relief require case-specific assessment. The current first-instance filing service requires the tenancy and supporting records to be organised and documents to be in Arabic or legally translated.

Frequently asked questions

Is the landlord responsible for every repair?

Do not assume so without checking the contract, type and cause of the fault and applicable law.

Can I arrange the repair and deduct the amount from rent?

That may affect contractual and legal rights. Obtain case-specific advice before changing payment conduct.

What if the landlord says access was refused?

Preserve every proposed appointment and response. Offer reasonable documented access where safe.

What evidence is most useful?

Dated condition evidence, the maintenance clause, notice and ticket records, access history, technical reports and invoices.

Can Dispute.ae inspect the defect?

Dispute.ae is not a technical expert. It can coordinate an independent inspection if separately agreed.