My Dubai apartment has no hot water - is it the landlord's problem or mine?

This is a clear case of landlord responsibility under Dubai tenancy law. A functioning hot water system is considered essential to the property being fit for its intended use. If the water heater was present when you moved in and has failed due to age or normal wear and tear, your landlord is legally required to repair or replace it.

This is governed by Law No. 26 of 2007 and its amendments, which place the responsibility for maintaining structural and essential systems on the landlord.

Notify your landlord in writing straight away. WhatsApp is acceptable as it creates a timestamp, but email is better for formal documentation. Give them a reasonable repair window. For hot water, seven days is reasonable given it affects daily living.

If they do not respond, you can file a complaint through Dubai's Rental Dispute Settlement Centre via the Dubai REST app. The process is straightforward.

If you need the repair done urgently and the landlord is genuinely unresponsive, you can arrange the fix yourself and deduct the cost from rent, but only after serving proper written notice, waiting a reasonable period, and keeping all receipts. Do not do this without following the correct process or it could affect your legal position.

Exceptions: if the heater is a unit you installed yourself, if you caused damage through misuse, or if your lease explicitly assigns appliance maintenance to the tenant.

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