Who is responsible for pest control in a Dubai rental — me or my landlord?

The answer depends on where the pests are coming from. Under UAE tenancy law, pest infestations that originate from structural issues — cockroaches coming through building drainage systems, termites in structural timber, rodents entering through gaps in building infrastructure — are unambiguously the landlord's responsibility. The landlord is required to provide a habitable property, and a property with a structural pest infestation is not habitable.

Pest infestations caused by the tenant's own behaviour — poor food storage, uncleaned surfaces, leaving food waste exposed — can be considered the tenant's responsibility.

For your specific situation: cockroaches coming through drains in a Dubai apartment building are almost always a structural issue. The building's drainage system is part of the building's infrastructure, not your responsibility to maintain. Your landlord is wrong to claim this is your problem.

What to do: document the infestation with photos and video. Send your landlord a formal written WhatsApp notice stating that you have a cockroach infestation entering through the building drains, that this is a structural pest issue, and that you require treatment arranged within 7 days. If they refuse, file a maintenance complaint with RERA through the Dubai REST app. If the problem is building-wide, your building management also has an obligation to treat shared drainage infrastructure.