Who handles mold removal in a Dubai rental: tenant or landlord?« Back to Previous Page

Excellent question, and a very common situation here in Dubai's humid climate, especially in areas like JVC with constant AC use. This is a crucial health and safety issue, particularly with your children showing symptoms.

Legally, the responsibility typically falls on the landlord to address and rectify issues related to the building's structure and essential systems, which includes the root cause of the mold. In your case, the persistent mold behind a wardrobe strongly suggests a hidden water leak from a pipe within the wall or, more commonly, a significant condensation issue caused by the AC system itself—perhaps poor insulation on the cold water lines or an incorrectly balanced HVAC unit causing excessive sweating. These are structural or mechanical failures, making it the landlord's obligation to investigate and fix the source.

However, as a tenant, you are responsible for reporting the issue promptly and allowing access for inspection and repairs. You should formally notify your landlord or property management company in writing immediately. Describe the visible mold and your health concerns. They should engage a professional to first identify and stop the moisture source.

Crucially, the actual mold remediation should NOT be a DIY job. Disturbing it yourself can aerosolize toxic spores, drastically increasing your family's exposure and potentially contaminating your entire apartment. Proper removal requires containment, industrial-grade HEPA filtration, and specific antimicrobial agents.

For a situation like yours with health symptoms already present, I strongly recommend an independent professional inspection to assess the severity and provide a report. This protects you and ensures the landlord's contractor addresses it completely.

If you need immediate professional guidance or testing, don't hesitate to call our team at 800-MOLDS (800-66537) or email hello@saniservice.com. We can provide a detailed assessment to present to your landlord.