By Abdullah Al-Mutairi · Published
In Kuwait, the landlord is legally responsible for major repairs that keep a rental unit habitable — including a failed AC compressor or a leaking water tank — while the tenant usually covers small, routine upkeep like filter cleaning, based on Decree Law No. 35 of 1978 and the lease wording. With air conditioning driving close to 70% of Kuwait's peak summer electricity load, skipping pre-season servicing risks compressor failures, flooded ceilings, and tenant disputes.
The law sets a default split, but the signed lease usually decides the real answer. Under Article 7 of Decree Law No. 35 of 1978 (and Article 581 of the Civil Code), the landlord maintains the structure and main facilities affecting the tenant's beneficial use of the unit — for a building with a central chiller or central AC system, that includes compressor faults and outdoor unit breakdowns.
Article 12 puts customary minor repairs on the tenant: cleaning or replacing a wall-unit's small filter, fixing a weak faucet leak, changing light bulbs, clearing drain blockages caused by everyday negligence. Both articles let the parties "agree otherwise," and in practice many of Kuwait's unified investment-apartment leases shift full internal AC upkeep onto the tenant, excluding only the building's core structure. This is exactly the question behind one of the most common Arabic-language searches on Kuwait's property forums each May, من يتحمل صيانة التكييف المالك أم المستأجر ("who bears AC maintenance costs, the landlord or the tenant") — and the honest answer is: check the lease clause first, then fall back on the law if the lease is silent.
Book servicing in March or April, before the heat load hits, not after the first 45°C day exposes a weak unit. A technician should work through every split or central system on the property while parts and appointments are still easy to get.
Villas carry a heavier checklist than apartments because they typically run several split units plus a dedicated rooftop tank serving the whole house rather than one shared building system. Our Villa for Rent in Kuwait: Complete Tenant Guide lays out what tenants expect a landlord to keep running in that setup.
Kuwait has no single enforced cleaning interval, but most property managers clean rooftop and underground tanks at least twice a year, timing one cleaning right before summer. Kuwait's extreme sun exposure raises the water temperature inside an uninsulated rooftop tank far faster than in milder climates, which accelerates algae and bacterial growth and leaves sediment that strains the building's pump.
During that pre-summer visit, a landlord should also check the tank's lid, seals, and insulation for cracks or looseness that let in dust and heat, and arrange chlorination alongside the physical cleaning. A tenant reporting discolored or odd-smelling water is flagging a habitability issue the landlord is responsible for under Article 7, not a complaint to defer until the next scheduled visit.
Name who calls the technician, who pays, and how fast a failure gets fixed in summer — a lease silent on these points falls back to the Civil Code's general split, which is vaguer than either side wants when a unit breaks down in July. Specify a response window (48 hours is reasonable for a summer AC failure), name which party selects and pays the contractor for central-system faults versus unit-level ones, and define what counts as tenant negligence — never cleaning a filter, for instance — versus normal wear the landlord absorbs.
It also helps both sides to know the remedy if a landlord doesn't act: Article 8 lets a tenant, after written notice, carry out urgent or low-cost repairs and deduct the documented cost from rent, or seek approval from the Judge of Urgent Matters for larger, non-urgent jobs before deducting the invoice. Tenants signing in Kuwait's investment-apartment market should weigh this clause against what's typical before committing — our Apartment for Rent in Kuwait: A Complete Renter's Guide covers what a fair lease usually includes.
A routine AC service and tank cleaning cost a small fraction of an August compressor replacement or a water-contamination complaint, and a documented service history helps a unit both rent faster and hold its value. Units with that record tend to move quicker among properties for rent in Kuwait, since tenants increasingly ask about cooling and water history before signing, and the same documentation supports value if the owner later lists that unit among properties for sale in Kuwait.
Landlords who also run a seasonal chalet in Khairan face the identical calculus on a tighter calendar, since high season there arrives fast once the heat sets in — see Booking a Chalet in Khairan: What to Ask Before Paying for the cooling and water questions renters will already be asking before they pay a deposit.
Is the landlord or tenant responsible for AC maintenance in Kuwait?
Under Decree Law No. 35 of 1978, the landlord covers major faults — compressor failure, central chiller issues, outdoor unit breakdowns — while the tenant handles small items like cleaning or replacing a wall unit's filter. Many Kuwaiti leases override this default and shift full internal AC upkeep to the tenant, so the specific clause in the signed contract decides the actual split in most buildings today.
Can a landlord deduct AC repair costs from the security deposit?
Only if the damage goes beyond normal wear and resulted from tenant negligence, such as never cleaning filters or ignoring a drain blockage that caused the unit to fail. Ordinary compressor aging or a central-system fault isn't a tenant cost, and deducting it from the deposit without documented evidence of misuse invites a dispute the landlord is likely to lose.
What should a tenant do if the landlord won't fix a broken AC or leaking tank?
Send written notice and give the landlord reasonable time to respond. If nothing happens, Article 8 of Decree Law No. 35/1978 lets the tenant carry out urgent, low-cost repairs and deduct the documented cost from rent, or seek approval from the Judge of Urgent Matters for larger, non-urgent jobs before deducting the invoice.
How often should a rental property's water tank be cleaned in Kuwait?
There's no single enforced interval, but most property managers clean rooftop and underground tanks at least twice a year, with one cleaning scheduled right before summer. Kuwait's heat speeds up algae and bacterial growth inside exposed tanks, so landlords should also check lids, seals, and insulation during that visit rather than waiting for a tenant complaint about taste or odor.
Does AC maintenance affect how fast a rental unit leases in Kuwait?
Yes. Units with a documented service history and a reliably working system attract tenants faster and avoid the vacancy gaps that mid-lease AC disputes create, especially during peak summer months when demand for move-in-ready apartments and villas rises sharply across Kuwait's rental market.