Flooded kitchen, waterfall on ceiling: UAE tenants fight continuous leaks in villas and apartments – News

Residents were urged to stay home this weekend in anticipation of bad weather. While some enjoyed their books and a hot chocolate on a rainy Saturday morning, others were not so lucky.

Some expats woke up to a nightmare at home: flooded kitchens, bedrooms and bathrooms.

They rushed to get large towels to place near the door to keep the water out. Some placed buckets in their kitchens to collect water that drizzled from the ceiling.

French expat Christine Quartier La Tente became extremely frustrated watching rain pouring down the roof of her house.

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Their balcony became a pond gushing through the pipe.

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“It is a real struggle for tenants and landlords. We are constantly sealing windows and waterproofing roofs more than once, and even then, new leaks continue to appear, often due to structural problems,” Christine said. “Locating and fixing these problems takes time; It takes many rainy seasons to prove it. everything and fix it.”

The expat, who lives in Dubai’s Damac Hills 2, lamented that tenants often have to bear the burden of fixing up a house that does not belong to them.

“[They have to deal with repairs] that the owners are not willing to cover. A friend of mine even leaves her house at the end of her rental year because of these persistent problems,” Christine said.

Since it would be some time before a maintenance crew could get in, Christine came up with a creative way to collect water from the ceiling. She taped a string through which water could flow directly into a bucket.

Jumeirah resident Ninu Hyder had to deal with a puddle of water in her kitchen for the first time.

“My kitchen floor isn’t sloped enough, so the water kept pooling,” she said.

“I was in the kitchen for over an hour with the windshield wiper trying to wring out the water. Then I spread some towels on the floor. Luckily, it has stopped now.”

Lesson learned

Soobi Shine, a resident of Falconcity of Wonders, dreads the cleanup work she had to do after the rain.

“My whole yard is flooded and there’s water everywhere,” he said. “The rain has been falling incessantly. I think it will be a few days before I can completely clean up the mess.”

However, Soobi is grateful that the water did not enter his house.

“Due to several previous rains, we learned our lesson,” he said. “We have a waterproof coating on our roofs and unclogged our drains during the last train. That is why now we are quietly enjoying the rain,” he added.

Ahmed Waqas, a resident of Al Majaz in Sharjah, complained of having to deal with leaks again and again.

“It’s pretty frustrating to discover a leak in my apartment every time it rains,” Waqas said.

“Despite my efforts to address the issue, recurring leaks have become a source of constant concern. Finally, with today’s rain, we managed to find the root cause. “This affected both my living conditions and my peace of mind,” she added.

“I have spoken to the owner to resolve this issue and will finally do so soon,” Waqas added.