Fixing damages to an apartment caused by water leakage when the tenant was absent

Hi Raluca,

I'm facing a problem with my landlord and I hope you can assist me.

While I was away on business (for 5 days), the water heater tank in my apartment broke (through no fault of mine) and caused leakage damage to my apartment and two apartments below mine.

My landlord is saying that the cost of the damage caused (approx. AED 15,000) should be paid by me because I was absent from the apartment during the time of the leakage and thus responsible for it.

As you can imagine, I am contesting this. The lease states that the landlord is responsible for maintenance repairs of over AED 500, except where they are caused by the tenant.

If you could assist me, that would be much appreciated.