Maintenance playbook
Tenant reports a water leak: stop the damage first
Updated
A leak is the maintenance request where the first ten minutes matter most. A dripping faucet can wait until Thursday; water coming through a ceiling cannot wait until you finish dinner. The first job is to find out which one you have, and the second is to stop the water.
How urgent is it?
OwnAway sorts leaks by what the tenant says: "burst pipe", "water pouring", "flooding", or a ceiling leak files as P0 Emergency (4-hour target, owner paged immediately, safety instructions sent). A "significant leak" under a sink or from an appliance is P1 Urgent (24 hours). A dripping faucet or a running toilet is P2 Routine (72 hours).
- Active flow you cannot stop: P0. Shut-off first, plumber second, owner told now.
- Steady drip contained in a bucket or under a sink: P1. Same-day or next-day plumber.
- Drip from a faucet, toilet running: P2. Batch it with the next plumber visit.
- Water stain but nothing wet now: P2, but get eyes on it — it is either an old stain or a slow leak in the wall.
Send shut-off instructions immediately
First, stop the water: the shut-off for the sink/toilet is the small valve on the wall under it — turn it clockwise until it stops. If water is coming from a wall or ceiling, the main shut-off is [location]. Then send me a photo. I'm getting a plumber now.
If you do not know where the main shut-off is for a property, find out this week. It is the single most useful fact you can text a tenant at 11pm.
What to text the plumber
Hi — Active leak, [under sink / ceiling / pipe], water is [shut off / still running] at [address, unit]. Tenant is [name], reachable at [phone]. Can you get there today? Reply with a window and I'll confirm with the tenant.
Attach the tenant's photo. A plumber who can see the fitting brings the part.
After the water stops
- If a ceiling or wall got wet, get it dried within 48 hours. Mold is a bigger problem than the leak was.
- If the leak came from an upstairs unit, the repair may be that unit's and the damage this unit's. Document both.
- Check whether the loss is worth an insurance claim before filing one; small claims raise premiums.
Questions
Is a leak the landlord's responsibility?
Repairing the plumbing is the landlord's responsibility in nearly every case. Damage to the tenant's belongings usually is not, unless the landlord knew about the leak and did not act — which is why written, timely responses matter.
What if the leak is from the unit above?
Stop the water at the source (the upstairs unit) first, then address the damage below. If the buildings have different owners, notify the other owner in writing the same day.