Report a leak

Small facts that speed things up

None of the following is compulsory, but each item cuts down on guessing. Name the room or storey where the water appears. Say whether it arrived suddenly or crept in over days, and whether the damp patch grows when a particular tap, the shower or the heating runs.

Find your stop tap and note if it is closed now. A mark on the ceiling or wall of the flat below, or of the house next door, is worth a line too, because it hints at which side the water comes from.

The postcode is there so we can tell if the property is within reach of our visits. That is all the location the form needs, so there is no box for a full street address. Whatever you write in the optional box is read by our team and never put on the site.

What you are booking

A visit establishes where the water is getting out and puts what was found in a written report. Its price is given before anyone comes to the property. If you then want the fault mended, that is quoted separately and in writing, so the detection price never grows into a repair bill by stealth.

An early message makes the search simpler. A faint stain follows a short path back to its source, while a soaked room has had time to hide it. The wording you choose also tells whoever phones you where to begin.

Signs that point to a hidden leak

A concealed leak rarely makes a scene. Look for a stale, earthy smell in a cupboard or under stairs, paint that bubbles or peels, floorboards or laminate that give slightly underfoot, skirting that lifts away from the wall, and a faint hiss or trickle at night. A boiler that has to be topped up repeatedly is another candidate, as is a water bill that rises while the household stays the same size.

Readers with access to a water meter can try a simple check. Write the reading down, switch off every tap and appliance for a short spell, then read it again. If the number has changed, water is going somewhere. Put both readings in the optional box so that the caller has hard figures.

Flats, tenancies and managed blocks

In a purpose-built block the source can be a neighbour’s pipework or a shared riser, and a freeholder or managing agent may need to hear about it. Say whether you are the owner, a tenant, or looking after the place on someone else’s behalf, and whether the water might be coming from above or from the side. It lets the team judge early on who has to be brought in.

Dated photographs help. A stain photographed over a few days shows whether it is spreading, and it is simple to describe when the team calls back with questions.

How much to write

Brief and concrete is best. Something like “brown ring on the lounge ceiling beneath the upstairs bathroom, bigger since Tuesday” tells the team more than a page of background. Add whatever you have already tested or excluded, so no one repeats it.

When you cannot tell what sort of fault you have, leave the menu as it is and describe what you see. The team would rather read your account than a category that does not quite fit.

A last look before sending

Glance at the phone number once more, since one wrong digit is the most common reason a reply goes nowhere. Also make sure the postcode is that of the leaking property rather than the address you happen to be writing from, if the two differ.

Prefer email? The address appears in the privacy policy and the terms. Whichever route you take, the same three facts are useful: where the water shows, how long it has been visible, and whether anything electrical is close.

After your message arrives

Someone from the team reads what you sent and gets in touch on the number or email address you left. They will probably want to confirm where the water is showing, check whether it can be stopped at the stop tap, and agree a day for the visit. Because the detection price is fixed, there is no estimate of hours to negotiate at that point.

On the day, the visit follows the order described on the how it works page: the instruments the leak calls for are used one after another until the source is pinned down, and the findings are written up for you. If you would like the leak repaired, that is a separate conversation with its own written quote.

People worth telling

A leak seldom stays one household’s concern. Neighbours below or beside you may already have noticed damp, a managing agent may hold plans of the shared pipework, and an insurer will want to know before work is carried out. Telling them early costs nothing and tends to avoid disputes later about who knew what and when.

If you are insured, look at your policy for the wording on escape of water and ask whether it includes cover for finding the source. The answer decides who pays for the search, so it is worth having in writing before the visit.

Getting into the property

Locating a leak sometimes means moving furniture, lifting a carpet corner or opening a boxed-in pipe. If you know where the stop tap, the meter and the boiler are, say so in the optional box, and mention anything that might get in the way, such as a locked cupboard, a loft with no ladder or a neighbour who holds the key to a shared riser.

Anyone aged eighteen or over who can let the team in and answer a few questions will do. It need not be the owner, provided the owner has agreed to the visit.

Containing it in the meantime

With the leak still running, close the stop tap, shift belongings out of the wet zone and set a bucket or towels beneath the drips. Do not go near sockets, light fittings or appliances that the water could reach, and leave electrical equipment alone.

A few situations are bigger than this: a ceiling bulging with water, wet electrics, or a smell of gas. With gas, get everyone out and phone the gas emergency line. With water around electrics, stay clear and note that on the form.