Who Is Responsible for a Water Leak?

Start outside. The water company owns the water main in the road and the communication pipe that runs from the main to the boundary of your property. The boundary is usually marked by an outside stop tap or meter in the footpath or just inside the garden. If a leak is on the main or the communication pipe, it is the water company's to repair, and you should report it to them. A wet patch in the pavement, or water running along the gutter in dry weather, is usually on their side. Water appearing in your front garden or under your driveway is more often on yours.

From the boundary stop tap into the house, the supply pipe belongs to the property owner. So does every pipe inside: the cold mains, the hot water, the central heating, the underfloor heating and the bathroom and kitchen pipework. A leak anywhere on that run is the owner's responsibility to find and repair, even where the pipe is buried under the driveway or the water company's meter sits on it. The water company will not normally repair a private supply pipe. Buildings insurance, under trace and access and escape of water cover, is where the cost usually falls, subject to the policy wording and its limits.

Many older terraces and some semis have a shared supply pipe. One pipe leaves the main, passes under several gardens and feeds two or more houses before it reaches yours. Where that happens, the owners of all the properties served by the pipe are normally jointly responsible for the shared section, and each owner for the branch into their own house. A leak on a shared pipe can show up as low water pressure in several homes at once. The first job is to establish which section is leaking, because that decides who pays. A detection survey is the practical way to do it without digging up every garden on the row.

In a rented home the general position is that the landlord keeps the water supply, heating and sanitary installations in repair. The tenant is responsible for reporting problems promptly and for any damage they cause themselves. A hidden leak under a floor is therefore normally the landlord's to deal with. The tenant's job is to report the symptoms as soon as they appear, such as a boiler losing pressure or a damp patch that keeps coming back. Tenancy agreements can add to that, so check the agreement. We work for landlords, letting agents and tenants, and the report goes to whoever instructs us.

In flats the answer depends on the lease and on where the pipe is. Pipes that serve only your flat are usually your responsibility once they branch off, and pipes that serve the whole building are usually the freeholder's or the management company's. A leak from the flat above is normally that owner's to repair, with the damage to yours dealt with between the two insurers. The difficulty is that water travels, and a stain on your ceiling does not say which pipe it came from. A detection report shows exactly where the leak is and which pipe is leaking, which is the evidence that settles the question. This page is general guidance only, not legal advice.