No renter wants to encounter water leaking in your rental home! However, if you do discover a leak, you can take steps to improve the situation. To guarantee you contribute to the solution, here’s what you should do when there’s a leak in your rental home.
Turn off the water supply
If you see or hear water coming from somewhere it shouldn’t, your first action is to turn it off at where it comes from. If the leak comes from a faucet or appliance, you can shut off the water simply by turning the handle or powering it off.
However, if your leak is more serious than that, it is necessary to shut off the main water supply to the house. To accomplish this, locate your water main shut-off valve. This may be in a basement, utility room, or outside the home. After that, with a wrench and some pliers, turn the valve until the water stops flowing.
Contain the leak and minimize water damage
After turning off the water, the following action is to mop up any water leaking or accumulating on the floor, under cabinets, or elsewhere. Utilize old towels and a mop to minimize the water’s spread and dry cabinets, table legs, and other wood.
If your carpet or rugs are soaked, utilize towels to soak up as much water as possible. After that, open the windows and turn on many fans to dry the rug quickly. Leaving a wet carpet to sit may result in mold and permanently damage any furniture that sits on top of it.
Notify your landlord or property manager
Once you’ve got the water flow under control, it’s critical to call your landlord immediately. Your landlord needs to know what happened and what you did in order to address the problem.
Water leaks must be addressed as soon as possible, or they can cause serious damage. If you delay dealing with the issue, you may be held liable for those damages. By calling your landlord, you can work jointly to have the leak repaired and get any other damage in the home addressed.
Simple checks and maintenance tasks to avoid leaks
The final action in dealing with a water leak in your rental home is to implement good prevention. Once you’ve determined what caused the leak, you should take steps to prevent a repeat of the same incident. If possible, protect your drains and pipes from excessive temperatures, obstructions, and other typical disasters.
You can also do your best to stay on top of regular maintenance issues and notify your landlord if you notice signs of a developing problem. You may assist prevent water leaks in your rental home by making repairs before the pipe collapse.
Real Property Management Upstate can help you locate a new home to rent in Onondaga County or the neighboring areas. Please explore our available rentals to find out more and schedule a viewing.
We are pledged to the letter and spirit of U.S. policy for the achievement of equal housing opportunity throughout the Nation. See Equal Housing Opportunity Statement for more information.
