If water is coming through right now, stop reading and turn off the stopcock. Come back once the water is off.
Everyone has an opinion. Your lease has the answer. Five steps to pinpoint who is liable before you spend a penny or argue with the upstairs neighbour.
See the 24-hour checklist →Information only. Not legal advice. Always take professional advice before acting.
Before you open your lease or argue about liability, do these six things. They protect your position later, even if it turns out someone else has to pay.
Turn off the stopcock. In a flat, it is usually under the kitchen sink or near the front door. If you cannot reach yours, knock on the flat above or call the managing agent out-of-hours number.
Video the water actually coming through, close-ups of the damaged ceiling or wall, and wide shots of each affected room. Photograph damaged contents with today's newspaper or a phone showing the date in-frame.
If the leak is from above, the priority is making it stop, not arguing about fault. Be polite. Many leaks are accidents. Document the conversation in a follow-up text or email.
Email beats phone. Subject line: "URGENT: active water leak at [flat number]". Attach photos. Ask for (a) the building insurer's details and (b) confirmation of the escape-of-water excess. Keep the email as your timeline anchor.
Most building insurance policies require prompt notification. Logging a claim is not the same as accepting liability. Your contents insurer may also want to know. Do both on day one.
Emergency plumber, dehumidifier hire, alternative accommodation, replacement of damaged items. If any of this is recoverable from insurance or from whoever turns out to be liable, you need the receipts to prove the loss.
⚠️ Do not: admit liability, sign anything an adjuster puts in front of you, or agree to pay the excess before you have checked your lease. The liability work below can wait until tomorrow. The water-off and photos cannot.
Where the water came from is not the same question as who is liable. Liability depends on what the lease demises to each leaseholder, what the building insurance covers, and whether anyone was negligent. Most of the time the person upstairs is not automatically on the hook, and the insurer is not automatically paying everything.
Whether the water comes from a flat above, a shared riser, or the roof changes who is responsible. Your lease defines what's yours and what's the freeholder's through the demiseThe "demise" is the part of the building your lease grants you possession of. It typically includes the interior surfaces of your flat but excludes the main structure, roof, and shared services. Boundaries vary between leases..
Building insurance may cover the damage, but your lease may also contain clauses about who bears the excess or uninsured costs. You need to check both documents.
Most leases define what's "demised" to you versus "retained" by the landlordCommon patterns: the flat interior (plaster, floor coverings, internal pipes) is usually demised. The main structure, roof, external walls, and shared risers are usually retained by the landlord. But there is no standard and each lease is different.. This boundary, which varies from lease to lease, can affect who is responsible for maintaining and repairing different parts of the building.
If a leaseholder carries out plumbing work without consent and damages a pipe, they can be personally liable under common law negligenceUnder English tort law, a leaseholder owes a duty of care to avoid damaging neighbouring properties through their actions. Unauthorised alterations that cause water damage create direct personal liability, regardless of lease boundaries. The Defective Premises Act 1972 may also apply.. Lease boundaries do not shield a leaseholder from liability for damage they caused through their own fault.
Escape of water is one of the most frequent causes of insurance claims in residential blocks. Disagreements about who pays can take months to resolve if the lease clauses aren't clear from the start.
Five steps to pinpoint liability. Do them in order. Or upload your lease and ask LEASE-iQ.
Is water coming from the flat above, a shared riser pipe, the roof, or an external wall? The physical source determines the legal liability path. Take photographs and note the damage location.
Your lease should define what's demised to each leaseholder versus retained by the freeholder. This boundary varies between leases - check yours carefully, as it affects who is responsible for pipes, walls, and structure.
Get a copy from your managing agent. Does it cover "escape of water"The standard insurance term for water damage caused by leaks, burst pipes, or overflowing tanks. Most buildings insurance policies cover this, but the excess (the amount you pay before the insurer pays) varies widely and has been rising in recent years.? What is the excess? Who pays the excess: the individual unit, or is it charged back to all leaseholders?
Some leases contain clauses about how the insurance excess is allocatedThere is no default legal rule on who pays the excess. Some leases charge it to the leaseholder who caused or reported the claim. Others spread it across all leaseholders via the service charge. Some are silent, which creates disputes. LEASE-iQ can check what your specific lease says.. For example, whether it falls on a specific leaseholder or is spread across all leaseholders via the service charge. Not all leases cover this, but where they do, it matters.
Take photographs, note dates, and keep copies of all communication. Your lease may contain clauses about access to other flats for inspection or repair. Your managing agent and insurer will need a clear timeline.
⚠️ Important: Water leak disputes can take months to resolve. If you believe costs are being allocated incorrectly, having the specific clause references from your lease strengthens your position. Always seek professional advice before taking action.
Upload your lease. Ask:
Use this to formally ask your freeholder or managing agent to confirm who is responsible for the leak. Copy the text, fill in your details, and send by email. Keep a copy.
Want LEASE-iQ to pre-fill this with the exact clauses from your lease? Try it free →
Escape of waterThe insurance industry term for water damage from leaking, burst, or overflowing pipes, tanks, and appliances. It accounts for roughly 28% of all household insurance claims in the UK and costs insurers an estimated £1.8 million per day in payouts. is the single biggest driver of building insurance claims. In leasehold buildings, every claim pushes up the service charge for everyone.
Repeated claims can lead insurers to impose higher excesses or exclude water damage entirely - leaving the building uninsured for its most common risk.
If you're a director of an RTM, SoF, or management company, a water leak isn't just a personal problem - it's a management one. You may need to coordinate between leaseholders, the insurer, and the managing agent.
Does the building insurance cover escape of water? Who submits the claim - the affected leaseholder or the managing agent?
Check your lease for clauses on how the excess is allocated. This can vary between buildings and may need a board decision.
You may need to facilitate access between flats for investigation. Document all steps and communications carefully.
Repair costs may need to be recovered through the service chargeLTA 1985, s.18. Service charges must be reasonable and for costs properly incurred. If you charge repair costs through the service charge, leaseholders have the right to challenge them at the First-tier Tribunal.. Check what your lease permits before committing expenditure.
BLOCK-iQ helps directors track insurance renewals, maintain compliance records, and manage building obligations in one place.
See how BLOCK-iQ works →Upload your lease (any age, any format). Ask a question in plain English. Get a clause-cited answer in seconds - not hours of reading.
See how it works →Not sure where you stand? Talk to us.
Water leaks in leasehold buildings get complicated fast. We have dealt with exactly this at Hafer Road.
Email us →Water leak disputes are boring until they are yours. These are the three moves that matter.
Most water leak disputes resolve at the lease-check or evidence stage. If they don't, you have a clear statutory escalation path. Use it in this order.
Cite the lease repair clause, the date you reported the leak, and the period of inaction. Give a deadline (14-21 days) to respond. See action templates →
If still no action, a pre-action letter from a solicitor (or a well-drafted leaseholder letter) often unlocks movement. State your intent to apply to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) for a determination.
The Property Chamber can make a binding determination on liability and order works. Application fee from £100. See tribunal guide →
If the freeholder is liable for the leak under the lease and refused to act, the FTT can order them to cover repair costs and may award reasonable application costs. The threat of an application is often enough to unlock action.
Read the tribunal guide →