Water travels before it shows. A stain in the middle of a ceiling can trace back to a pipe two units over. We follow it from where it appears to where it entered, and confirm it has stopped before any drywall or paint is booked.
A leak coming from the unit above
Water on the ceiling, a stain that keeps spreading, a tenant sending photos every hour. The first job is not the drywall. It is finding the pipe the water came from.
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Find the source, then fix the ceiling
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An active leak is an emergency
Water coming through a ceiling or wall now is handled as an emergency entry, without waiting on a 24 hour notice. This website is not an emergency line: emergencies go to our intake by phone or text, answered 24/7.
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Who is responsible depends on the building
In a condo, the pipe that failed is maintained by whoever the Act and the declaration put it on: usually the owner for a supply line inside a suite and the corporation for a common riser or stack (section 90, and section 91 lets the declaration move the line). Repairing the damage it caused is the corporation's job under section 89 unless the declaration moves it. Where an act or omission in a unit damaged that unit, the corporation adds the lesser of the repair cost and its insurance deductible to that unit's common expenses (section 105), and a by-law can widen that. In a purpose built rental under one owner, section 20 of the Residential Tenancies Act puts the whole building on the landlord.
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The record an insurer asks for
- As foundThe ceiling or wall the moment we arrive, dated.
- The sourceThe pipe, fitting or fixture that let the water in.
- The repairThe source fixed, then the drywall and paint once it is dry.
The report also records when the leak was reported and when it stopped, which matters as much as the repair when a claim goes to either unit's insurer.
To send the job, request work.
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Questions
Who pays for a leak from the condo unit above mine?
It depends on the source and the declaration. The pipe that failed is maintained by whoever the Act and the declaration put it on, usually the owner for a supply line inside a suite and the corporation for a common riser (section 90). Repairing the damage it caused is the corporation's job under section 89 unless the declaration moves it. Where an act or omission in a unit damaged that unit, section 105 adds the lesser of the repair cost and the corporation's insurance deductible to its common expenses, and a by-law can widen that. We record where the water entered, so responsibility follows the source.
What if it is a purpose built rental, not a condo?
Section 20 of the Residential Tenancies Act makes the landlord responsible for the building's state of repair, so a leak in the building's own plumbing is the landlord's to fix, whichever unit it started in.
Do you repair the ceiling as well?
Yes, on the same job, once the source is fixed and the ceiling has dried.
Will the report stand up to an insurer?
It is built to the standard insurers and adjusters ask for, with dated photos of the damage, the source and the repair, and when the leak was reported and stopped.
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Sources
Get started
Send us the leak before the drywall
Send the unit, the photos and when it started, and we trace the source before anyone quotes a ceiling.
- Tell us what you manageThe buildings, the trades you use today and where it hurts.
- We reply with a planHow residents reach us, your approval limit and how the record comes back to you.
- Start with one jobJudge us on the report and invoice it closes with.
