Orpington Landlords: Who Pays for a Leak in a Rental?

If you let a house or flat in Orpington, fixing leaks is your job as the landlord, and that includes the supply pipe under the garden or drive up to your boundary. Thames Water puts it plainly: “If you rent your property, your landlord is responsible for fixing leaks.” Shared drains serving two or more properties have been Thames Water’s since October 2011, but a drain serving only your let, inside its boundary, is yours. Act quickly, because Thames expects a known leak on your side fixed within four weeks, and because most of the damage in a let happens in the first hour, before anyone knows where the stopcock is.

What the landlord is responsible for

As a rule of thumb, everything that carries water to, around and away from the property is yours to keep working:

• Internal plumbing: pipes, tanks, cylinders, taps, toilets, baths, showers and their waste pipes.
• The supply pipe: the pipe from the boundary (usually the outside stop tap or meter) into the house. Thames Water says you are responsible for “the supply pipe under your garden and driveway”.
• Private drains: the drain that serves only your property, inside its boundary.
• Heating and hot water: radiators, pipework and cylinders. Gas boilers and appliances need a Gas Safe registered engineer and an annual gas safety check, which we do not provide.

Your tenant is expected to use the place sensibly, report problems promptly and not cause damage. If a tenant blocks a toilet with wipes or leaves the heating off in a freeze and a pipe bursts, you can discuss recharging them, but the repair still needs doing quickly. In general law, section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 puts the repair of installations for the supply of water on the landlord for most residential lets, whatever the tenancy agreement says.

What is not yours

• Public water pipes under the road and pavement: Thames Water.
• Shared drains and sewers: since 1 October 2011, drains serving two or more properties, and drains serving one property but lying outside its boundary, are the water company’s.
• The neighbour’s leak coming into your property: their responsibility, though your insurer may deal with it.

If you are not sure whether a blocked drain is yours or shared, Thames Water’s rule of thumb is: if only your property is affected and there is no shared drain, it is likely yours; if neighbours are affected too, report it to Thames Water.

How fast do you need to act?

Emergencies (water pouring, no water, a toilet that cannot be used in a one-toilet home): the same day. The cost of a fast call-out is almost always less than a ruined ceiling and a tenant in a hotel.

Slow leaks and drips: quickly, and in writing. Thames Water says once you know about a leak on your side, you must fix it within four weeks. If the property is metered and you fix it in time, you may be able to claim a leak allowance for the lost water.

Damp and mould from a leak: treat it as urgent. Damp complaints that are ignored become bigger disputes.

Orpington lets: what tends to go wrong

Orpington’s housing shapes what fails:

• Post-war houses and bungalows at Ramsden, Goddington and Green Street Green: copper laid in screed corroding after sixty years, so a boiler that keeps losing pressure or a warm patch on the floor.
• 1930s semis towards Crofton: heating pipes buried in the front-room floor, bathrooms over kitchens, and a lead supply under the front path.
• Chelsfield and Downs-edge houses: long underground supply pipes and loft tanks that freeze first.

Orpington’s water is hard, about 291 mg/l in the Thames Water Orpington zone, so cylinders and toilet valves scale up faster than tenants expect.

Set up every let before winter

A short checklist that saves a lot of calls:

• Show the tenant where the stopcock is at check-in, and test that it turns.
• Leave a one-page “water off” sheet: stopcock location, how to turn it, the consumer unit, and our number.
• Lag loft and garage pipes, and fit a cover on any outside tap.
• Ask tenants to keep the heating on low if they go away in cold weather.
• Fit isolation valves on toilets and under sinks so one leak does not shut the house down.
• Agree in writing what a tenant may authorise in an emergency if they cannot reach you.

Licensing

Bromley Council applies mandatory HMO licensing to larger shared houses (five or more people forming two or more households). A 2021 council paper found that borough-wide additional licensing could not be applied in Bromley at that time. Rules change, so check Bromley Council’s current HMO licensing page before you let to sharers. For how a borough with wider licensing handles it, see our guide for Sydenham landlords and HMO leaks.

Insurance

Landlord buildings insurance usually covers escape of water damage, and many policies include trace and access, which pays to find a hidden leak. The worn part itself is usually not covered. Our insurance help page explains the report we write for insurers.

When to call

Call us when a tenant reports water through a ceiling, a burst pipe, a meter that will not stop, or no water at all. We cover water leaks in Orpington and leak detection in Orpington, and we can speak to your tenant directly to arrange access.

Need a plumber now?

Call 07868 281022 and tell us the postcode, what is leaking, whether the water is off, and the best number for the tenant. We agree the price with you before any work starts.