What to do if there's a leak in your home
Spotting leaks at home can be tricky as they’re often hidden. However, it’s really important to act quickly when we find one.
Leaks in your home can happen for lots of different reasons, including ground movement, pipe corrosion, damage to pipes or faulty pipes and fittings.
A leak in your home can impact your bills and cause significant damage to your home and appliances, so it's really important that you find and fix them as quickly as you can.
This page has information about how to check for potential leaks in your home, what to do if you find a leak at home, or if you have received a Waste of Water Notice.
It's really important that you let us know you have a leak at home as soon as you can.
You can keep us updated quickly and easily by contacting us via our online portal, My Account.
There are lots of reasons your internal pipe work can burst, especially during the winter when the weather is cold.
Leaks in your home or within your property boundary are your responsibility to fix. Don't worry, there are a few simple steps you can follow:
#1 Open your meter chamber, remove the polystyrene on top of the meter and any surface water that may have collected in the chamber
#2 To help make sure you're looking at the correct water meter, turn your external stop tap off and turn on the tap inside the property. If no water comes out of your tap, this is your meter
#3 Turn the water back on at the meter and make a note of the meter reading
#4 Don't use any water for the next 30 minutes and then take a reading. If the reading has changed, this indicates water escaping from somewhere
#5 To help find out where and without using any water, turn the water off at the internal stop tap. Wait 30 minutes to an hour, then take another meter reading (a change in the reading could indicate water escaping externally). If there's no change at this step, it indicates water is escaping internally. If you find a potential leak internally, you can do the below checks to try and identify the location.
#6 If there's no change to your water meter reading during the above checks, this means no water is escaping, and there are no leaks
#7 If you find a leak, contact a local plumber to repair it as soon as possible. To find a reputable plumber, go to our dedicated webpage here.
Looking for leaks at home
Toilet:
Dry the back of the bowl with tissue – don’t flush! After 30 minutes, place a leaky loo strip, which you can order for free here(opens in a new tab), across the back of the toilet bowl. Check back in a few hours. If the strip is wet, your loo is leaking.
Taps:
Turn the taps to ensure they are fully off and check for any drips.
Check the pipes behind your bathroom sink.
Shower and bath:
Check for dripping water from the shower head. If possible, check the pipework under the bath for any dripping pipes.
Check your appliances:
Pull out any appliances that use water like your dishwasher or washing machine and check for any visible water trickling out of any of the pipes or connectors.
Loft tank:
If you have a tank in the loft, check the ball valve to make sure it’s not running constantly.
Garden tap:
Check it’s fully turned off and check for drips.
Water Pipe Responsibility
The water mains and pipes in public roads and footpaths are our responsibility.
Pipes not in the road or footpath and all your internal pipework is normally your responsibility (take a look at our diagram). However not all supply pipes are set out in this way.
For example, you may share your supply pipe with a neighbour. It's easy to find out if you do share a supply by checking how many external stop taps are outside your home. These are usually found in the pavement at the property.
If there is an external stop tap outside every home on the street, then each home will have its own supply. If there's only one, you are likely to be on a shared supply with your neighbours.
Both the external stop tap and meter are our responsibility and it's our duty to fix any leaks that might happen here.
The pipe that carries water from the stop tap into your house is called the supply pipe and this is normally your responsibility. In the event of a leak on this pipe or within your property, you may find you are covered by your household insurance policy.
We recommend that you contact an approved plumber by visiting our dedicated webpage here.
I have received a Waste of Water Notice
As you’ve been issued a Waste of Water Notice, this gives you 15 working days to repair the leak from the date this has been given.
If repairs will take longer than this time frame, please communicate this to us by getting in touch, so we can keep your account up to date and prevent us chasing.
If you are unsure on who is responsible for fixing the leak please see the next section on responsibilities of repairs.
For more information on this process, here is our Code of Practice(opens in a new tab).
Who do I contact to repair my leak?
I am the Homeowner
In the event of a leak on your supply pipe or within your property, you may find that you are covered by your household insurance policy. We recommend that you contact your own plumber to carry out the necessary repairs.
A directory of approved, qualified plumbers can be found here.
Alternatively you may have plumbing and drainage cover through HomeServe and can call them on 0330 0247 999.(opens in a new tab)
I am Renting
Repairs will be the responsibility of your Landlord, Letting Agent or Housing Association. Please contact them as soon as possible so they can arrange repairs at the property. If the leak has been ongoing for more than 60 days and repairs have not been scheduled yet, please contact us to provide an update.
It is really important that once we have identified there is a leak at your property we are kept up to date with the progress of the leak repair.
Please contact us via My Account once you have scheduled an appointment for a repair. Any allowances given for the leak will be applied based on the time taken to fix it.
Leak Allowance
If you find and fix a leak in your property you might qualify for a leak allowance, providing you haven't already had a leak allowance for the property previously. This reduces your high bill to cover the cost of water you've lost through a leak. You must be on a water meter to qualify and will need to take a meter reading when the repairs have been carried out.
We also provide extra care and support for customers who need it the most through our Priority Services Register. You can find more about that, including how to sign up here.
What do I do when my leak is fixed?
Please contact us via My Account once the leak has been repaired and provide us with the following:
- The date of repair
- Who repaired the leak
- A meter reading following the repair
If you are unable to take a water meter reading please contact us and we will arrange to take one for you.
Once we obtain a read on repair we can then look into if an allowance is due.
What happens to my bill?
We would like to reassure you that once we are aware of your leak we will place your account on hold and we will not bill you until this has been resolved.
If you have a monthly payment plan this will continue at the same amount you were previously paying whilst we carry out our investigations, so that you are still paying for the water you are using each month. Once the leak has been repaired we will use the latest meter reading to work out your leak allowance if one is due.
If you have had your supply pipe repaired or relayed, you may be eligible for an allowance for part of this, please see details on our Assisted Leak repair scheme in the FAQs below.
FAQ's
We may be able to assist you further so please contact us and we will see how we can help.
If you are on a monthly payment plan, we will continue to take your normal scheduled amount so that you are still paying for the water you are using each month.
If you pay your bill when it is produced then no money will be scheduled to be taken, once we bill you when the leak is repaired you will then have your payment scheduled to be taken.
We’ll agree your average water use and then compare this against the water used during the leak period and can then clear the difference between this and any higher readings taken during the period of the leak.
Any allowances given for the leak will be applied based on the time taken to fix it.
You can apply once the leak has been repaired, simply by taking a meter reading and contacting us.
We will contribute up to £100 towards the cost of repairing the supply pipe so long as you have not already had an assisted leak repair allowance before and you have had the work completed within 30 days.
We will contribute up to £250 if your supply pipe is replaced because of poor condition and we have recommended that it is replaced rather than repaired.
The allowance will normally be applied as a credit on your water account.