Short answer
The same failure means different things depending on who is dealing with it. A landlord needs to know who authorises the work. A home buyer needs to know what it will cost them after closing. A second-home owner needs to know what happens while nobody is there. These pages organise the same subject around that difference.
Whatever the situation, the question worth establishing before anything else is who can authorise work, because that is where delay turns into damage: in an owner-occupied house it is you; in a rental it is the owner or manager, not the tenant reporting the problem; in a condominium it may be the association if the failure sits on a common element; in a commercial lease it is set by the lease terms rather than by where the water happened to appear. Choose the page that matches how you relate to the property, and the specific access, authorisation and timing questions that page raises are the ones actually worth answering first.
Choose your property situation
Homeowners and condominium owners
Get help with urgent leaks, no heat, drains, hot water and comfort as well as planned replacements. In a condominium, first identify whether the affected pipe, drain, vent or equipment serves one unit or more than one unit.
Landlords, managers and multifamily properties
Fast decisions depend on the affected unit count, responsible contact, tenant access, building shutoffs, shared systems and spending authorization. Plumbing and HVAC remain separate service scopes even when one event affects both.
Buyers, sellers and property projects
A targeted plumbing or HVAC evaluation can add information beyond a general home inspection. Sewer cameras, equipment condition, repair estimates and replacement planning should each have a clear scope and written findings.
Vacant homes and businesses
Occupancy, access, freeze protection and operating hours change the service plan. Identify who can enter the property, who may approve work and what systems must remain operating while repairs are planned.
Two different ways to find what you need
Help is organized along two axes, because people arrive knowing different things. Some know their situation, they are a landlord, or buying a house, and some know only the symptom. Both routes lead to the same specific pages.
| If you know… | Start here | Because |
|---|---|---|
| Who you are in the situation | These pages, below | Responsibility and authorisation differ more than the repair does |
| What the building is | The building-type pages | An 1890s converted duplex and a 2015 subdivision house fail differently |
| What you are seeing | Find service by symptom | Symptom routing gets you to the right trade fastest |
| Which town the property is in | Service areas | Water source, wastewater and access change by address |
| Only that it is urgent | Emergency plumbing or no-heat repair | Stopping the loss comes before identifying it |
What changes by situation
The technical work is often identical. What changes is who decides, who pays, who has access, and how quickly a delay becomes expensive.
- Landlords and property managers: authorisation, tenant access, shared systems, and turnover timing
- Home buyers and sellers: what to inspect before closing, and what a finding actually costs to resolve
- Second homes and vacant property: nobody is watching, so monitoring matters more than equipment
- Businesses and commercial property: shutting water or heat off may mean closing, and the lease decides responsibility
- Older and historic homes: mixed pipe generations, no ductwork, and discovery behind walls
- Lakefront and camp property: seasonal open-up and close-down, exposure, and high water tables
- Student and tenant rentals: the person who notices is rarely the person who can authorise
- Multifamily and mixed-use: how many units show the symptom is the diagnosis
The one question that cuts across all of them
In an owner-occupied house it is you. In a rental it is the owner or manager, and the tenant reporting the problem cannot approve the repair.
Common questions
Do you work with homeowners and landlords?
Yes. Homeowners, landlords, managers, authorized tenants, condominium owners and business contacts can request service for a listed property.
Can one request include several units?
Yes. State every affected unit and whether the problem appears to involve a building-wide pipe, drain, boiler, water heater or ventilation system.
Can I request work before buying a property?
Yes, with the owner’s permission and access. State whether you need diagnosis, camera work, equipment evaluation, a repair estimate or replacement planning.
Do you help seasonal or vacant properties?
Yes. Include occupancy, winterization status, heat setting, water-shutoff location, alarm information and the person who can provide access.
Are commercial plumbing and HVAC the same service?
No. They are separate scopes requiring the appropriate plumbing, drain, heating, cooling or controls capability. Submit the primary problem and describe any connected work.
I am a tenant. Can I request service myself?
You can describe the problem and location, and doing so promptly is worth it. But the owner or property manager normally authorises work and is billed for it, so tell them at the same time. The delay between someone noticing and someone with authority acting is where most rental water damage happens.
I am buying a house. What should I check?
Age and condition of the water heater and heating equipment, the water source and wastewater system, whether the plumbing runs through unheated spaces, and, where the property is on an older sewer lateral or a septic system, whether a camera inspection or septic inspection is warranted before closing rather than after.
My property is empty for the winter. What matters most?
Pick one of two plans and execute it fully: keep it heated with a monitored temperature sensor, or drain the water system completely. The expensive outcome is neither: heat left on with nobody watching, where a failure runs for days before anyone notices.
Who is responsible in a condominium?
It depends where the failure is, not where the water appears. Unit-side piping and fixtures are normally the owner's; risers, mains and shared equipment usually are not. Stop the water first, then involve the association before authorising work that may cross that boundary.
My building is mixed use. Does that change anything?
Substantially. Where a commercial kitchen shares a building drain with apartments, grease can restrict the line the residential units depend on, and the lease may assign the interceptor to the business while the building drain stays with the owner. Say the building is mixed use. Nobody would check the interceptor otherwise.