Water leak: what to do in the first 10 minutes

Breathe. Ten minutes is enough to get it under control.

The answer in 2 lines. Keep everyone away from water that is near sockets or the fuse box. Then turn off the water at your stop tap, usually under the kitchen sink. If the water is coming from upstairs, knock on your neighbour's door or call your landlord or building manager straight away. Only then: mop up, take dated photos and videos, and tell your home insurer as soon as you can. If you rent, tell your landlord in writing too. If you smell gas, get out and call 0800 111 999. If anyone is hurt or in danger, call 999.

The first 3 steps

Turn off the water at your internal stop tap (often under the kitchen sink, near where the pipe enters the house, or in a utility cupboard). Turn it clockwise.
If water may have reached sockets, lights or the consumer unit (fuse box), and the consumer unit itself is dry, switch off the power to that area, or the main switch if unsure. Dry hands, dry floor.
If the water is coming from above or a shared pipe: knock on the neighbour's door and call your landlord, managing agent or housing association.

Stop: danger

Water and electricity: never touch a wet socket, switch or appliance, and do not walk through water near sockets. If the consumer unit is wet or you would have to stand in water to reach it, leave it alone, get out and call 999.
Ceiling bulging or sagging: leave the room and keep everyone out. It can collapse. Do not pierce it yourself.
Smell of gas: do not use switches or flames, open windows, leave and call the National Gas Emergency Service on 0800 111 999 from outside.
Someone hurt or in danger: call 999.

Minute by minute

Minutes 0 to 2: get people away from water near electrics; turn off the stop tap if you can reach it without standing in water near a socket.
Minutes 2 to 5: switch off the power if needed (consumer unit dry); if the water is coming from elsewhere, alert the neighbour above or your landlord.
Minutes 5 to 8: photos and video with the date: the leak, the damage, any wet ceilings.
Minutes 8 to 10: buckets and towels, lift furniture and rugs off the floor, move valuables.

What you can do yourself, and where to stop

A leak on one appliance (washing machine, toilet, tap under the sink) can often be stopped at its own small isolating valve: a screw slot or lever on the pipe. Turn it so the slot or lever sits across the pipe.
Mop up, ventilate, raise furniture, and keep damaged items until your insurer has seen them or says you can throw them away.
Stop there if the pipe is inside a wall or floor, the leak will not stop, or water has reached the electrics. That is a job for a qualified plumber or electrician.

What not to do

Forcing a stuck stop tap with pliers or a hammer: it can snap and make the leak worse.
Switching the electrics back on before a qualified electrician has checked anything that got wet.
Throwing away damaged things before your insurer has seen photos or the items.

Who pays and who to tell

Your home insurer: report the leak as soon as you can, with photos. Check your policy for deadlines and the excess.
If you rent: tell your landlord in writing. In England, landlords must keep water pipes, sinks, baths and toilets in repair (Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, section 11).
Pipes outside your home: your water company usually looks after the pipes up to your property boundary; the supply pipe from the boundary into your home is normally the owner's responsibility (Ofwat).

In your city

Your water company's name and 24-hour leak line are on your water bill and its website, and Water UK has a postcode finder. Call them for a leak in the street, at the meter or at the outside stop tap.

London: Thames Water for most of the city (a few outer areas have a different supplier: check your bill).
Birmingham: Severn Trent.
Manchester and Liverpool: United Utilities.
Leeds and Sheffield: Yorkshire Water.
Newcastle: Northumbrian Water.
Bristol: Bristol Water for the water supply.

In Scotland the supplier is Scottish Water; in Northern Ireland, NI Water.

Good to know

Find your stop tap today and check it turns: see our guide on turning off the water.
Turn the water off at the stop tap if you go away for several days, especially in winter.
Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have their own tenancy laws; the safety steps are the same everywhere.

One Sunday evening in Leeds, Amira hears a hiss from under her kitchen sink: a flexible hose has split. She turns the stop tap clockwise, checks the dishwasher socket is dry, takes three photos and mops up. She tells her landlord by email that night, and a plumber replaces the hose on Monday.

A made-up story, for illustration.

Bobby

Sources, verification, confidence

Verified on 18 October 2026, for England. Confidence: high for the safety steps, the gas emergency number and the split of responsibility for pipes; high for the water companies listed by city (check your bill if you live near a boundary); medium for insurance deadlines, which depend on your policy. This guide describes common cases, not a diagnosis.