A water damage notification is something no independent landlord wants to get. However, once your tenant lets you know about a minor drip or a burst pipe, it’s a race against time, and you need to act fast to prevent the issue from escalating into mold, structural damage, expensive repairs, and unhappy tenants.
This guide breaks down what to do the moment a tenant notifies you about water damage, so you can know exactly who to call, what to inspect, and how to minimize damage. It will make the difference between a simple fix and a major expense.
Landlord’s Step-By-Step to Deal With Water Damage
Step 1 – Be Quick and Diligent
As soon as your tenant tells you there’s water damage in the property, assume it’s an emergency, even if it sounds like something minor. However, your first goal isn’t fixing the problem yet, but instead gathering information, containing the damage, and keeping your tenants calm. Here’s how to start:
- Reply Quickly: Even if your tenant’s notice comes late at night, a quick response shows them you’re taking the issue seriously and prevents panic or guesswork on their end that could make things worse. Even a simple “I’m on it” will buy you time and reassure the tenants.
- Ask for Photos and Videos: Visuals help you assess the severity of the damage before arriving on-site, and will let you assess if it’s a contained leak, or if it’s an emergency case in which the water is spreading through the property.
- Get the Key Details: Asking the right questions to your tenants is essential to triage the situation. From our experience, these will give the information you need:
- When did they notice it?
- Is the water still leaking or flowing?
- How large is the affected area?
- Is it near outlets or appliances?
- Has anything been soaked (floors, walls, furniture)?
With detailed documentation and your tenants’ information, you can determine the severity of the urgency: Is it a small and contained leak that a scheduled plumber visit can fix, or is it an active issue, with water flowing and spreading, that needs immediate intervention?
- Give Contingency Steps to Your Tenant: While you’re arranging the action plan, give your tenant some instructions to contain, minimize damage in the property, and ensure their safety. The specific instructions will vary depending on the severity of the damage, but some staple instructions are:
- Stopping the water flow by shutting off the local or main water valve (If it’s safe to do so);
- Turning off the electricity in the area.
- Moving belongings away if possible;
- Use buckets or towels to contain dripping water.
In case the ceiling near the area is sagging, or if there’s black water, tell them to stay away and wait for help.
Step 2 – Inspect the Property
Going to the property as soon as possible is part of the fact that water damage demands immediate attention, and it will protect you legally and prepare you for insurance. Take your own photos and videos of the leak source, the standing water, and any damage to the property structure and tenant belongings.
Next, determine who’s responsible for the damage. In Alberta, you’re legally responsible if the leak is due to:
- A burst or leaking pipes due to normal wear and tear;
- Roof leaks caused by structural damage.
- If any of the appliances you provided is the source of the leak and the tenant isn’t at fault for the malfunction;
The legislation states that landlords’ main responsibility is to ensure the property is in habitable condition at the start and during the tenancy, that’s why if the water damage falls under your responsibilities and the unit becomes uninhabitable, your tenant may be entitled to a reduction in their rent for the period they can’t use the space.
On the other hand, the tenant is responsible for the damages when:
- It’s proven that they failed to report the issue on time, allowing it to get worse.
- They were negligent or misused the property’s appliances. For example, misusing plumbing fixtures or appliances in a way that causes water damage, leaving a tap running or a bathtub overflowing and causing flooding, or leaving the windows open during the winter, causing frozen pipes that eventually burst.
- A tenant’s guest causes the damage;
Once you gather the evidence and determine that your tenant is responsible for the damage, you can:
- Deduct repair costs from the tenant’s security deposit (Keep in mind that to be able to deduct, you must present the inspections’ findings when you transitioned between tenants, in addition to the damage documentation.)
- Apply to the Residential Tenancy Dispute Resolution Service (RTDRS) to recover additional costs, or if you don’t have all the documents to deduct from the security deposit.
Step 3 – Mitigate the Damage
Now it’s time to take action and solve the problem. While there’s no universal solution, as it will depend on your property’s specific circumstances, one certainty we do have is that mold will start growing in 24 to 48 hours, so you need to act fast. These are some of the most common mitigation and repair works to tackle water damage:
Dry Out the Affected Area
This goes beyond mopping, as just making it look dry on the surface is a sure way to have more trouble in the future. Hidden moisture left behind can lead to mold, humidity odours, quickly deterioration of the materials, and repeat maintenance calls weeks later.
After checking again if it’s safe to be in the affected area, here’s how you should dry it out:
- You can remove any standing water with a wet & dry vacuum if the damage is contained. For large amounts, you should call a professional to use commercial equipment to pump out the water.
- Open all doors and windows to keep the air circulating, and use fans and dehumidifiers to speed up the process. At this stage, you must be aware that the room has moisture-laden air lingering; this type of air is saturated with water vapor and fosters mold growth, so airing the room isn’t just about fans running randomly, it’s about pushing the wet air out of the room by creating a strategic airflow. Here’s how:
- Use High-Velocity Fans: Position high-velocity fans or air movers to move air across wet surfaces, pointing them towards the windows and doors to expel the wet air, and towards wet walls, floors, furniture and ceiling to reach the moisture that accumulates in the room.
- Pull the Water Out of the Space: Put the dehumidifiers in the center of the room and use one per 500 sq ft (about 46 m2) of the affected area, and empty the water tanks every 8 to 12 hours.
- Remove Any Wet Materials: Rugs, insulation and padding.
- Don’t Forget Hidden Moisture: The wall cavities can retain moisture like a sponge, and water can penetrate through the paint even if it looks and feels dry. You can bring airflow and dry out the wall cavities by lifting the baseboards. These are cheap, easy to remove and reinstall, and will let you look for signs of hidden damage.
For larger, soaked areas or in case of flooding, professionals sometimes drill small holes near the floor or behind the drywall to ventilate cavities and patch them up when they’re dry.
Get Rid Of Damaged Materials
Not everything can be saved. Some materials permanently lose strength, get deformed or become contamination risks once saturated with water. Trying to dry and keep some of all materials may be cheaper now, but you’ll have to replace them later anyway. The most common items you’ll have to replace include:
- Wet drywall and insulation
- Carpets and carpet underlayment
- Laminate flooring
- Warped hardwood
- Swollen baseboards
- Particleboard cabinets or vanities
As a rule of thumb, if it’s soft, swollen, warped, or smells off: replace it. New materials not only protect the structure and guarantee the repair is successful, but also reassure tenants that the unit is truly safe and habitable.
Step 4 – Call the Professionals (If Necessary)
We want to emphasize that while some water damage repairs are DIY-friendly, when plumbing, electrical systems, or structural elements are involved, bring in licensed professionals. Paying for an expert repair now can save you from liability by meeting the building code requirements, provide warranties, and are often required for insurance claims.
Step 5 – Follow Up
Checking in with your tenant after the repair work is done is a small action that pays off. Water damage is sneaky, and even the best of contractors can miss a minor area with a slow leak or lingering moisture, that’s why asking your tenants if they see or smell anything off in the following post-repair days will help you not only to confirm the repair solved the water damage, but to catch small issues that may cause more expenses in the future, and to show your tenants your professionalism.
In Closing
Handling water damage with a clear plan and proactive action will make the difference between a quick fix and a major repair of thousands of dollars. Following the steps we gave you in this blog, we’ll be fundamental to not only protecting your property but to save you time, money, and your peace of mind.
As we mentioned in the first part of this series, handling water damage is a joint effort between tenants and landlords, and how they react shapes their relationship. Proactive landlords who are communicative, act fast, and take repairs seriously build trust. Tenants who feel heard and supported are more likely to report issues early instead of waiting or ignoring them, and early reporting is essential to avoid expensive damage and conflicts. In other words, good management practices and habits create good tenant behaviour.
