We regularly get calls from tenants with a leak, and then I have to give an answer nobody likes: I am not allowed to do anything about it without an instruction from the owner. Not because I do not want to, but because the person who pays is also the person who gives the instruction.
What you can do, and in what order, is set out below. This is not legal advice, but the practice as I come across it every month.
Who is responsible for what
The roof itself is the landlord’s. Maintenance and repair of the structural parts, including the roof, the gutters and the lead work, belong to the owner. That applies to housing associations and to private landlords.
Reporting and limiting damage is the tenant’s. You must report the leak as soon as possible and take reasonable steps to limit the damage. Waiting can be held against you.
Your own belongings are for your contents insurance. Damaged furniture, electronics and floor coverings fall under your own insurance, not the landlord’s.
In a flat, the roof goes through the owners’ association. The roof is a shared part. Report it to the owners’ association or the managing agent, even if you own your flat.
“In a rented home, the most important thing to do is not to call but to write. A report on paper is your whole case file.”
Fouad, owner of Astrodak Service
What to do today
Report it in writing. By email or through the portal, not just by phone. State the date, what you see and where. Keep the email you sent.
Take dated photos. Of the stain, of the attic if you can get to it, and of your damaged belongings. Take photos again if it gets worse.
Limit the damage. Catch the water, move things out of the way, switch off the circuit if water is near electrics. See
temporary sealing.
Set a deadline. With an urgent defect you can expect a short response time. If the landlord does not respond, repeat the report in writing and refer to the first one.
A leak? Do not let it spread.
A leak you leave for a season usually costs ten times as much in follow-on damage. Call or send a message: you will get an answer today, from me personally, not from a scheduler.
If the landlord does nothing
If a housing association does not respond, there is an internal complaints procedure and after that the Rent Tribunal (Huurcommissie). With a private landlord you can ask the Rent Tribunal for a rent reduction because of a defect. In both cases your dated written report is the most important document in the file.
Hiring a roofer yourself and passing on the bill is usually not a good idea without consultation, because a landlord is not bound to pay costs he did not order. The exception is an acute emergency measure to limit damage, and even then with written notice in advance.
What we do for owners and owners’ associations
If you are a landlord yourself or a board member of an owners’ association, this is exactly the kind of problem where speed saves money. We come and look the same day, make the roof watertight and provide a report with photos that you can use to justify the costs to a tenant, a meeting or an insurer.
What a landlord can expect from you
The responsibility works both ways. You are expected to report a defect as soon as you see it, to take reasonable steps to limit damage, and to give the landlord or his tradesperson access to fix it.
If you do not, part of the consequential damage can be charged to you, even though the roof is not yours. That is an annoying rule and it is exactly why a dated written report is the most important piece of paper you have.
Frequently asked questions about leaks in a rented home
