Call 911
Call 911if there is immediate danger.
Need something else?
- NYCHA Public Housing Maintenance Complaintto report water leak in NYCHA apartment or building
- Water Leak on Street or Sidewalk
- Sewer Backupfor property owners to report a sewer backup or sewage flooding in a building due to a weather event
- Plumbing Complaint in a Commercial Buildingto report broken or leaking plumbing in a commercial building
Tenants can report a water leak in an apartment or a public area of a residential building.
Property owners can report water leaking into a basem*nt of a building from an outside source other than storm-related rainfall.
Report a water leak in a single apartment of a residentialbuilding, including:
- A damp spot
- A slow leak
- A heavy leak
Before filing a complaint, you should try to resolve the issue with your landlord, managing agent, or superintendent. If you live in a co-op or condo, you should first report apartment maintenance issues to the owner, management company or board before filing a complaint with HPD,as the specific agreements between the coop or condo owner and the board may dictate which conditions are required to be addressed by the board or the unit owner.
What You Need
You must provide your contact information.
What Happens Next
The Department of HousingPreservation and Development (HPD) investigates maintenance complaints and tickets owners who break the law.
HPD will attempt to contact your building's managing agent to advise them that a complaint has been filed and that a violation may be issued if the condition is not corrected immediately. HPD will also attempt to call you back to see if the condition was corrected. If you indicate that the condition was corrected, HPD will close the complaint.
Learn more about HPD complaints and inspections.
Learn more about housing quality and safety issues on the HPD website.
Use HPD Online to check the status of a Service Request and to find complaint and violation history.
Inspections
If it was not corrected or HPD cannot reach you, a uniformed Code Enforcement inspector will be sent to inspect the reported condition. If English is not your primary language, let the Inspector know and they can call a translator to help.
The owner/agent is not notified of the inspection date. Inspectors will also check for the following:
- Non-working smoke detectors
- Non-working carbon monoxide detectors
- Lead-based paint (if there is a child under six)
- Window guards (if there is a child under 11),
- Door locks that require a key to exit
- Self-closing dwelling unit entrance doors
- Mold
- Mice, co*ckroaches, and rats
- Bars or gates on fire escape windows
Housing Court
If you made a complaint and your property owner didn't fix the problem, you can take legal action in Housing Court. Document all contact with your landlord and HPD about the conditions in your apartment so you can use it in court.
To learn more about Housing Court, go to the Housing Court for Tenants and Landlords page.
Additional Assistance
Rent Regulated Apartments
There is additional support available for tenants in rent-controlled or rent-stabilized apartments. To learn more, go to theRent Regulated Apartmentspage.
Housing Rules
For more information about residential property maintenance requirements and tenant rights and responsibilities, use theHousing Rules for Owners and Tenantspage.
Questions or Complaint Copies
Copies of maintenance complaints are available for both Tenants and Landlords. For additional questions about a complaint or to get copies of complaints, go to theHPD Code Enforcement Borough Service Centerspage.
Report a water leakin a public area of a residentialbuilding, including:
- A damp spot
- A slow leak
- A heavy leak
Before filing a complaint, you should try to resolve the issue with your landlord, managing agent, or superintendent. If you live in a co-op or condo, you should first report apartment maintenance issues to the owner, management company or board before filing a complaint with HPD,as the specific agreements between the coop or condo owner and the board may dictate which conditions are required to be addressed by the board or the unit owner.
What You Need
You must provide your contact information.
What Happens Next
The Department of HousingPreservation and Development (HPD) investigates maintenance complaints and tickets owners who break the law.
HPD will attempt to contact your building's managing agent to advise them that a complaint has been filed and that a violation may be issued if the condition is not corrected immediately. HPD will also attempt to call you back to see if the condition was corrected. If you indicate that the condition was corrected, HPD will close the complaint.
Learn more about HPD complaints and inspections.
Learn more about housing quality and safety issues on the HPD website.
Use HPD Online to check the status of a Service Request and to find complaint and violation history.
Inspections
If it was not corrected or HPD cannot reach you, a uniformed Code Enforcement inspector will be sent to inspect the reported condition. If English is not your primary language, let the Inspector know and they can call a translator to help.
The owner/agent is not notified of the inspection date. Inspectors will also check for the following:
- Non-working smoke detectors
- Non-working carbon monoxide detectors
- Lead-based paint (if there is a child under six)
- Window guards (if there is a child under 11),
- Door locks that require a key to exit
- Self-closing dwelling unit entrance doors
- Mold
- Mice, co*ckroaches, and rats
- Bars or gates on fire escape windows
Housing Court
If you made a complaint and your property owner didn't fix the problem, you can take legal action in Housing Court. Document all contact with your landlord and HPD about the conditions in your apartment so you can use it in court.
To learn more about Housing Court, go to the Housing Court for Tenants and Landlords page.
Additional Assistance
Rent Regulated Apartments
There is additional support available for tenants in rent-controlled or rent-stabilized apartments. To learn more, go to theRent Regulated Apartmentspage.
Housing Rules
For more information about residential property maintenance requirements and tenant rights and responsibilities, use theHousing Rules for Owners and Tenantspage.
Questions or Complaint Copies
Copies of maintenance complaints are available for both Tenants and Landlords. For additional questions about a complaint or to get copies of complaints, go to theHPD Code Enforcement Borough Service Centerspage.
Property owners can report water leaking into basem*ntfrom an outside source other than storm-related rainfall:
- Less than one foot of water
- More than one foot of water
If the water is coming from an internal pipe, the building owner is responsible for contacting a licensed plumber to have it fixed.
What You Need
You must provide your contact information so the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) can contact you, if necessary. DEP must have this information to take action on the Service Request.
If your water meter has been upgraded to the Automated Meter Reading (AMR) unit you can sign up to get emails when your water use increases significantly over several days. This will allow you to quickly check potential leaks and fix them before they become a billing problem.
The email does not always mean there is a leak and there could be other reasons for the increase in water use.
If you discover a leak, you should contact a licensed plumber for repairs.
Possible Leak Locations
- Check toilets by looking for water movement in the bowl and the tank.
- If you have refrigerators, air conditioning units or lawn sprinklers, check that they are turned off when not in use.
- Check your water meter to see if the triangle-shaped leak indicator on the face of the meter is moving when no one is actually using water.
Sign up for the DEP Leak Notification Program:
Online
Register or login to My DEP Account.
By Phone
- Agency: Department of Environmental Protection
- Division: Bureau of Customer Services Water Meter Services and Billing
- Phone Number: (718) 595-7000
- Business Hours: Monday: 8 AM - 7 PM; Tuesday - Friday: 8 AM - 6 PM; Saturday: 9 AM - 12 PM
