Guide

What to do if you have a water leak in your Paris apartment

A leak that seems small can get expensive fast — both in damage and in the paperwork that follows. Here's what actually matters in the first few minutes, before the plumber even arrives.

1. Turn off the water at the stopcock

In most Paris apartments, the stopcock (robinet d'arrêt) sits under the kitchen sink, in a hallway cupboard, or near the water meter if you have one inside the flat. Turning it clockwise shuts off the water supply to your apartment and is usually the single most effective thing you can do before help arrives. If you can't find it, don't waste time searching — call first and we'll talk you through it.

2. Cut the electricity near the leak, if it's safe to

If water is dripping near a socket, light fixture, or any electrical appliance, switch off the relevant breaker at your consumer unit (tableau électrique) rather than risk touching anything live. If you're not sure which breaker does what, it's safer to switch off the whole apartment than to guess.

3. Contain what you can, but don't overdo it

Towels, buckets, and moving anything valuable out of the way are all sensible. Trying to open up a wall or ceiling yourself to "find the source" usually isn't — leave that to the plumber, who'll know where to look without causing more damage than the leak itself.

4. Take photos before anything gets cleaned up

If the leak has caused visible damage — a stained ceiling, warped flooring, damage to a neighbour's flat below — photos taken before cleanup matter for any insurance claim or conversation with a landlord. In France, water damage between neighbours or floors is often handled through a formal process called a constat amiable dégât des eaux (a standard shared insurance form) — your insurer or building manager can usually provide one if needed, but it's not something you need to sort out in the first five minutes.

5. Call an English-speaking plumber

Once the water's off, the urgency drops — but the leak still needs a proper diagnosis and repair. Our Burst Pipe & Water Leak page covers what typically happens once a plumber arrives, including how pricing is confirmed before any work starts.

Why this comes up more in some parts of Paris

Older buildings tend to see this more often, simply because the pipework is older. It's a particularly common call in areas with a lot of pre-Haussmannian or early Haussmannian housing stock — the 8th arrondissement and Le Marais among them — where original risers are still doing the job a century or more later. That's not a reason to worry, just a reason a leak here is rarely a total surprise to the plumber who shows up.