When you move into your first rental or experience your first emergency as a tenant, it can be difficult to discern whether you’re actually experiencing an emergency or just need to put in a maintenance request and wait for a fix. A maintenance emergency is not always clear cut, either—sometimes something that normally would not count as an emergency does under certain circumstances. Below is a general breakdown of what you can reliably count as maintenance emergencies.
Common Maintenance Emergencies
There are a few things that, in any circumstance, warrant either a 911 call or an immediate call to your landlord or maintenance crew. A good rule of thumb is that, if your life or the lives of those you live with are in danger, call 911 immediately. Once you’ve talked through the instructions with your 911 operator, help has arrived, and the situation is no longer dire, you should call your landlord if they have not already been notified and explain the situation.
Here are a few situations that will always count as maintenance emergencies.
Lack of Electricity
If your unit is without power, take a moment to look in the hallway or at the windows of neighboring units to see if you are the only one experiencing this outage or if the outage is more widespread. If you are seemingly the only one without power, call your maintenance crew and explain the situation. This should be treated as an emergency, since electricity is something you use frequently and need to go about your day-to-day life.
However, if the issue seems to be more widespread, call your local utility company and see if your area is experiencing outages. In this case, your landlord can’t do much to remedy the situation, and you will have to wait for power to be restored.
Lack of Water
Not having fresh water in your unit is a serious issue. Water is a necessity for daily life, and your landlord should have your unit’s water restoration at the top of their priority list. If this problem isn’t resolved within a reasonable timeframe, tenants should explore legal action, since your landlord is required by law to supply enough hot water to their tenants.
Carbon Monoxide and Natural Gas Leaks
Carbon monoxide can creep into your living space in a variety of ways. Your water heater, furnace, car, and clothes dryer all have carbon monoxide in them and could cause a leak. Carbon monoxide is poisonous and odorless, so it’s extremely important that your carbon monoxide detectors are always up to date. If you feel symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning like chest pain, dizziness, or a rapid heart rate, and have reason to believe your unit is experiencing a carbon monoxide leak, exit the premises immediately and dial 911. Carbon monoxide poisoning can be lethal in large doses.
Natural gas is also incredibly dangerous, as it can cause explosions or carbon monoxide poisoning. Thankfully, utility companies add a chemical called mercaptan to natural gas so it smells like rotten eggs and can be detected easily. If you think you are experiencing a natural gas leak, turn off the gas line and appliances and leave the property. Dial 911 and follow the operator’s instructions for next steps.
Fire
This may be obvious, but open flames or large amounts of smoke in your apartment is definitely grounds for a 911 call. Fire can cause widespread damage to your unit and to the units around you, not to mention the danger to you and your neighbors that fire poses. Evacuate the property as soon as possible and get help.
Flooding
Many things can cause flooding. A broken water line, a nearby sewer back-up, or a leaky roof are all potential sources of damaging amounts of flooding. Flooding can be extremely dangerous, as it poses an electrocution risk whenever there is standing water in your unit. Also, your belongings can sustain water damage, so getting help as soon as you can is the best way to manage this issue.
Non-emergencies
Anything that is not listed above but poses a substantial risk to your health or the wellbeing of the property is enough to warrant an emergency call to your landlord. It can be tough to figure out what is considered a maintenance emergency, but if you follow that rule of thumb, you have a low likelihood of being wrong.
Maintenance problems that do not fit into this category are being locked out of your unit, a burnt-out lightbulb, a leaky faucet, or rowdy neighbors. You can file a non-emergency maintenance request or call your landlord during business hours to discuss these things, but it’s important not to file something mundane as an emergency, since it takes time away from those who are experiencing something serious. However, if you follow the guidelines above and only issue an emergency request when it’s posing harm to you or the property, you shouldn’t have to worry.
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