Rental and commercial slab leaks
Rental and Commercial Slab Leak Repair Services in Texas
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A slab leak in a rental, a duplex or a small commercial building raises questions about who approves the work, how occupants are told and how to keep operations running. Call and we’ll connect you with a local Texas crew for rental and commercial slab leak repair.
Tell us about the building and we’ll connect you with a local crew.
First steps for an owner or manager
- Get the report in writing. Ask the tenant or staff for photos, dates and what they noticed.
- Check the meter. With water off in the unit, see whether it moves. For buildings with several units, check each submeter, if any.
- Close the shutoff if water is surfacing, and tell occupants.
- Call for detection. The technician isolates lines and locates the leak.
Working with tenants
- Give notice before entry, as your lease and Texas law require.
- Tell tenants when water will be off, and for how long.
- Explain what the technician will do, and when.
- Note any damage to belongings and who to contact.
Check your lease and local rules. This site does not give legal advice.
Describe the unit and the signs.
Approvals and scope
A leak under a slab is typically an owner’s repair. Agree who approves the work, the limit on spending and the choice between spot repair, rerouting and repiping. If a building has leaked before, see repeat slab leaks.
Commercial buildings
Commercial slabs differ. Lines are often larger, there may be more fixtures and shutdowns affect revenue. Plan the work around business hours where it is possible, and ask the technician about temporary water arrangements. Check your lease for who is responsible for lines under the slab.
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Keeping records
- Dates of reports, tests and repairs
- The technician’s findings and photos
- Invoices and the workmanship guarantee
- Notices sent to tenants
A record shows what was done and when, to owners, managers and future buyers.
A local crew knows how buildings in your area are usually plumbed.
After the repair
Drying and cleanup are handled by restoration companies. Flooring replacement is a flooring contractor’s job. See after a slab leak repair.
Describe the signs you have seen.
Duplexes and multi-unit buildings
In a duplex, fourplex or small strip of units on one slab, a supply line can run under more than one unit. The unit with the visible sign is not always the unit above the leak. A warm floor in one apartment can come from a line that serves the neighbor.
Start with the meters. If each unit has a submeter, close the fixtures in one unit at a time and watch which dial moves. If there is only a master meter, the technician isolates lines by section instead. See water meter leak check for the basic steps.
Plan notices for every affected unit, not only the one reporting the problem. Water may need to be shut off to a whole row of units while a line is isolated, and tenants need to know when and for how long. Keep one person as the point of contact so access, scheduling and updates go through a single channel.
Access and scheduling in occupied units
In an occupied unit, the visit works better when the tenant knows what to expect. Tell them roughly how long the crew will be inside, that water will be off for part of the visit, and which rooms the technician will need to reach. Many tenants also want to know whether the floor will be opened on the same day. Usually it will not, because locating and repairing are separate steps.
Agree on who will meet the crew. If the tenant will be there alone, give them a name and number to call if a question comes up about approvals. If the owner or manager will attend, confirm the time with the tenant in writing so there is no confusion.
Water use in the unit should stop before testing starts. A running washing machine or a tenant showering upstairs can mask the readings and lengthen the visit. In shared buildings, the crew may need to know which units share a supply line before testing begins.
Keep the tenant informed after the visit too. A short note on what was found and when the next step is planned avoids repeated calls.
Vacant and between-tenant properties
A vacant property is often the easiest time to locate and repair a slab leak. There is no one to schedule around, furniture is out, and the floor can be opened without disrupting anyone.
There are a few things to arrange first. The water needs to be on at the meter for testing, and the water heater should be filled and working if the hot side is suspected. If the utility account has been closed, reopen it before the visit. Leave a key or lockbox code with whoever is meeting the crew, and make sure the meter box can be reached.
A leak in a vacant house can run for a long time unnoticed, so a high bill on an empty unit is worth acting on quickly. Some owners ask for a leak check during every turnover, especially on older properties, to catch problems before the next tenant moves in.
Planning across several properties
Owners with more than one slab property often see the same pattern repeat. Houses built around the same time, by the same builder, on the same kind of soil tend to have similar pipe and similar weak points.
Keeping a simple record for each property helps. Note the build year, the pipe material, the date and location of each leak, the repair chosen, and who carried it out. Over time this shows which properties are on their second or third leak and may be better candidates for rerouting or repiping than for another spot repair. See repeat slab leaks.
Planning ahead also helps with timing. A repipe or reroute is much easier to schedule during a vacancy than while a tenant is living in the unit. If a property has had several leaks, it may make sense to plan the larger job for the next turnover rather than wait for the next emergency.
For commercial buildings, keep the plumbing drawings with the property records if you have them. They make locating faster and help any contractor understand the layout before the slab is touched.
Giving notice and keeping tenants informed
Check your lease for how much notice it requires before entering a unit for repairs, and give at least that much when the situation is not urgent. When water is coming up through the floor, explain to the tenant why the crew needs to come sooner. A short written note with the date, the time window and the name of the company keeps things clear. After the repair, tell the tenant whether any follow-up visits are planned and whether they need to keep any area clear while the floor is restored.
For multi-unit buildings, tell neighboring tenants as well if water will be shut off to shared lines. A notice on each door the day before is usually enough. Give a time window and a number to call with questions.
Rental and commercial slab leak questions
Usually the owner, depending on the lease. Check yours.
Give written notice, say when water will be off and explain what is being done.
Often, with planning. Ask the technician about water arrangements.
Check each unit’s meter or submeter with water off.
Yes, as owner. A technician can explain the options.
Yes. Keep invoices, findings, photos and notices.
Check the meter and call for detection.
A restoration company.
An attorney. This site does not give legal advice.
Get the property’s leak looked at
Call and we’ll connect you with a local technician who works with owners and managers.
Same-day and emergency response in many areas.