Water leaking from the ceiling: what to do right now

Water coming through a ceiling comes from the room above, the pipes in the floor between, or the roof. What you do in the first few minutes decides whether the repair is a painted patch or a new ceiling. We cover what to do right now, how to find the source, who to call, what putting it right costs, and who pays in a rented home or a flat.

What to do when water comes through the ceiling

Work through these in order. The first four stop the damage and make the room safe, and they take a few minutes.

1. Catch the water in buckets with old towels around them, and move furniture and electrical items clear.
2. Turn off the stopcock, clockwise, to shut off the mains water into the house.
3. Switch off at the consumer unit if water is near a light fitting or socket, and do not touch the light switch.
4. Drain any bulge through a small screwdriver hole in its middle, into a bucket, standing to the side.
5. Find the source in the room above, or in the loft for a top-floor ceiling.
6. Photograph everything before you clear up, for the insurer.

Where to find the stopcock

The stopcock is usually downstairs: under the kitchen sink, in a utility room or downstairs cupboard, under the stairs or near the front door. It looks like a small tap on the pipe. In a flat, the building's rising main is usually in the basement or a street-level meter cupboard, and the managing agent or freeholder controls it.

Making the electrics safe

A light switch in a room where water is coming through the ceiling could give you an electric shock, so use the consumer unit instead and leave those circuits off until an electrician has checked any wet fitting. If the consumer unit itself is wet, keep away from it and call an electrician or the electricity network operator.

Draining a bulging ceiling

A ceiling that balloons downwards is plasterboard holding a pool of water. Let out into a bucket, the water does far less damage than when the board gives way. Stand to one side, never underneath, or wait for the plumber.

Is a ceiling leak an emergency?

A ceiling leak is an emergency when the stopcock will not stop the water, when water has reached lights or sockets, or when the ceiling is bulging or sagging. A burst pipe can release 400 to 600 litres an hour, so water you cannot turn off is worth the out-of-hours rate.

If the stopcock stops the drip and the ceiling is firm, the leak is urgent rather than an emergency. An emergency plumber's call-out charge runs £50 to £150 before any labour, while a job booked ahead on a weekday can carry no call-out at all.

How to tell if a ceiling leak is serious

• Sagging or bulging: the board is holding water and can come down.
• Water from a light fitting: the leak has reached the wiring.
• A stain that keeps growing: water is still arriving, even with no drips showing.
• Peeling paint, mould or a musty smell: it has been leaking for some time.

Where the water is coming from

When the water appears tells you most of what you need. Watch the ceiling while someone runs the bath, flushes the toilet or turns the heating on.

Water leaking from the ceiling under a bathroom

Under a bathroom, check the seal before the pipes. Silicone round a bath or shower tray splits with age, grout cracks, and water reaches the floor below every time the shower runs.

A leak left for months can rot the joists and floorboards under the bath or shower. Timber that stays wet in a ceiling void is also where dry rot takes hold, because it starts in wood at about 20% moisture.

Water leaking from the ceiling when it rains

A wet patch on a top-floor ceiling after heavy rain is a roof leak until proved otherwise. Slipped tiles, failed flashing round a chimney and blocked gutters are the usual causes, and a small roof repair costs £150 to £800. A torch in the loft shows one wet area of felt, timber or insulation; leave the roof itself to a roofer.

Water dripping from the ceiling but no leak

A drip with no leak behind it is often condensation in the loft: moist air from below condenses on the cold underside of the roof and drips onto the insulation, worst on cold mornings rather than after rain. A cold water tank with a failed ball valve can also overflow quietly into the loft.

How a plumber finds a hidden leak

When the source is not obvious, a plumber traces it before opening anything, with a moisture meter, a thermal imaging camera, acoustic detection or a pressure-drop test on the pipework. A leak detection survey costs £180 to £380, and reaching a hidden leak under a floor or screed costs £300 to £750.

A good plumber makes the smallest inspection cut the job needs, and a leak reached from the room above may not need the ceiling opened at all. A ceiling that has already bulged or come down is opened anyway, so it can dry before it is replastered.

Who to call for a ceiling leak

• Plumber: pipes, taps, baths, showers, toilets, radiators, the cold water tank and appliances.
• Roofer: a leak that follows rain.
• Electrician: water in a light, downlighter or socket, before that circuit goes back on.
• Plasterer: the ceiling itself, once the leak is fixed and the ceiling has dried.

A ceiling leak call-out in London costs £160 to £480 in 2026, depending on the source, the access and the time of day, with hidden leaks at the top of the range. Outside London the labour part of the bill runs lower.

What a ceiling leak costs to put right

The bill comes in stages: fixing the leak, drying the room, then repairing and redecorating the ceiling. The last stage varies most, and it turns on whether the ceiling was drained in time.

Plastering a ceiling costs 15 to 20% more per m² than a wall, because the work is overhead and slower. An old textured ceiling such as Artex can contain asbestos, so it is tested before anyone cuts out a wet section, at £50 to £350 for the test.

Drying out a ceiling after a leak

A small wet patch dries in 3 to 7 days with the heating on, a window open and a dehumidifier running. Saturated plasterboard can take 2 to 4 weeks of professional drying before it is ready to redecorate.

Start the same day. Mould spores can germinate on a damp surface in 24 to 48 hours, so a ceiling left wet is where black mould starts. Set a dehumidifier below 60% humidity, and choose one that removes at least 5 litres every 24 hours.

A water-stained ceiling that has dried out and stayed firm is a decorating job. New plaster on a patch needs 1 to 2 days to dry before painting, and a reboarded and skimmed ceiling needs 4 to 5 days.

Does home insurance cover a ceiling leak?

Home insurance usually pays for the damage a sudden escape of water causes, such as drying out and reinstating the ceiling. It typically does not pay to repair the failed pipe or seal, and a slow leak that went on for weeks is usually excluded. A roof leak is judged the same way: storm damage is covered, wear from age is not.

To claim for both the fix and the damage, ring the insurer before paying for repairs, because some insurers want to assess the damage first. Home emergency cover, an optional add-on, pays towards the plumber's call-out and repair, typically up to £500 to £1,500 per incident, for about £80 to £200 a year.

Leak from the flat above or in a rented home

If the water is coming from the flat above, knock and ask the neighbour to turn their stopcock off, or call the managing agent or freeholder if nobody answers. In England, a neighbour whose carelessness caused the leak pays for the damage, and your contents insurance may cover your belongings.

If you rent, tell the landlord in writing straight away, with photos, and keep paying the rent while you wait. What the landlord has to repair depends on the nation.