How do I turn off the water in my Paris flat?

Find your stopcock (robinet d'arrêt) and turn it clockwise to shut off the water. In a Paris flat it's usually under the kitchen sink, in the bathroom, in a cupboard or near the water meter (compteur d'eau). If you can't find one inside the flat, there is often a main valve on the landing or by the meter for the building's riser (colonne montante). Shutting the water off is the single most important thing to do while the plumber is on the way — it stops the flow, limits the damage and protects the neighbours below.

Water is coming through my ceiling from the flat above — what do I do?

A leak from upstairs (a dégât des eaux) is one of the most common emergencies in Paris buildings. Move furniture and valuables out of the way, put buckets and towels down, switch off electrics in the affected room if water is near them, and try to reach the neighbour above so they can stop their water at their stopcock. Then call us — we can send a plumber to trace and stop the source. Because more than one flat is involved, you'll also want to notify the building manager (syndic) and your insurer for the dégât des eaux claim.

How fast can a plumber reach me for a leak?

We answer 24 hours a day and dispatch the nearest available vetted plumber, so help often reaches you within the hour in central Paris — day or night. We give you a realistic time estimate on the call. The faster you shut off the water at the stopcock, the less damage there is by the time the plumber arrives, so do that first and then phone us.

How much does it cost to fix a burst pipe or leak in Paris?

It depends on the job, but most emergency call-outs in Paris fall in the €90–€250 range, with a higher rate at night, at weekends and on public holidays. A visible leak on an accessible pipe is at the lower end; tracing a hidden leak behind a wall, electronic leak detection or replacing a section of old pipe costs more. We agree the price with you before any work begins, and for larger jobs you get a written quote (devis).

Do you have plumbers who speak English?

Yes — that's the whole point of our service. You reach a real English-speaking agent, not a French switchboard, so you can describe the leak in your own words. We brief a vetted local plumber, confirm the price in English before anyone is sent, and stay reachable if anything needs explaining.

Burst Pipe & Water Leak Plumber Paris

A burst pipe or a leak spreading across your floor is frightening — water seems to come from nowhere, it's getting worse by the second, and every fix-it instruction you can find is in French. Take a breath: the single most useful thing you can do right now takes under a minute and stops the damage in its tracks. Shut off the water at the stopcock, then call us. This page tells you exactly how, what kind of leak you're probably dealing with, what the plumber will do, and roughly what it costs.

Do this first: turn off the water at the stopcock (robinet d'arrêt).

Find your stopcock and turn it clockwise to shut off the water. In a Paris flat it's usually under the kitchen sink, in the bathroom, in a cupboard or by the water meter (compteur d'eau). Can't find one inside? There's often a main valve on the landing or near the meter for the building's riser (colonne montante). Once the flow stops, put down buckets and towels, move valuables, and call us on 07 56 96 88 61. Stopping the water protects your flat and the neighbours below — we'll prioritise the call.

What kind of leak are you dealing with?

"There's water everywhere" can mean very different things, and pinning it down helps us send the right plumber with the right kit. The leaks we're called to most in Paris flats are:

A burst pipe behind a wall or under the floor. A damp or bulging patch, water seeping from a skirting board, or a sudden drop in pressure — the pipe has failed where you can't see it and needs tracing.
An under-sink or under-basin leak. A dripping trap, a perished washer or a loose flexible hose pooling water in the cupboard. Often the easiest and cheapest to fix.
A leaking radiator. A rusty valve or a weeping joint leaving puddles or stains beneath the radiator — common in older Paris heating systems.
Water coming through the ceiling from upstairs (a dégât des eaux). Stains spreading on the ceiling, drips or a bulging patch of plaster — the leak is in the flat above, and more than one household is involved.
A leaking water heater (chauffe-eau or ballon). Water pooling under the tank, a dripping relief valve, or rusty stains — ageing electric tanks in Paris flats are a frequent culprit.

Why old Paris pipes burst

Paris is a city of old buildings, and the plumbing inside tells that story. Many flats still carry decades-old lead and copper pipework, joints that have been disturbed by renovations, and heavy limescale from the city's notoriously hard water — scale narrows pipes, stresses joints and corrodes fittings until something finally gives. Add cold snaps that can freeze and split an exposed pipe, the pressure swings in a shared riser (colonne montante) feeding a stack of apartments, and DIY repairs done on the cheap over the years, and it's easy to see why a quiet Tuesday turns into a flood. None of it is your fault — and it's exactly the kind of work our plumbers handle every day.

Water damage: what to protect while you wait

Once the water is off, a few minutes of damage control makes a real difference. Move rugs, electronics, documents and anything wooden clear of the wet area. If water is anywhere near sockets, lights or the consumer unit, don't touch them — switch that circuit off at the fuse box only if you can do it safely and dryly. Lift the bottom of curtains, lay down towels, and place a bucket under an active drip. If water is pooling on a floor above a downstairs neighbour, warn them — the sooner everyone knows, the less damage spreads through the building.

What the plumber does when they arrive

A vetted plumber works through it methodically rather than guessing:

Isolate the leak. Shut off the relevant valve or the whole supply so the area is dry enough to work on safely.
Find the source. A visible leak is obvious; a hidden one behind a wall or under a floor may need leak detection — listening equipment, a moisture meter or a thermal camera — to pinpoint it without ripping out half the flat.
Repair or replace. Tighten or reseal a joint, swap a washer, valve or flexible hose, or cut out and replace the failed section of pipe — to French plumbing norms — then restore the supply and check for further weeping.

Emergency now, or can it wait?

Some leaks are a genuine 2am emergency; others can sensibly wait for morning. Call us straight away if water is flowing and won't stop, if it's pouring through the ceiling, if you can't find or close the stopcock, or if water is anywhere near electrics. It's usually safe to wait once you've shut off the water and the area is dry — a slow drip you've caught in a bucket, an under-sink seep you can isolate by closing one valve, a radiator you can stop bleeding by closing its valve. When in doubt, phone the English-speaking line and we'll tell you honestly whether it needs someone tonight or can be booked for the next morning.

Roughly what does it cost?

The cheapest scenario is a visible leak on an accessible pipe — a quick repair or a new washer. Costs climb with the work involved: leak detection for a hidden burst, opening up a wall, replacing a corroded section of old pipe, or swapping out a failed water heater. Night, weekend and public-holiday visits carry a higher rate. As a rough guide, most emergency leak call-outs in Paris fall in the €90–€250 range, with bigger repairs above that. Whatever the job, we agree the price with you before any work begins, and for anything larger you're entitled to a written quote (devis) — so you never sign a French invoice you can't read or didn't expect.

A leak between flats? Note the dégât des eaux side.

When water passes between apartments — yours leaking down, or a neighbour's leaking into yours — it's a dégât des eaux, and the repair is only half the story. Notify your building manager (syndic) and your home insurer, take photos of the damage, and keep the plumber's invoice. The plumber stops and fixes the leak; the insurance and syndic process sorts out who pays for the water damage. We can explain how it usually works in English while we're on the call.

How our dispatch works

Call us & explain in English

Tap to call and talk to a real English-speaking agent. Tell us where you are in Paris and what's happening — burst pipe, leak through the ceiling, water heater dripping.

We dispatch a local plumber

We match you with a vetted plumber near you and confirm the price up front. You'll know who's coming and roughly when, with nothing lost in translation.

Leak found & stopped

Your plumber traces the source, repairs or replaces the failed section and restores the water — then explains in plain English what went wrong.

One English-speaking line for every plumbing problem

A leak rarely arrives alone. If your trouble is actually a drain that won't clear rather than a pipe that's burst, see blocked drains; if it's a toilet overflowing or refusing to flush, see blocked toilets. For anything urgent at any hour, our 24/7 emergency plumber line is the same number — and it's always answered by an English-speaking plumber dispatcher. You can also browse our coverage across all 20 arrondissements to see where we send plumbers.

Burst Pipe or Water Leak in Paris?