Damage in your home? How to report it properly — and fast

A water stain on the ceiling, a heating system that stays cold, an entrance door that no longer locks properly: damage is part of everyday life in any building. What matters is not that something breaks — it is how quickly and how precisely it gets reported.

A good damage report saves everyone time, most of all you. The clearer the details, the faster it is obvious who needs to act — and the less likely you are to face follow-up questions or a second appointment.

What a good report includes

A simple rule of thumb: imagine someone has to fix the problem without ever having set foot in your flat. Everything that person would need to know belongs in your report.

• Location: address, floor, flat — and the exact spot, e.g. "bathroom, corner above the shower".
• What happened: a short description, how long the problem has existed and whether it is getting worse.
• Photos or a short video: one wide shot plus one close-up often say more than ten sentences.
• How to reach you: a phone number and the times you are available or at home.
• Access: does someone need to enter your flat? If so, when would suit you?

Emergency or ordinary defect? The difference decides the route

Not every problem is an emergency. As a rule, an emergency is anything that endangers people or keeps getting worse unless someone acts immediately — a burst pipe, say, or a complete heating failure in freezing weather. A dripping tap is annoying, but no reason to get anyone out of bed at night.

A few typical examples for orientation:

• Emergency: a burst pipe or water escaping in large quantities, heating failure in winter, a power outage affecting the whole building, a flat door that no longer locks after a break-in.
• Ordinary defect: a dripping tap, a broken light in the stairwell, a jammed window, a single cold radiator in mild weather.

How to reach KF Properties

If you smell gas, see fire or anyone is in immediate danger, call the emergency services on 112 first — not the property manager. Get yourself to safety; the report to us comes afterwards. For everything else, there are three channels, depending on urgency:

• Contact form on the website: for ordinary defects. Describe the problem using the checklist above — reports are processed on working days.
• Online portal: report the damage directly as a case — documented and traceable.
• 24/7 emergency line: for genuine emergencies, available around the clock — at night, on weekends and on public holidays.

What happens after your report

Once your report comes in, it is reviewed and prioritised: what is affected, how urgent is it, who can fix it? Emergencies are handled immediately; ordinary defects go into regular processing.

Much of the work is carried out by our own caretaker service and our in-house trades — which shortens the process, because no external contractor needs to be commissioned first. Work that requires special licensing, such as gas or electrical installations, goes to qualified specialist firms.

The appointment is then arranged with you. Please make access to your flat possible if the damage is inside — and let us know if anything changes in the meantime, for instance if a water stain keeps growing.

Your part as a tenant: report, contain, coordinate

As a rule, tenants are obliged to report defects in their rented home promptly. If you notice damage and fail to report it, you may under certain circumstances share responsibility for consequential damage. This article is general information, not legal advice — when in doubt, check your tenancy agreement or seek independent advice.

Until help arrives, the priority is containment — as far as it is safe: turn off the water at the shut-off valve, switch off electricity in the affected area, move furniture out of any wet zone.

Do not commission tradespeople on your own initiative — always coordinate with the property manager first. At KF Properties, someone is available around the clock: in an emergency, call the 24/7 emergency line; for everything else, use the contact form or the online portal.