What to do if…
part of your ceiling starts sagging after a leak

What to do now

1. Create a safer pause. Move people and pets out of the room. Close the door if you can. Keep the room empty if the sagging area is large, getting worse, dripping near electrics, or making cracking noises.
2. Look only from a safe edge or doorway. Check whether the sag is near a light fitting, smoke alarm, socket, switch, ceiling fan, or other electrical item. Notice whether it is growing, cracking, spreading, or dripping steadily.
3. Stop the water source if you can do that without going under the sag.
   • If the leak is from plumbing, turn off the stopcock, or a local isolation valve to the toilet, sink, bath, shower, appliance, or tank if you can identify it safely.
   • If the leak is from a flat above, contact the neighbour, building manager, landlord, or managing agent and say there is an active leak with a sagging ceiling below.
   • If the leak is from the roof during rain, do not climb into the roof space or onto the roof. Keep away from the sagging ceiling and contact an emergency roofer or building manager.
4. Treat wet electrics as a priority hazard. Do not use lights, switches, sockets, extractor fans, ceiling fans, or appliances in the affected room. Keep phones, chargers, extension leads, and portable heaters away from the wet area.
5. Isolate electricity only if it is clearly safe. If the consumer unit is dry, you are not standing in water, and you can reach it safely, switch off the affected circuit or the main switch. If anything around the consumer unit or meter area is wet, or you are unsure, do not touch it; contact a qualified electrician urgently. For electricity network or power emergency help, call 105 in England, Scotland, or Wales, or 03457 643 643 in Northern Ireland.
6. Catch drips only from a safe position. Put towels or a bucket at the edge of the dripping area if you can do this without standing under the sag. Keep the route out of the room clear.
7. Report it urgently if you rent or the building is managed. Contact your landlord, letting agent, housing association, council repairs line, freeholder, or managing agent. Use plain words: “active leak, ceiling sagging, possible collapse risk, possible electrical hazard.”
8. Call the most relevant urgent help. Use an emergency plumber for a plumbing leak, an emergency roofer for a roof leak, and a qualified electrician if water may have reached electrics. If the ceiling is changing quickly, cracking loudly, or a large area is sagging, ask for urgent building assessment through your landlord, managing agent, insurer, builder, or surveyor.
9. Record only what you can from safety. Take a few photos or a short video from the doorway or another safe position. Note when you noticed the leak, when the ceiling started sagging, and what you turned off.
10. Leave and call 999 if there is immediate danger. Call 999 if the ceiling is starting to collapse, you see sparks or arcing, smell burning, see smoke, suspect an electrical fire, or cannot safely keep people away from the hazard.