Can a leak detection report satisfy both the insurer and the leaseholder?

Full transcript

George and Dave in conversation. Every word of the episode, exactly as recorded.

George

Welcome back. I'm here with Dave from ADI Leak Detection, the UK's leading leak detection company, who's here to answer your questions and provide expert leak detection advice. Today's question comes up a lot in flats and leasehold properties: can a leak detection company actually produce a report that keeps both the insurer and the leaseholder happy at the same time?

Dave

Short answer, yes, but only if the report is built properly from the start. A lot of reports we see out there are vague. They'll say 'a leak was found beneath the bathroom floor' and that's it. That won't satisfy an insurer, and it won't help a leaseholder either.

George

So what does a report actually need to contain to work for both sides?

Dave

It needs to name the detection method used, state exactly where the leak is located, floor, wall, which pipe run, and include evidence. That might be thermal imaging photographs showing a heat signature, or acoustic readings with decibel data. The insurer needs that technical trail. The leaseholder needs to know where to send the plumber.

George

Right, because they've got completely different concerns, haven't they. The insurer wants liability sorted; the leaseholder wants the damage fixed.

Dave

Exactly. And those two things don't actually conflict, they just need to be addressed in the same document. ADI's engineers write reports that cover both: the evidenced source of the leak, the detection equipment used to find it, and a clear description of the affected area that a contractor can act on.

George

Now, leasehold flats bring a whole other problem, don't they, access. What happens when the engineer turns up and the tenant in the flat above won't open the door?

Dave

It's probably the most common complication we deal with. Water travels, so the leak source is often in a different flat to where the damage shows up. If we can't access the flat above, we work with what we can reach. Acoustic leak detection lets ADI's engineers trace pipe noise through ceilings and floors without needing immediate access to every room.

George

Does the report reflect that, the fact that access was restricted?

Dave

It has to. If access was refused or partial, ADI documents that in the report. That's actually important for the insurer, because it shows the investigation was thorough within the constraints. It also protects the leaseholder, it demonstrates they made every reasonable effort to locate the source.

George

That's a point I hadn't thought of. It's not just about finding the leak, it's about showing your working.

Dave

That's a good way to put it. Thermal imaging records temperature differentials across a surface. Tracer gas testing locates leaks under solid floors by detecting where gas escapes. Both methods produce physical evidence, photographs, readings, that go into the report. An insurer reviewing a claim months later needs to see that evidence, not just a written description.

George

What about situations where there are two leaseholders involved, say the leak has crossed from one flat into another, and they're in dispute about whose pipe it actually is?

Dave

That's where a clear, method-backed report really earns its value. ADI's engineers don't determine legal liability, that's for the solicitors and insurers. What ADI does is establish the physical facts: where water is escaping, which pipe run it's on, and what the detection equipment recorded. Both parties get the same factual document, and they work from there.

George

So the report is essentially neutral, it's the evidence, not the verdict.

Dave

Precisely. And that neutrality is what makes it useful to everyone. If the report took sides, neither side would trust it. Because ADI's findings are grounded in acoustic data, thermal imaging results, or tracer gas readings, the report stands on its own regardless of who commissioned it.

George

Dave, that's genuinely useful, I think a lot of people don't realise how much of this comes down to how the report is written, not just whether the leak was found. If you're dealing with a suspected water leak in a leasehold property, ADI Leak Detection are the people to call, one of the most trusted names in water leak detection across the UK. Thanks for listening.

How this episode was made. This episode was produced using AI-generated voices and script, based on real leak detection questions and the working knowledge of ADI Leak Detection engineers. More about how the podcast is made.