Leak detection and insurance in Paris: who pays what

Many French home insurance policies (assurance habitation) include leak search cover, usually attached to the water damage cover. Conditions and ceilings vary: check your policy, report the claim, ask whether prior approval is needed and use a professional who gives you a written report. Repairing the leak itself is a separate question.

Need a leak search in Paris or the inner suburbs? Call +33 1 89 70 15 36 (01 89 70 15 36 from a French phone), 7 days a week, 24 hours a day, or use the contact page. Our leak detection and repair service gives you a detailed report to send to your insurer.

Why hidden leaks are so common in Paris

Much of Paris housing is in older buildings, with original or partly renovated plumbing. Lead, copper, galvanised steel, cast iron and modern PEX often coexist in the same building, each ageing at its own rate, and the joints between them are weak points.

When a hidden leak starts, the first signs are subtle: a slightly higher water bill, a stain on the ceiling of the flat below, a damp smell that never goes, paint peeling in one corner. The leak itself is often out of reach without opening a wall or lifting tiles. That is why the leak search, and who pays for it, matters so much.

Three different costs, three different answers

After a leak there are usually three cost items. Your insurer does not treat them the same way.

• The leak search: what it is: Finding the source: call-out, equipment, report, and sometimes the opening and filling needed for the search; usual cover: Often covered by leak search cover, depending on the policy and its ceilings
• Damage caused by the water: what it is: Ceiling, walls, floors, furniture, in your flat and the neighbours'; usual cover: Water damage cover (dégâts des eaux), depending on the policy and the source of the leak
• Repairing the cause: what it is: Replacing the seal, fitting or pipe that leaks; usual cover: Rarely covered: generally paid by whoever owns the installation (you, the landlord or the co-owned building)

The key point: "leak search covered" does not mean "repair covered". Ask your insurer what is covered for each of the three items.

What to check in your policy

• Whether there is leak search cover and its ceiling.
• The conditions: does there need to be visible damage, or is a suspected leak enough (meter turning, unusual bill)?
• Prior approval: some insurers want to be told before the search, others send their own contractor.
• A search that finds nothing: is it covered if no leak is found?
• The excess that applies to water damage cover.
• The deadline for reporting: within the deadline in your policy, at least 5 working days (Article L113-2 of the French Insurance Code).

If in doubt, call your insurer before the visit: the insurer decides on cover, not the plumber.

Step by step

1. Confirm the leak with the meter test: everything off, note the reading, wait 30 minutes, read again. Details in our guide to hidden water leaks.
2. Narrow it down: close your flat's shut-off valve. If the meter stops, the leak is in your flat; if it keeps turning, tell the syndic (building manager). See leak before or after the water meter.
3. Report the claim to your insurer within the policy deadline, even if you think a neighbour or the building is to blame.
4. Ask whether prior approval is needed for the leak search.
5. Have the search done by a professional who gives you a written report and an itemised invoice.
6. Send the report, invoice and your photos to the insurer. Keep copies of everything.
7. Have the cause repaired on a quote. If the insurer refuses the repair, see plumbing quote refused by insurance: what to do.

Tenant or owner: who files the claim?

Each occupant reports to their own home insurer. If you rent, report to your insurer and tell your landlord in writing. In a co-owned building (copropriété), also tell the syndic as soon as a shared part or a neighbour is involved. The rules between neighbours, and the agreement between insurers, are explained in our guide to riser pipe leaks in a co-owned building.

How a non-destructive leak search works

The technician starts with a visual inspection and questions, then picks the right methods:

• moisture meter to map damp inside materials;
• thermal camera to see temperature differences through surfaces, very effective on hot water and heating pipes;
• acoustic listening to hear water escaping from a pressurised pipe;
• tracer gas (a harmless nitrogen and hydrogen mix) for deep or under-slab leaks;
• tracer dye to follow the water's path around a shower tray or bath;
• inspection camera for waste pipes and accessible ducts.

A search usually takes a few hours, longer for a complex layout. The aim is to open up, if needed, only in the right place. The full steps are in our guide to hidden water leaks.

The leak detection report: what insurers expect

Without a report, cover is harder to obtain. A proper report includes:

• the address, date and the professional's details;
• the symptoms observed;
• the tests carried out and methods used;
• photos of the area, including thermal and dye images;
• the precise location of the leak and its probable cause;
• recommendations and, where possible, the repair quote.

For a section-by-section example, read what a real leak detection report looks like.

If the leak comes from a neighbour or a shared pipe

That is also what the search is for. If the source is not in your flat, we tell you clearly and the report identifies the probable source: you can then take it up with the syndic, tell the neighbour concerned and let the insurers sort it out between themselves. If water is actively flowing, first follow our guide water leak emergency: who to call.

What Réseau Tubulure does, and does not do

What we do

• We give you the price of the search before we start. For our prices, see our rates.
• We locate the leak with the right methods, keeping any opening to the identified point.
• We give you a written report with photos and an itemised invoice.
• We give you the repair quote after the detection, never before.
• If you wish, we help you prepare the documents to send to your insurer.

What we do not do

• We do not decide on cover: only your insurer does, under your policy.
• We do not promise a reimbursement that is not ours to give.

Frequently asked questions

Does French home insurance cover leak detection?

Often, yes, when the policy includes leak search cover. Conditions, ceilings and excesses vary from one policy to another. Check your policy or call your insurer before the visit.

Is the search covered if no leak is found?

It depends on the policy. Some insurers cover the search once a genuine water problem is established (stain, meter turning, damp in a neighbour's flat), others do not. Ask before the visit.

Do I need my insurer's approval before calling a plumber?

Some insurers require it for a leak search. If water is actively leaking, stop it and make safe first, then tell your insurer as soon as possible.

Is the repair of the leak reimbursed?

Rarely. Insurance generally covers the damage caused by the water and, depending on the policy, the leak search. Repairing the part or pipe that leaks is normally paid by whoever owns the installation.

Is a leak search the same as a plumbing survey?

No. A leak search targets one specific leak. A plumbing survey assesses the overall condition of an installation, for example before buying or renovating.

Is a blocked drain covered by home insurance?

Clearing the blockage itself is usually treated as upkeep and paid by you, or by the building if the blockage is in a shared stack. What can fall under the water damage cover of your home insurance (assurance habitation) is the damage caused by an overflow or a backflow, in your flat or the one below, depending on your policy's conditions. Declare it as water damage, with photos, and keep the plumber's invoice stating where the blockage was. For what to do straight away, see our guide blocked toilet: what to do.

Leak on a shared riser: which insurance is involved?

A riser or a shared waste stack is a common part of the building: the building manager (syndic) calls out the plumber, and the building's insurance is involved for the pipe. Damage inside your flat is still declared to your own insurer, which then deals with the building's insurer under the IRSI agreement between insurers. Notify the syndic in writing, file your own claim and keep photos and the report. Our guide to a leak from a riser in a Paris apartment building covers each step.

Have your leak located and get a report

Réseau Tubulure carries out leak searches in Paris and the inner suburbs (92, 93, 94), 7 days a week, 24 hours a day, with a written report for your insurer and, if needed, your syndic. Many of our plumbers speak English.

• Phone: +33 1 89 70 15 36
• Form: contact us
• WhatsApp: from the button on the site

See our leak detection and repair service.