Maintenance emergency

Typical examples are water that won’t stop, sewage backing up, no heat in cold weather and a door that won’t lock. A fire, a gas smell or anyone in danger is a 911 call first.

There is no single legal definition. Leases, local codes and your own policy decide what counts. Most teams use three levels: an emergency gets a person now, an urgent repair gets one within a day, and a routine repair waits for a scheduled visit. What matters is that the line is written down before the phone rings.

An example

At 2:00 AM ET a tenant texts that water is coming through the ceiling from the unit above. That is an emergency: the on-call person is reached, the tenant is told where the water shut-off is, and a plumber is sent. A dripping faucet reported at the same hour is routine, and the tenant is told when to expect a call in the morning.

Common emergencies

• Water that won’t stop, or water through a ceiling
• Sewage backing up
• No heat in cold weather
• An outside door or ground-floor window that won’t lock
• Sparks, a burning smell or a hot electrical panel

How Now Ours handles it

You decide what counts as an emergency. An emergency calls and texts the first person on your on-call calendar and adds the backup after 5 minutes. Everything else waits for the morning, and the tenant is told when to expect a call. A fire, a gas leak or anyone in danger starts with 911 or the gas utility, because now ours is not an emergency service.