If I have a maintenance emergency in the middle of the night, who do I call?

It's 2am and you have a leaky pipe or broken A/C. Or worse, a more serious emergency like flooding or fire. Who do you call? Out of the gate, we want to advise you that for serious emergencies that threaten life and property, such as a fire, please call 911 immediately! That being said, there are many Orlando apartments that have 24-hour emergency maintenance staff who can take care of leaky pipes and broken A/C in the middle of the night. Contact your leasing office to confirm your community has this service and what number you should call in case of an emergency or what procedures are in place for submitting work orders. If your community doesn't have around the clock maintenance, ask the management what procedures you should take in case of an emergency.

Let's discuss a few types of emergencies you will want to contact apartment staff to address immediately:

Flooding and Leaks – Turns off the water supply to the broken water pipe or to the exterior water main if you can find it and call maintenance. Try your best to contain the leaking to minimize damage to your property and alert neighbors if they will be impacted.

Carbon Monoxide – Invest in a CO detector if your apartment has a gas heater or water tank. CO is odorless so if the detector sounds, take all family members and pets outside immediately and call 911.

Blockage of Plumbing – Do your best to clean up any mess that may have occurred to prevent contaminants and call emergency maintenance.

Smelling Gas or Known Gas Leaks – Shut off the handle supplying gas along the supply line to the appliance you suspect is leading gas. Call the gas company as well as the maintenance staff but please do so from OUTSIDE the apartment. Sparks, even from cell phones, can ignite gas if it is present in the air. 

No Heat or A/C – depending on the maintenance policies of your apartment community, you may be responsible for initial troubleshooting or, after hours service may not be available so check with your staff.

Power Outages – Similar to heating and cooling issues, check with your apartment management to determine what types of outages classify as an emergency.

Lockouts – While frustrating, your community may not always consider these emergent. Check out our article on lockouts for further tips.

Remember that if you call a repair company and pay for the bill out of your own pocket, you may not be reimbursed. Follow the community rules and the terms of your lease, and always keep receipts and documentation of issues and payments made throughout your stay there. Program maintenance numbers for your community into your phone and use your judgment when it comes to true emergencies. Stay safe!
These are the opinions of writers and not the opinions of 407apartments.com or any of our advertising partners.