Our 24/7 Emergency Hotline
What Is Considered Emergency Maintenance?
Do you know when to request emergency maintenance? Sometimes, it’s fairly obvious. If, for example, you are standing ankle-deep in water and you are in the middle of your kitchen, you likely have a bona fide emergency on your hands and you probably want to request emergency maintenance. But what if the air conditioner is on the fritz or the heater stopped working? Is that an emergency? And if you notice an issue in the middle of the night, how do you determine if it’s something that could wait until morning or if it’s something you need to deal with immediately?
Sometimes it’s difficult to tell what the situation requires. In fact, it’s very common for residents to have difficulty distinguishing an emergency from a non-emergency. Some communities, he said, provide residents “with a detailed list of what makes up emergency maintenance.” So let’s explore what might be considered an emergency, which situations may only need a routine maintenance request, and what types of things you could resolve on your own.
WHAT IS AN EMERGENCY?
A maintenance emergency is something that, if it isn’t repaired immediately, could cause injury, threaten your health, or cause serious property damage. These things could include:
- A broken water line or flooding
- Fire (call 911 first, then maintenance)
- A broken gas line or leak (natural gas smells like rotten eggs)
- A broken lock on your door
- No air conditioning in hot weather
- No heat in freezing weather
- A sewer back-up that is flooding your unit
WHAT ISN’T AN EMERGENCY?
Not every maintenance issue is an emergency. If, for example, you have a minor drip under your kitchen sink that can be contained with a bucket, you’ll definitely want maintenance to look. Here are some other situations where you could probably get away with submitting a routine maintenance request:
- A broken air conditioner when the temperature outside is below 90 degrees
- A broken heater when the temperature outside is above 50 degrees
- Your ice maker stopped working
- The stove burner isn’t lighting up
- There’s no hot water
- A lightbulb went out
If you determine that the issue isn’t an emergency, you should still submit a maintenance request to be handled during normal business hours. Be aware that it may take a few days to get the issue resolved, since the maintenance team will handle emergencies before tackling other repairs, so be patient.
USE YOUR BEST JUDGMENT
Sometimes, other factors may help you determine when to submit a maintenance request. For example, if you get up for a midnight snack and notice that your fridge isn’t as cold as it should be, this is a problem that needs to be solved quickly — but it could probably wait until morning if you keep the refrigerator door closed until then.
HVAC Maintenance
If your air conditioner goes out, most communities consider this an emergency only if the weather outside is above a certain temperature (i.e., 90 degrees). The same goes for your heat. If it isn’t freezing outside, then it isn’t considered an emergency. Before contacting maintenance, try to determine why your air conditioning or heat isn’t working. If your utilities were shut off because of nonpayment, maintenance can’t help — you’ll have to call your utility company. If the power is out because of bad weather, maintenance won’t be able to resolve this issue either.
Getting Locked Out
Getting locked out of your unit isn’t necessarily an emergency. You could call a locksmith to help you get back in rather than calling emergency maintenance. (You could also give one to a trusted friend or neighbor, so getting locked out isn’t an issue.)
Power Outages
If the power goes out, it could be an issue with the electric company, and maintenance can’t help. Please call your electric provider and see if there’s an outage before you contact maintenance. Also, check to see if it’s the entire building or just your unit. If it’s only your unit, try flipping the circuit breakers, reset the GFI breakers, and check the fuses.
Most communities don’t consider a partial outage an emergency. For example, if a wall switch or outlet malfunctions, unplug your items and turn off the circuit breaker. This is usually considered a non-emergency, so submit your maintenance request during normal business hours.
DON’T PUT OFF EMERGENCY REQUESTS
If something is an emergency, don’t put off contacting your maintenance team. Even when it isn’t an emergency, it’s a good idea to report the issue as soon as possible.
Emergency Protocols
With a medical, fire, or other emergency that could involve immediate peril to you or someone around you, always call your local emergency number or 911.
For all other urgent maintenance requests that require immediate attention from our staff, please call our emergency hotline at 617-547-8700, then follow up by completing a request in the resident portal.