How Property Managers Stop Water Claims & Building Damage
Water and leak incidents are the #1 cause of property loss in commercial & multifamily buildings.
But you already knew that.
You’re here because you’re looking for a solution to stop water damage claims, reduce insurance premiums, and make more room in your budget.
To do this you have to remove the common small claims and eliminate the risk for any massive emergency ones.
First let’s understand the most common risks your property faces.
The Top Causes of Commercial Water Damage
Toilet leaks are the most common form of leak, wasting upwards of 200 gallons of water every day. However this type of leak doesn’t cause water damage because the water leaks into the toilet bowl.
The most common cause of water damage in any commercial property is a simple leaky pipe. The problem with these leaks is that they go unnoticed for such a long time.
Worse still is that when a tenant notices a small leak they rarely report it immediately. Just 10 drips per minute equals 500 gallons in a year.
This means a few drops a minute can actually lead to significant damage in that unit and any units below it.
These small leaks can be under sinks, from water heaters, dishwashers, washing machines and more.
They can also happen outside the view of anybody. Every source of water in every unit has pipes behind walls or in ceilings. These leaks can go even longer before they are detected.
Water damage can happen slowly like from leaks. It can also happen suddenly from something like a burst pipe.
The property loss from these kinds of water incidents can be massive.
Burst pipes don’t happen often, but when they do, they can cost thousands in repairs and displaced tenant costs.
The Challenges of Water Claims for Multifamily
As we learned, the top risks for properties are:
- Toilet leaks
- Small pipe/faucet leaks
- Burst pipes
These challenges are common for all commercial properties. But in multifamily these problems are compounded.
Water Damage Risks for High-Rise Buildings
In a high-rise or multi-story property every risk compounds.
Water dripping in one unit leaks down to every unit below.
A pipe bursting sends water cascading down the entire building.
Most units have at least one shower, toilet, and sink. Having hundreds of units increases the chance that something will break or leak.
The with each floor in your building the risks and repair costs compound.
Water Damage and Tenant Displacement
Multifamily buildings are home for hundreds of people.
Damage in a single unit means one family is displaced from their home for a time. This is expensive to repair, and costly for reputation.
In multi-storied buildings, an incident could displace dozens of families from their homes.
The Costs of Multifamily Property Leaks
A single solution to any of the top risks will reduce the cost and frequency of water claims. Using an ecosystem of solutions might revolutionize the way your properties budget completely.
A national average of water claims totals to ~$11,500 per claim. From portfolios we work with, we saw an average claim cost up to $22,000 per claim before installing.
Either way, removing just one claim can save your property thousands.
How You Can Prevent & Mitigate Water Damage
There are a few steps you can take to prevent water damage in your multifamily properties
Residential Water Damage Prevention Steps
- Conduct risk assessments during tenant turnover
- Install water leak sensors
- Prepare for floods with landscaping & a flood kit
Water Damage Inspections & Risk Assessments
We’ve worked with hundreds of property managers. The ones with the fewest claims all have their maintenance teams conduct regular inspections.
These assessments should be conducted during tenant turnover to detect any issues quickly. Conducting a simple inspection every year or every other will help you prevent water damage.
Water Risk & Damage Assessment:
- Check for dripping faucets and showerheads
- Test for any toilet leaks
- Look for leaky pipes under sinks
- Check for leaks from water heaters
- Check the connections of water line to dish washers and washing machines
- Look for signs of water damage on all ceilings, walls, floors, cabinets, and closets
- Test the humidity/temperature levels of incoming pipes if possible
- Check the seal of all windows
- Check the seal of the tub/shower
If you detected any issues, resolve them while you are in that unit to mitigate damages, costs, and interruption to tenants.
Install Smart Water Sensors in High Impact Areas
Early detection of leaks, big or small, minimizes the cost of claims. If you can detect a leak early enough you will be able to fix the problem without an insurance claim entirely.
Leak detectors are the most important water sensor to reduce insurance claims. Install them in these areas (in order of importance)
- Under sinks
- Near water heaters
- Near washing appliances
- Near the shower/bath
Another impactful water sensor is a temperature/humidity sensor. These should be used to detect risks behind walls.
When installed near an enclosed pipe they can detect small leaks because the area will increase in humidity.
They also detect risk signs of burst pipes by gauging the temperature of the area. If it drops too low these sensors will alert you.
Prepare for Floods with Landscaping and Flood Kits
Whether you are in an area with high flooding risks or not, preparing for floods is a simple, one-time way to prevent water damage.
Water always goes downhill. If your property sits lower than a drainage system, you have a huge risk of floods causing massive water damage.
Landscaping is one of the best ways to mitigate water damage from floods.
Plan a landscaping project to lower the surrounding areas around your building and point the landscaping towards surrounding drains.
Another one time project to mitigate any flood damage is to create property flood kits.
These should be at every building and include:
- Sandbags
- High volume wet vacuum (with a long discharge hose)
- Wide squeegee
- A plan or checklist for maintenance teams
If you just wanted to learn about water damage prevention we hope you’ve gained value up to this point.
If you’re interested in solving these problems for your properties read on and see how FireAvert has helped dozens of properties and portfolios mitigate water damage.
FireAvert’s Ecosystem of Water Protection Products
Our method for water damage prevention is to cover all 3 risks.
- Toilet Leaks (most common) - Toilet Auto Shutoff
- Small pipe/faucet leaks (very common) - Leak Detectors
- Burst pipes (high costs) - Temp/Humidity sensors + Smart Auto Water Shutoff
All solutions work with your current system, without the need for retrofitting.
Stop Toilet Leaks with the Toilet Auto Shutoff
This simple device won’t remove many insurance claims. But it will save you thousands every month on your water bill and repair costs.
Its solution to leaky toilets is simple. The valve from the water line to the toilet is automatically shutoff unless someone is in the bathroom.
It has a motion detector that shuts the flow of water to the toilet unless it detects motion. This prevents every form of toilet leak (float leaks, flapper leaks, etc…)
Water Leak Detectors Designed for Multifamily Properties
Our smart water leak sensor works 24/7 to identify leaks ASAP. By placing these small leak detectors throughout your units, you will be alerted to leaks the instant they start.
Our monitoring dashboard allows you to customize the timing of these alerts.
If a sensor is placed in the bathroom, we don’t want a long shower to register as a leak. Lengthen or shorten the time from water detected to an alert/work order.
Across 25 properties with our leak detectors installed we detected 5251 leaks from 2025 - 2026.
Below is our live tracker of leaks detected in the past 30 days.
The #1 Automatic Water Shut Off Valve
Our Auto Water Shutoff closes the valve to specific water lines using smart rules. You can use Temp/Humidity sensors to detect small pipe leaks or risks and automatically shutoff the water until you can fix the issue.
It’s great to know about a leak when it happens. But what happens when a pipe bursts at 2am?
Having an Auto Water Shutoff mitigates water damage, reduces the costs incurred, and the impact of a water incident.
With this automatic water valve shutoff you can rest easy knowing your properties are protected.
FireAvert PRO Monitoring
The leak detectors, temp/humidity sensors, and Auto Water Shutoff connect via our monitoring platform called FireAvert Connect or FireAvert PRO.
Here you can see historical data of events to track patterns or tenant behaviors.
Your on-site maintenance teams can see active leaks via work orders for a simple resolution workflow.
You can customize notifications and schedule regular reports for different roles. Keep everybody informed with the information they need.
We have a dedicated PRO support tech to help you and your team get accustomed to the platform and how to use it effectively.
How Much Does it Cost to Prevent Water Damage?
FireAvert products are designed to save your properties money.
We reviewed 25 properties with 6711 units that have active leak detection. Across those 25 properties we detected 5251 leaks in one year. That’s an average of 210 leaks per property.
Some of those detected leaks were a spill or another false alarm. However most of them were small drips and leaks from pipes which were quickly resolved.
If even just one leak was not detected in each of the 25 properties that would mean around $275,000 in water claims.
Our leak detectors retail for $40 (with bulk pricing available). For all 6711 units that would be $268,440 at MSRP.
EVEN at retail pricing, and if ONLY ONE of the 5251 leaks was missed, the leak detectors still paid for themselves in under one year.
Water Protection Products Cost Table
| Product | MSRP Price (Bulk Pricing Available) |
| Leak Detector | $40 |
| Temp/Humidity Sensor | $50 |
| Toilet Auto Shutoff | $249 |
| Auto Water Shutoff | $330 |
| PRO Monitoring | $60/year |
Reduce Your Insurance Premiums
One hidden cost of water incidents is that your premium is going to increase with every claim you make.
By reducing the number and severity of claims you make you can stop your premiums from increasing.
We have even seen customers receive a discount on their insurance premiums by showing the data from before install and after. That depends on your insurance provider but it is possible.
Get Water Mitigation with FireAvert Today
You can prevent water claims in your property. Here’s how it works:
Step 1. Request a Quote or Schedule a Sales Call
Our team is here to answer your questions, figure out the best implementation, and get you the right products for your needs.
Step 2. Place an Order
We’ll work with you to navigate budget deadlines and approvals. When you’re ready, we’ll help you place an order at your bulk price.
Step 3. Install & Implementation
Our Install Team can come out and install devices for you, or we provide install information for your team to follow.
When your devices are in place our PRO support team will work with you to train you on using the dashboard and getting the most out of your devices.