Apartment renters have the luxury of not having to worry about home maintenance and repair, as well as the costly bills that come with it! But something is bound to go wrong every once in a while, which is why it’s essential for you to know when to call for an emergency maintenance request.

What Is Considered An Emergency?

An emergency maintenance situation is usually something that can result in serious injury or property damage. Your apartment community may provide a list of specific emergency situations and what to do in each, as well as a 24/7 emergency maintenance phone number where you can speak with staff about your situation. The following are examples of emergency situations:

• Apartment flooding or a broken water pipe
• Gas leak or broken gas line
• Broken door or window locks
• Faulty air conditioning in hot summer
• Faulty heating in cold winter
• Clogged toilet in one bathroom apartments

In some of the situations, it is fairly obvious. For example, if you find yourself knee-deep in water in your apartment’s living room, the water leak must be repaired immediately. However, if one of your toilets becomes clogged and you live in a two-bathroom apartment, it will not be considered an emergency.

What Is Not Considered An Emergency?

The apartment maintenance team in an apartment community must prioritize requests based on severity and order, so not all maintenance issues can be addressed immediately, even if they are temporarily inconvenient for the resident. The following are some examples of non-emergency situations:

• Dripping faucets
• Minor leaks in water/sewage pipes that can be contained
• Faulty air conditioner during cool days
• Faulty heating during warm days
• Appliances not working correctly. IE: Microwave, Stove, Washer/Dryer, etc.
• Broken hinges or handles on cabinets
• Faulty light fixtures

These are situations in which you want to fix the problem but it does not endanger the tenant or cause significant property damage.

What May Feel Like an Emergency But Isn’t

There are many circumstances where you will need a solution immediately but they still don’t qualify as emergency maintenance.

Getting Locked Out of Your Apartment
If you are locked out of your apartment or lose your key, you will need to resolve the situation as soon as possible. However, because you or your property are not in immediate danger, this does not qualify as an emergency.

HVAC Problems
If your air conditioner stops working, the majority of the apartment administrations do not consider it an emergency unless the temperature is above a certain point. The same holds true for the apartment’s heating system. If it isn’t cold outside, a heating system outage isn’t an emergency.

Electricity/Utility Outage
When there is a power outage in your apartment, maintenance is usually not responsible for resolving the problem. It could be a weather event or a technical problem with the power company over which your apartment community has no control. That is why, before calling for maintenance, you should consider the cause of the outage. For example, if your power or water has been disconnected due to nonpayment, there is nothing maintenance can do.

Don’t Wait For It To Get Worse

It’s important that you don’t put off maintenance requests. The sooner you put in your request, the sooner the maintenance team can fix it! If there is something that can put you and your family at risk, contact the maintenance team’s emergency service as soon as possible. If it’s a non emergency situation, submit a maintenance request and they will handle your situation as soon as possible. Don’t put off small issues and risk them turning into big problems!

At Lofts at Meadowcreek Apartments, we are proud to employ a diligent apartment maintenance team who always do their best to ensure our residents are satisfied! You can submit apartment maintenance requests through your Resident Portal or call our 24 Hour Emergency Line if you are faced with an emergency. If you are not yet part of the Lofts at Meadowcreek community, apply for our Charlottesville Apartments today!