A new building is already leaking
A building under about ten years old that leaks has a construction defect, not an ageing problem. The usual causes are a compressed programme — curing cut short, penetrations never collared, water stops omitted — and they are worth pursuing under defect liability.
Not an emergency, but it will get worse and more expensive with every monsoon it survives.
Probable causes, ranked
Ordered by how often we find each one to be the actual source. The 'tell' is what distinguishes it from the others.
- 01most common
Waterproofing rushed to meet a handover date
The tell — Leakage appeared in the first or second monsoon after possession.
Terrace Waterproofing → - 02common
Service penetrations never sealed before being buried
The tell — Leakage traces to specific pipe positions.
Bathroom Waterproofing → - 03common
Water stops omitted at basement construction joints
The tell — Basement ingress along horizontal pour lines.
Box Type Waterproofing → - 04less common
Podium membrane damaged by follow-on trades
The tell — Leakage into parking below landscaped areas.
Podium Waterproofing →
Sixty seconds, before you call anyone
- Photograph it while it is actively wet. A dried stain tells a surveyor far less than a running one.
- Note whether it worsens with rain or with usage. Rain-linked points to the building envelope; usage-linked points to plumbing. This single distinction settles most arguments about responsibility.
- Check the area directly above and beside the damage, not only below it. Water travels along a slab before it drops.
- Look specifically for the tell of the most likely cause: leakage appeared in the first or second monsoon after possession.
- Do not chip into saturated plaster or paint over a damp patch. The first risks bringing material down; the second destroys the evidence needed to trace the path.
What it becomes if you leave it
Financially this may be recoverable under the defect liability period, so a documented survey is worth having early. Technically the risk is that below-grade and podium defects are unreachable once landscaping and services are in.
Often seen alongside this
- Podium leaking into the parking below
A podium deck carries landscaping and vehicles directly above occupied space, and its waterproofing sits buried under soil, paving and services.
- Water collecting in the basement
Water in a basement is usually groundwater under pressure rather than rain finding a way in.
- Bathroom leaking into the flat below
Water from a bathroom reaching the flat below is almost never a failed membrane across the floor.
A new building is already leaking — questions we get asked
What is the most likely cause of a new building is already leaking?
Waterproofing rushed to meet a handover date. The sign that points to it is: leakage appeared in the first or second monsoon after possession. That said, the ranking here is a starting point — the actual source is confirmed by survey, because more than one of these can be true at once.
What happens if I leave it?
Financially this may be recoverable under the defect liability period, so a documented survey is worth having early. Technically the risk is that below-grade and podium defects are unreachable once landscaping and services are in.
Can I diagnose this myself before calling anyone?
Partly, and it is worth doing. Photograph it while it is actively wet, note whether it worsens with rain or with usage, and check the area directly above and beside the damage. That single rain-versus-usage distinction narrows the cause more than anything else you can do in sixty seconds.
How urgent is this?
Act this season. Not an emergency, but it will get worse and more expensive with every monsoon it survives.
Send us a photograph and we will tell you what we think it is
WhatsApp a photo taken while it is wet, with a note on whether it tracks with rain or with usage. That is usually enough for a first opinion, and the site inspection that follows is free.
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