Emergency Contact Cheat Sheet

How to build a landlord emergency contact and vendor list

A good emergency list is short, current, and written before you need it: who to call for each kind of problem, at any hour, plus the shutoff locations and policy numbers you will be asked for. Fill in the printable card above for yourself, give tenants a simpler one-page sheet, and keep a log of every incident. The sections below explain how to sort emergencies from urgent and routine repairs, which vendors and numbers belong on the list, what tenants should see, how to document incidents for insurance, and how repair obligations work in general terms.

Nothing here replaces 911. Anything involving fire, a gas smell, a carbon monoxide alarm, injury, or a crime in progress goes to emergency services first.

Emergency, urgent or routine: a triage guide

Sorting requests into three tiers keeps you from paying after-hours rates for a dripping faucet, and from leaving a real emergency until Monday. Share the same tiers with tenants so they know when to call and when to submit a request. The maintenance priority cheat sheet goes deeper on this.

Weather and the household change the tier. Losing heat in July is routine; losing it in January is an emergency. A broken air conditioner in extreme heat can be urgent or worse for an elderly or medically vulnerable occupant. When in doubt, treat it as the higher tier until you have spoken with the tenant.

Who belongs on your list

Utilities and shutoffs

• Gas utility emergency line. Separate from the billing number. Utilities treat gas odors as emergencies and send a technician.
• Electric utility outage and downed-line number. For outages and any downed or sparking line outside.
• Water and sewer utility. For main breaks, street-side shutoffs and sewer backups that start in the public line.
• Shutoff locations. Write down where the main water shutoff, any curb stop, the electrical panel and the gas meter are, with a photo of each. Note whether the curb stop needs a special key. In a multi-unit building, label which breaker and which valve serve which unit.
• 811. The national call-before-you-dig number. Utilities mark buried public lines for free; state law sets how much advance notice you must give, so check your state 811 center before any digging, even for a fence post or mailbox. Private lines are generally not marked.

Trades and emergency vendors

• Plumber with 24/7 service. Burst pipes, overflowing fixtures, water heater leaks and sewer backups. Ask whether they also do drain and sewer camera work.
• Licensed electrician. Sparking outlets, burning smells, panels that trip repeatedly, storm damage to the service drop.
• HVAC contractor. No heat in cold weather, no cooling in extreme heat, and any furnace or boiler that a CO alarm or the gas company has flagged.
• Water and fire restoration company. Drying, extraction and mold prevention after a leak or fire. Fast drying usually reduces both damage and the claim. Ask whether they work directly with insurers.
• Locksmith. Rekeying after a break-in or a lost key, and boarding or securing doors.
• Board-up and glass service. To secure broken windows and doors after storms or break-ins.
• General contractor or handyperson. For temporary repairs and coordination.
• Tree service and snow removal where relevant.

For each vendor, record the company name, a direct after-hours number, the person you deal with, license number, whether you have a certificate of insurance on file, and agreed rates for emergency calls. A written agreement avoids surprises at 2 a.m.; see the vendor agreement templates and the guide to finding reliable contractors. Keep a backup for each trade, because your first choice will not always answer.

Insurance and professionals

• Insurer claim line and policy number for the landlord or dwelling policy, plus your agent’s direct number. Many insurers take claims by phone or online around the clock.
• Liability or umbrella policy claim details.
• Flood policy details if you carry one; standard property policies often exclude flood.
• Attorney who handles landlord-tenant matters in your state.
• CPA for casualty loss and insurance proceeds questions.
• HOA or building management for condos and townhomes, since they may control shared pipes and the roof.

A tenant-facing emergency sheet

Tenants are usually the first to discover a problem, so what they do in the first few minutes matters most. Give every household a one-page sheet at move-in, post a copy inside the unit (inside a kitchen cabinet door works well), and review it during the move-in inspection. Include:

1. 911 for fire, a gas smell, a carbon monoxide alarm, injury or a crime.
2. Your after-hours emergency number, and who answers if you are unavailable.
3. Gas, electric and water utility emergency numbers.
4. Where the main water shutoff, electrical panel and gas meter are, with simple instructions for closing the water valve.
5. The emergency, urgent and routine tiers above, in plain language.
6. How to submit non-urgent repair requests, and how quickly you aim to respond.

Safety steps to include, from official sources

• Gas smell: leave immediately, tell others to leave, and call the gas company from a neighbor’s home or outside. Do not flip light switches, use phones or doorbells inside, light flames, or adjust appliance controls. (Connecticut Public Utilities Regulatory Authority)
• Carbon monoxide: the CPSC says to get outside to fresh air immediately and then call 911 if you suspect CO poisoning. Symptoms it lists include headache, dizziness, weakness, nausea, vomiting, sleepiness and confusion. CPSC recommends CO alarms on every level of the home and outside sleeping areas. (CPSC Carbon Monoxide Information Center)
• Fire: get out, stay low under smoke, feel doors before opening them, and call 911. Ready.gov also warns never to use a gas stove or oven to heat the home and never to run a portable generator indoors. (Ready.gov Home Fires)
• Water leak: close the fixture valve or the main water shutoff, turn off electricity to the affected area only if it can be done without standing in water, move belongings away, and call the emergency number.

Write the sheet in plain language, offer it in the languages your tenants read, and update it whenever a number changes. The tenant communication templates include notice formats you can adapt.

Worked example: a burst pipe at a duplex

Example (hypothetical): at 11 p.m. in January, the downstairs tenant of a duplex calls to say water is coming through the ceiling. Here is how the list turns a chaotic night into a sequence:

1. 11:02 p.m. You tell the upstairs tenant where the main shutoff is (it is on their sheet, with a photo). Water stops within minutes. You ask both tenants to stay clear of wet ceilings and of outlets and fixtures near the water.
2. 11:10 p.m. You call the 24/7 plumber from your list. The first does not answer; the backup confirms arrival within the hour at the agreed emergency call-out rate.
3. 11:15 p.m. You ask the downstairs tenant to take photos and video of the ceiling and floor, and you log the time of the first call.
4. 12:30 a.m. The plumber finds a split supply line in an exterior wall, makes the repair, and writes the cause on the invoice. Water is restored.
5. 7:30 a.m. You call the restoration company to start drying, and report the claim on the insurer’s claim line, giving the policy number from your card.

Suppose the costs were a $450 emergency plumbing call, $2,800 for drying and moisture readings, and $3,200 for drywall and paint, a total of $6,450. With a $2,500 deductible, if the insurer accepts the claim in full, the insurer would pay $6,450 − $2,500 = $3,950 and you would pay $2,500. Whether a given loss is covered depends on your policy wording; damage from a sudden burst pipe is treated differently from long-term seepage under many policies. The point of the example is that the list, the photos and the plumber’s written cause are what make a claim straightforward.

Documenting incidents for insurance

Keep an incident log for every emergency and significant repair, even when you do not file a claim. Record:

• Date and time you were notified, by whom, and how.
• Photos and video of the damage and the source before cleanup, when safe, plus wide shots that show the location.
• Every call made, who answered, and when they arrived.
• What was done to stop further damage (water shut off, area secured, boards up).
• Vendor invoices that state the cause, plus receipts for emergency materials and any temporary housing.
• Claim number, adjuster name and every conversation with the insurer.
• Written notices to the tenant, including any notice of entry.

Property policies commonly require prompt notice and reasonable steps to protect the property from further damage, so read your own policy’s conditions now rather than during a loss. Keep damaged materials, or detailed photos of them, until the adjuster says you can discard them. The rental property insurance guide covers policy types, and the documentation system guide shows how to keep records organized. Insurance payouts and repair costs also have tax consequences; see the rental tax deduction cheat sheet.

Habitability and repair timelines, in general terms

Most states require landlords to keep residential rentals fit to live in, through a statute, local housing codes, court decisions recognizing an implied warranty of habitability, or a combination. Typical habitability items include working heat, plumbing, hot water and electricity, a weather-tight structure, and safe common areas, but the exact list differs.

Timelines differ even more. Some states set specific notice requirements and repair periods, some use a “reasonable time” standard tied to how serious the problem is, and some give tenants remedies such as repair and deduct, rent withholding through a court process, or lease termination if the landlord does not act. Cities can add stricter rules. Because the consequences of getting this wrong include rent abatement and liability, do not rely on a general number of days you have read elsewhere. Check your state statute and local code, starting with our state legal guides (for example California, Texas, Florida, New York and Illinois), and confirm with a local attorney when in doubt.

Practical rules that work in every state: respond to emergencies the same day, acknowledge every repair request in writing, keep proof of when you were notified and what you did, and follow your state’s rules on notice before entering a unit, including any emergency entry exception.

Keeping the list current

• Review it twice a year, for example when you test smoke and CO alarms, and after any vendor change.
• Call each emergency number once a year to confirm it still reaches a person or an answering service.
• Store it in three places: your phone, a printed copy, and with anyone who covers for you when you travel.
• Re-issue the tenant sheet at every lease renewal and whenever a number changes.
• Check certificates of insurance and licenses for your vendors each year.

Common mistakes

• Listing only the utility billing number instead of the emergency line.
• No backup vendor for plumbing or HVAC, the two trades most likely to be needed at night.
• Tenants who do not know where the main water shutoff is.
• Cleaning up before photographing the damage and the cause.
• Treating no heat in winter as a next-week repair.
• Quoting a repair deadline from another state instead of checking your own statute.
• Digging for a fence or mailbox without calling 811.

Related resources

• Property emergency response playbook
• How to handle emergency maintenance
• Rental maintenance checklist
• Maintenance priority cheat sheet
• First-time landlord playbook
• All landlord cheat sheets

This page is general information, not legal advice. Landlord-tenant and habitability rules vary by state and city. Consult a licensed attorney in your state about your specific obligations.