Power cuts & technical danger in your residence

Use the same order for electricity, water and heating: protect people from immediate danger, report urgent building damage locally and document an ordinary fault in the tenant portal.

Do not open a fuse box, distribution board or fixed installation. Check a clearly tripped, accessible circuit breaker only in accordance with local instructions and only where there is no sign of a fault, damp, heat or fire. If it trips again, do not keep trying.

1. Check safely whether only your appliance, your room or a wider area is affected.
2. Disconnect an obviously defective appliance of your own if it is safe to do so.
3. Check current local fault information.
4. Use the local contact for an urgent outage; otherwise use the tenant portal.

Daisy-chained power strips, damaged cables and unauthorised high-power equipment can overload a circuit. Use only undamaged, suitable equipment and follow your agreement and local rules.

Report dripping taps, leaking pipes and unusual pressure loss early. For a major water leak, use the local on-call or contractor contact. Close a known stopcock only if it is safe, and do not open any installation.

Heating systems and controls differ between residences. A complete failure during the heating season, leaking water or a dangerous fault may be urgent. Ordinary radiator problems belong in the portal.

Regular thorough ventilation and unobstructed radiators can reduce damp and wasted energy. The German Environment Agency explains correct heating and ventilation. Damp or mould can also have structural causes; document and report visible signs.

Electricity and other service charges form part of the gross rent under the standard agreement; your own agreement may differ. External call-outs incur costs. For a genuine technical emergency within the landlord’s responsibility, the landlord bears the call-out costs; there is no blanket promise for a false alarm or damage you caused yourself. ¹⁾