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Emergency Plumber in Camden: What to Do and Who to Call

Plumber repairing a burst pipe in Camden

If you have a burst pipe, a flooding leak or a blocked drain in Camden, make the water safe first, then call a plumber who answers at any hour and gives you a fixed price before starting. Evo Plumbers covers every London borough 24 hours a day, with Gas Safe registered engineers, and every job is quoted at a fixed price before work begins. This guide covers the first ten minutes, who is responsible for what, what a callout costs, and how to judge a quote.

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TL;DR

  • Turn off the stop valve, switch off heating and the immersion heater, and keep water away from electrics. Then call a plumber.
  • A smell of gas or a carbon monoxide alarm is not a plumbing job: call the National Gas Emergency Service on 0800 111 999 first.
  • A blockage that affects only your property is yours to fix. Blockages outside your boundary or affecting neighbours belong to Thames Water.
  • London emergency callouts are commonly quoted at around £90 to £120 before labour, so ask for a fixed total before anyone starts.
  • Council tenants report emergencies to Camden Council, not to a private plumber.

Table of Contents

The first ten minutes: stop the water, make it safe

What you do before the plumber arrives decides how much damage you have to pay for. The steps below follow guidance from the Chartered Institute of Plumbing and Heating Engineering and WaterSafe, the register of plumbers qualified to work on drinking water.

  1. Find the stop valve and turn it off. Camden Council says the main stopcock is commonly under the kitchen sink. Turn it clockwise, and do not force it if it is stuck, because a broken valve makes things worse.
  2. Drain the system. If water is still coming through, the CIPHE advises opening the cold taps and flushing the toilet. Do not turn on hot taps.
  3. Switch off the boiler and the immersion heater. WaterSafe lists this as part of the burst pipe routine, and the CIPHE gives the same advice for central heating and an electric immersion heater.
  4. Contain the water. Towels, buckets and bowls buy you time. Move rugs, electronics and anything valuable out of the way.
  5. Watch the electrics. If water is near sockets, light fittings or the consumer unit, WaterSafe says to switch the electricity off at the mains. If water is coming through a light fitting or switch, do not touch it, leave the room and get help immediately.

Then call a plumber and tell them what you have done. A good dispatcher will ask whether the stop valve is off, where the water is coming from and whether it is near electrics, so that the engineer arrives with the right kit.

If your water has simply stopped

No water at all is a different problem from a leak. Camden Council says to turn off taps and leave plugs out of sinks, basins and baths, so that you do not flood the flat when the supply returns. If the whole street is affected, the cause is likely on the network. Thames Water lists 0800 316 9800 as its 24-hour customer care number and says that it aims to restore supply within 12 hours in a major incident, with alternative supplies if it takes longer.

When it is a gas emergency, not a plumbing one

Some emergencies need a different first call. If you smell gas, or a carbon monoxide alarm sounds, act on the following before you phone any plumber.

  • Open doors and windows.
  • Turn off gas appliances and, if you can reach it safely, the gas at the meter. National Gas says to use the control handle unless the meter is in a cellar.
  • Do not smoke, light matches or operate electrical switches.
  • Call the free, 24-hour National Gas Emergency Service on 0800 111 999.
  • Call 999 if anyone feels unwell.

The Health and Safety Executive is clear that it is illegal to use a gas appliance you suspect is unsafe. Turn it off and leave it alone until a Gas Safe registered engineer has checked it. Once the emergency service has made the property safe, you will need a Gas Safe registered engineer to repair the fault. Our gas works team is made up of Gas Safe registered engineers, so the same visit can cover the repair.

Who is responsible: you, the council or Thames Water

Before you pay for a callout, it helps to know whose problem it is. In Camden three parties can be involved.

Situation Who deals with it
Burst pipe or leak inside your private home or business You, through a plumber
Blocked drain serving only your property, within your boundary You, through a plumber
Blockage outside your boundary, or one affecting several properties Thames Water
No mains water to the street Thames Water
Leak, no water or gas fault in a Camden council home Camden Council
Suspected gas leak or carbon monoxide alarm National Gas Emergency Service

Blocked drains

Thames Water explains that homeowners are responsible for pipes inside the home and the pipes connecting it to the public sewer. Thames Water is responsible where a blockage is outside the property boundary or affects more than one property. Its sewer responsibility page adds that it owns and repairs public sewers under roads and footpaths, plus shared sewers serving neighbours. For a blockage affecting only your property, it advises contacting a plumber.

In practice the signs are easy to read. If only your sink or toilet is slow, or a single gully overflows, start with a plumber. If neighbours report the same problem, or the water is surfacing in the street, report it to Thames Water. If you are unsure, an engineer who can tell you where the blockage sits is worth having, because the cause decides who pays. Our drain unblocking service is built for exactly this first visit.

Who to contact for a blocked drain

Council tenants

If you rent from Camden Council, the route is different. The council defines an emergency repair as one posing an immediate health or safety risk, or likely to cause serious property damage, with examples such as no drinking water, water leaking onto electrics and a collapsing ceiling or floor. Its housing repair page says tenants should report emergencies between 6pm and 8am on 020 7974 4444. It targets emergency repairs and uncontainable leaks within 24 hours, and containable leaks within five days. For gas leaks and carbon monoxide alarms in a council home, the council’s 24-hour housing emergency line is 0808 175 8880.

What an emergency plumber costs in London

Prices vary with the hour, the fault and the property, so treat any figure as a guide. One 2026 UK cost guide puts London callout fees at roughly £90 to £120, with hourly rates of £75 to £95. The same guide estimates that a burst pipe repair, including callout, typically lands between £150 and £270 nationally. Parts, access problems and the time of night can move that up.

A callout fee plus an hourly rate is where surprises come from, because the final bill depends on how long the job takes. That is why a fixed price matters more than a low headline rate. Evo Plumbers quotes every job at a fixed price before work starts, and you pay on completion. We do not publish a price list, because a leak under a Camden basement floor and a dripping stopcock are not the same job. We give you the total once we know what we are dealing with.

How to judge an emergency plumber before saying yes

Panic is when people agree to things they would otherwise question. Four checks take two minutes on the phone.

  1. Ask for a fixed price, not a rate. The question is “what will the total be for this fault?” A callout fee on its own tells you very little.
  2. Check the right registration. For anything touching drinking water, WaterSafe recommends a plumber on the WaterSafe register. For anything touching gas, the engineer must be Gas Safe registered.
  3. Ask when they can actually be with you. Response claims are easy to make. Ask for an arrival window and whether the engineer who attends will be the one who quotes.
  4. Confirm payment terms. You should know whether payment is due on completion and what the quote includes.

Our answers: we answer calls 24/7, quote a fixed price before starting, send Gas Safe registered engineers and take payment when the work is done.

Common urgent jobs in Camden homes and what they involve

Burst pipes and leaks

Older Camden terraces, mansion blocks and converted flats often have pipework running through floors and party walls, so a leak can travel before it shows. Once the stop valve is off, the plumber’s job is to find the failed section, repair or replace it and check the rest of the run. When the source is not obvious, for instance a stain spreading on a ceiling below, leak detection finds the leak without opening up more of the building than necessary. Flats add a complication: if the water is coming from the flat above, tell your neighbour or the managing agent straight away.

Blocked toilets, sinks and drains

A blocked toilet that will not clear, a sink that backs up into another fixture or a gully that overflows after rain all point to a drain problem. Stop using the water, which only adds to the backlog, and call. Clearing the blockage is only half of it. An engineer should tell you what caused it, whether grease, wipes or roots, so it does not come back.

No heating or hot water

A boiler failure in winter is an emergency for many households, particularly with children, older residents or anyone unwell. Boiler faults involve gas, so the work must be done by a Gas Safe registered engineer. If the boiler is beyond repair, we also carry out boiler installation.

If you let out a property in Camden, an urgent gas repair is also a compliance matter. Landlords must ensure that gas appliances and flues are checked within 12 months of installation and at intervals of no more than 12 months, and anyone working on gas fittings must be competent, according to a professional legal summary of the private rented sector rules. A 2026 gas-engineering industry publication adds that a landlord may arrange the check 10 to 12 calendar months after the previous one and keep the original anniversary date. It also says records must be kept until two further checks have been completed, or for two years after the appliance is removed.

The practical point: when a tenant reports a gas fault, treat it as urgent, switch the appliance off and use a Gas Safe registered engineer, then keep the paperwork. Our guide to the gas safety check explains what it covers and who needs one.

Businesses: keeping a leak from becoming a closure

For a shop, café or office on Camden High Street or around King’s Cross, a water or drainage failure can stop trading within hours. The same first steps apply: stop valve, electrics, containment. Then ring someone who answers at night and weekends and who can give you a fixed price on the phone, so you can decide quickly. Tell the engineer whether the premises are leased, because responsibility for drains and pipework can sit with the landlord or managing agent.

Our view: why a fixed price and a quick answer matter most

Most of the damage in a plumbing emergency is done by waiting, and most of the stress comes from not knowing the bill. That is why we answer calls round the clock and quote a fixed price before we start. You decide with the full number in front of you, and you pay when the work is finished.

We also think safety should not depend on the time of day. Gas work is done by Gas Safe registered engineers, whether it is a Tuesday afternoon or three in the morning. Everything else, from a burst pipe to a blocked drain, benefits from the same discipline: stop the water, find the cause, fix it properly.

If you are unsure which category your problem falls into, call and describe it. We will tell you whether it is a job for us, for Thames Water or for the gas emergency service, so that you are not paying for the wrong visit.

the author

Need an emergency plumber in Camden?

Evo Plumbers is a London emergency plumbing service covering all boroughs, 24 hours a day, with drainage, leak detection, gas works and boiler installation under one roof. Every job is quoted at a fixed price before work starts and paid for on completion.

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For a burst pipe, a flooding leak or a blocked drain, go straight to our emergency callout page. For planned work, see our full list of plumbing services in London, or start from the Evo Plumbers homepage.

We have also written local guides for Ealing, Richmond and a general guide to 24 hour plumbers in London.

FAQ

Who do I call first for a burst pipe in Camden?

Turn off the stop valve and make the area safe, then call a plumber. If you are a Camden Council tenant, call the council’s repairs line on 020 7974 4444 for emergencies out of hours. If water is near electrics, switch off the power at the mains first.

Is a blocked drain my responsibility or Thames Water’s?

If the blockage affects only your property and sits within your boundary, it is yours. Thames Water is responsible for public sewers and for blockages outside your boundary or affecting more than one property. A plumber can tell you where the blockage sits.

Can I get a plumber in Camden at night?

Yes. Evo Plumbers answers calls 24/7 and covers every London borough, so night and weekend emergencies are handled the same way as daytime ones. Tell the dispatcher what is happening and whether the stop valve is off.

What should I do if I smell gas?

Open doors and windows, turn off appliances and the gas at the meter if you can, and avoid flames and switches. Call the National Gas Emergency Service on 0800 111 999, and 999 if anyone feels unwell. Afterwards, have a Gas Safe registered engineer check the appliance before using it.

Sources

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