New Castle County, DE Water Use Rules: Leak Reporting Duty (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing section
- County Code § 19.03.003
- Tenant duty
- Prevent spills and overflows
- Landlord duty
- Notify immediately, keep leak-free
- Emergency penalty
- $500 per unit, first violation
- Continuing penalty
- $500 per day per unit
- Repeat penalty
- $1,000 within 12 months
- Enforcing agency
- Dept. of Land Use, (302) 395-5555
Summary
New Castle County's Tenants' Rights Guide, codified at County Code § 19.03.003, requires every rental unit's roof and plumbing to stay free of leaks. Tenants must stop any spill or overflow themselves, but the instant a leak, spill, or overflow appears, the landlord must be notified immediately to head off further damage such as mold.
Leaks Your roof and plumbing should be free of leaks. The tenant has a responsibility to prevent any spills or overflows. In the event of a leak, spill or overflow, the landlord should be notified immediately to prevent additional damage such as mold.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 5).
Full Breakdown
003 makes the Tenants' Rights Guide part of the County Code and requires every landlord of a rental unit in unincorporated New Castle County to hand a copy to each tenant when the tenancy begins. The Guide's "Leaks" entry places two duties side by side: the tenant's duty to prevent spills or overflows from getting worse, and the landlord's duty to keep the roof and plumbing leak-free and to act once notified. The Department of Land Use, reachable at (302) 395-5555, is the agency listed to take a report if the landlord does not respond.
002(C)(3)(d): once the Code Official notifies a landlord of an emergency, the landlord has four hours to respond and twenty-four hours to make corrective repairs. Missing that window triggers a $500 civil penalty per affected rental unit for the first violation, an additional $500 per day for each day the condition stays uncorrected, and a $1,000 penalty if the same property has a repeat failure within twelve months. A single building system failure affecting several units counts as one violation per building per day rather than one per unit.
The Guide itself must be updated by the Department every year no later than July 1, and it must be available in both English and Spanish so tenants can act on the leak-notification duty regardless of language.
Violations & Fines
A landlord who fails to respond to a leak the Code Official has flagged as an emergency condition owes a $500 civil penalty per rental unit for the first violation, another $500 for each additional day the leak goes uncorrected past the 24-hour repair window, and $1,000 for a repeat failure at the same property inside twelve months, under Section 19.04.002(C)(3)(d).
Frequently Asked Questions
Who has to fix a leak in a New Castle County rental?
How fast does my landlord have to respond after I report a leak?
What if my landlord ignores a leak I reported?
Does a leak that causes mold get treated differently?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in New Castle County
Compare New Castle County to another location·View the Delaware water use rules overview
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