# Who pays a NYC water bill after a leak? | Who Pays the Repair?

> NYC DEP forgives one half of a leak-driven high water bill, but you still owe at least 150% of your typical bill. The leak must be fixed within 120 days.

**Who pays:** shared

In New York City, DEP's Leak Forgiveness Program forgives one half of a leak-driven high bill, but you still owe at least 150% of your property's typical bill.

**Boundary:** NYC DEP forgives one half of the high bill amount for a qualifying leak, but the final amount owed will not be less than 150% of the property's typical bill. To qualify, the property must be billed on metered charges, have a leak costing at least 200% of a normal bill, and have the leak fixed within 120 days from the date of the original bill.

## Sources
- [Leak Forgiveness Program](https://www.nyc.gov/site/dep/pay-my-bills/leak-forgiveness-program.page) — "property must be billed on metered charges, and you must: have a leak that costs equal to at least 200% of a normal bill from a representative billing period ... have the leak fixed within 120 days from the date of the original bill that contained the high charge" (accessed 2026-10-15)
- [Leak Forgiveness Program](https://www.nyc.gov/site/dep/pay-my-bills/leak-forgiveness-program.page) — "One half of the high bill amount, but the final amount owed for that bill will not be less than 150% of your property’s typical bill." (accessed 2026-10-15)
- [Rules of the City of New York, Section 5. Forgiving Charges Due to Extraordinary Leaks or Disasters](https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/newyorkcity/latest/NYCrules/0-0-0-152676) — "A Customer is eligible under the terms of this section for partial forgiveness of an unusually high metered water and wastewater charges if: ... The leak is repaired within 120 days of the Bill Date of the original bill for the high charge." (accessed 2026-10-15)

_Last verified 2026-10-15. Source: Who Pays the Repair? — https://whopaystherepair.com/rules/new-york-ny-water-bill-leak-forgiveness/ — every claim checked against a primary source before publication (see /methodology/)._