Report first when alteration could destroy evidence
A stain beneath communal pipework, a door that fails to close or a loose labelled cover should be recorded before filling, trimming or dismantling. Include date, location, wide view, close detail and any sound or movement. Use the building’s reporting route and keep the reference. If immediate containment is required, explain what was done and avoid irreversible changes unless authorised. Do not claim that a photograph proves cause or liability. It provides a shared starting condition. Fire-safety components, lifts, fixed communal electrics and structural defects require competent managed routes. Once that process confirms the household scope, minor making good can be planned without obscuring the original issue.

