A compiled reference of 44 verified statistics on rental property plumbing, spanning what individual repairs cost, what a plumber charges by the hour and by credential, how often interior leaks and toilet failures actually occur, the emergency multiplier a guest-occupied failure carries, and the federal habitability standard that governs the long-term rental side. Every figure is drawn from a named public source, including the US Census Bureau's American Housing Survey, Angi, HomeGuide, the National Association of Home Builders, Airbnb's own refund policy and the US Department of Housing and Urban Development, and independently checked against the original before publishing.
Key statistics
6 highlights from this report
Key statistics
Key takeaways
The average plumbing call is unremarkable at $340. What makes plumbing the most expensive trade in a rental is not the invoice, it is the multiplier and the tail. Emergency pricing runs 1.5 to 3 times the daytime rate, and the two failures most likely to happen while a guest is in the property, a stopped toilet and an active leak, are the ones the timing premium hits hardest. Federal survey data shows both are common: one home in twelve reported an interior leak in 2023, and 2.3 million had no working toilet at some point in a single quarter.
Plumbing repair costs $340 on average, in a normal range of $182 to $500
Emergency plumbers charge 1.5 to 3 times the normal rate, averaging $170 an hour
11.2 million US homes reported an interior water leak in 2023
2.3 million US homes had no working toilet at some point in a three-month window
A main sewer line clog is the costliest common emergency at $1,325 to $5,000
Renters occupy 3.5 million of the 6.45 million inadequate US homes, owners 2.8 million
How we built this report
Every figure below was compiled in August 2026 from named public sources and checked against the original document before publishing.
- Compiled from primary sources
Federal survey data from the American Housing Survey and its official housing-quality release, an industry analysis of that same survey, two published contractor pricing guides, federal regulation, and the booking platform's own published refund policy.
- Only explicitly stated figures
We include only numbers a named source states directly, and attribute each one inline where it appears. Where we do arithmetic on top of a cited figure it is labelled as a worked example with the inputs shown.
- Disagreements shown, not averaged
Angi and HomeGuide do not agree on the national average or on individual jobs, and HomeGuide's plumber guide is dated 2023 while Angi's is 2026. Both are shown with their dates rather than blended.
- Independent review
Written by one co-founder, reviewed by the other before publishing.
Scope caveat: contractor cost figures are guide-level national ranges, not an audited survey, and vary by market, access and season. The federal survey covers the whole US housing stock; short-term rentals are not separately identified in it. This page deliberately covers repair cost and failure frequency only. Insurance claim averages, leak-detection devices and carrier discounts are covered in our separate water leak detection and insurance statistics, and are not repeated here.
Rental plumbing, by the numbers
All 44 figures, grouped by theme, each from a named public source and independently verified against the original.
What plumbing repairs cost
According to Angi (angi.com), whose plumbing cost guide carries 2026 data, plumbing repair costs $340 on average, with a normal range of $182 to $500 and outliers from $99 to $987. According to HomeGuide (homeguide.com), whose plumber guide was last updated in September 2023, the national average is lower at $280, with $125 to $350 typical for small jobs and $500 to $800 for large repairs. The two guides broadly agree on the everyday jobs and diverge on the big ones, which is the pattern to expect: a toilet repair is $100 to $300 in both, but a burst pipe is $1,000 to $4,000 at Angi and pipe repair $400 to $2,000 at HomeGuide.
Statistic 1
Plumbing repair costs $340 on average, with a low of $99 and a high of $987.
Angi (2026)
Statistic 2
The normal US range for a plumbing repair is $182 to $500.
Angi (2026)
Statistic 3
A second pricing guide puts the national average at $280, with a typical range of $125 to $350.
HomeGuide (2023)
Statistic 4
Large plumbing repairs run $500 to $800; small jobs like toilets, sinks and faucets run $125 to $350.
HomeGuide (2023)
Statistic 5
Toilet repair costs $100 to $300.
Angi (2026); HomeGuide (2023) agrees
Statistic 6
Clearing a clog or snaking a drain costs $95 to $500.
Angi (2026)
Statistic 7
Repairing a leaking pipe costs $175 to $550.
Angi (2026)
Statistic 8
Fixing a leak costs $150 to $850, and fixing a ceiling leak $700 to $3,000.
HomeGuide (2023)
Statistic 9
Faucet and fixture replacement costs $150 to $600.
Angi (2026)
Statistic 10
Water heater repair costs $150 to $750 and installation $800 to $2,000.
Angi (2026)
Statistic 11
Garbage disposal repair costs $150 to $300; unclogging one costs $160 to $685.
Angi (2026); HomeGuide (2023)
Statistic 12
Repairing burst pipes costs $1,000 to $4,000.
Angi (2026)
Statistic 13
Main line water leak repair costs $600 to $4,500.
Angi (2026)
Statistic 14
Sewer main line repair costs $1,880 to $3,700, and sewer line cleaning $150 to $800.
HomeGuide (2023)
Statistic 15
Slab leak work costs $500 to $4,000; septic tank repair $500 to $3,000.
Angi (2026)
Statistic 16
Single-room plumbing costs $500 to $2,500; whole-house plumbing $10,000 to $20,000.
Angi (2026)
Statistic 17
More than 34 percent of plumber hire requests are for fixture installation or replacement; the second most common is a leaking pipe or faucet.
Angi (2026)
What this means: the jobs a rental generates most often, a stopped toilet, a slow drain, a dripping fixture, a running toilet, all sit at or below the $340 average. The tail is where the money is, and the tail is almost entirely water: burst pipes, main lines and sewer backups are each an order of magnitude above the everyday call. For a portfolio, the useful planning number is not the average but the ratio between the routine call and the failure it prevents.
What a plumber charges
Labor is the largest line on most plumbing invoices, and both guides tier it by credential. According to Angi (angi.com), plumbers charge $45 to $200 per hour: $45 to $90 for an apprentice, $60 to $110 for a journeyperson and $80 to $200 for a master plumber. According to HomeGuide (homeguide.com), the range is $45 to $150 per hour, averaging $75 before trip fees and materials, with residential plumbers at about $70 an hour against $85 for commercial. Both guides put a service call or trip fee on top of the hourly rate before any work is done.
Statistic 18
Plumbers charge $45 to $200 per hour.
Angi (2026)
Statistic 19
Hourly rate rises with credential: $45 to $90 apprentice, $60 to $110 journeyperson, $80 to $200 master plumber.
Angi (2026)
Statistic 20
A second guide puts plumber rates at $45 to $150 per hour, averaging $75 before trip fees and materials.
HomeGuide (2023)
Statistic 21
Residential plumbers average about $70 per hour against $85 for commercial plumbers.
HomeGuide (2023)
Statistic 22
A service call fee runs $100 to $250 before any repair is performed.
Angi (2026)
Statistic 23
Minimum call-out fees run $50 to $150, with trip fees of $1 to $2 per mile beyond the first ten.
HomeGuide (2023)
Statistic 24
Flat rates for routine repairs run $100 to $400; a plumbing permit adds $75 to $100.
Angi (2026)
Statistic 25
Clients more than 10 miles from the plumber pay an additional $50 to $300 in trip fees.
Angi (2026)
Worked example
A routine two-hour toilet call at Angi's $45 to $200 hourly rate plus a $100 to $250 service call fee runs $190 to $650 before parts, per RapidEye Research. On a fixed-fee basis, HomeGuide's $200 to $250 flat rate for standard services or the first hour is often the cheaper way to book the same job.
What this means: the fee structure rewards batching. Because the service call is a fixed charge that lands before the meter starts, two small jobs booked as one visit cost materially less than two visits, and a service contract that waives the trip fee is worth more to a multi-unit operator than to a homeowner. Distance matters too: a plumber outside a ten-mile radius adds a fee that can exceed the repair itself.
How often plumbing actually fails
This is the part contractor guides cannot tell you, and it comes from the federal survey. According to the US Census Bureau (census.gov), reporting its 2023 American Housing Survey, 11.2 million of the 133.2 million occupied US housing units reported water leakage from inside the home, and a further 11.8 million reported leakage from outside. 2.3 million had no working toilet at some point in the previous three months. According to the National Association of Home Builders (nahb.org), analysing the same survey, 6.45 million homes, roughly 5 percent of the stock, were classified as inadequate, and prolonged toilet breakdowns are one of the deficiencies that define moderate inadequacy.
Statistic 26
11.2 million US housing units reported water leakage from inside the home in 2023.
US Census Bureau, American Housing Survey (2023)
Statistic 27
11.8 million US housing units reported water leakage from outside the home in 2023.
US Census Bureau, American Housing Survey (2023)
Statistic 28
2.3 million US housing units had no working toilet at some point within the previous three months.
US Census Bureau, American Housing Survey (2023)
Statistic 29
3.9 million US housing units reported mold in the previous 12 months.
US Census Bureau, American Housing Survey (2023)
Statistic 30
The survey covers 133.2 million occupied housing units and collects more than 100 quality-related items.
US Census Bureau, American Housing Survey (2023)
Statistic 31
6.45 million US homes, about 5 percent of the stock, were classified as inadequate in 2023: 1.65 million severely and 4.8 million moderately.
National Association of Home Builders, analysing the 2023 American Housing Survey (2025)
Statistic 32
Missing hot or cold running water is a defining deficiency of severe inadequacy; prolonged toilet breakdowns define moderate inadequacy.
National Association of Home Builders (2025)
Worked example
11.2 million interior leaks against 133.2 million occupied units is roughly one home in twelve reporting an interior leak in a single year, per RapidEye Research. On a 50-unit portfolio at that national rate, that is about four interior leaks a year before counting anything from outside the envelope.
What this means: a leak is not an edge case; on the national rate it is an annual event for a mid-sized portfolio. Toilet failure is rarer but sharper: 2.3 million units losing their toilet inside a single quarter is the failure mode a guest reports fastest and a lease tolerates least. Water inside the envelope also feeds the 3.9 million mold reports, which is why the cheap call and the expensive claim are the same event at different points on the clock.
The emergency multiplier
Everything above assumes the plumber comes on a weekday. A rental failure usually does not. According to Angi (angi.com), emergency plumbers cost 1.5 to 3 times what they charge in normal business hours, averaging $170 per hour against a standard $40 to $200, and Angi tiers it by timing: $60 to $300 an hour on a weekday evening, $80 to $400 on a weekend, and $120 to $600 on a holiday. HomeGuide (homeguide.com) independently reports double or triple time after hours, or about $125 to $170 an hour. On the platform side, Airbnb (airbnb.com) does not name plumbing in its Rebooking and Refund Policy for homes, but it does define a Reservation Issue to include accommodations that are "not reasonably clean and sanitary" or that "contain safety or health hazards," with a 72-hour window for the guest to report. A stopped toilet or an active leak is argued under those two clauses.
Statistic 33
Emergency plumbers charge 1.5 to 3 times their normal business-hours rate.
Angi (2026)
Statistic 34
Emergency plumbing averages $170 per hour, in a range of $100 to $500 and up to $600 for holiday calls.
Angi (2026)
Statistic 35
By timing: $60 to $300 an hour on a weekday evening, $80 to $400 on a weekend, $120 to $600 on a holiday.
Angi (2026)
Statistic 36
A second guide reports double or triple time after hours, weekends and holidays, or about $125 to $170 per hour.
HomeGuide (2023)
Statistic 37
Emergency fees add $300 to $400 on top of the repair.
Angi (2026)
Statistic 38
Main sewer line clog repair costs $1,325 to $5,000 and burst pipe repair $150 to $5,000, the two costliest common emergencies.
Angi (2026)
Statistic 39
Emergency toilet repair costs $150 to $375, and emergency water heater repair $225 to $975.
Angi (2026)
Statistic 40
Estimated emergency plumbing costs range from $225 to $1,125 in Orlando up to $415 to $2,250 in Seattle.
Angi (2026)
Statistic 41
Airbnb's refund policy defines a Reservation Issue to include accommodations that are not reasonably clean and sanitary, or that contain safety or health hazards.
Airbnb, Rebooking and Refund Policy for homes (2026)
Statistic 42
A guest must report a Reservation Issue within 72 hours after discovery to qualify for rebooking or a refund.
Airbnb, Rebooking and Refund Policy for homes (2026)
Worked example
Angi's own toilet repair figures make the multiplier concrete: $100 to $300 on a scheduled call becomes $150 to $375 as an emergency, per RapidEye Research. On the hourly view, a two-hour Saturday call at Angi's $80 to $400 weekend rate is $160 to $800 in labor alone, against $90 to $400 for the same two hours on a weekday.
What this means: the plumbing multiplier is steeper than HVAC's. Where an HVAC technician adds a fixed $40 to $80 an hour after hours, a plumber's rate can triple, and holiday pricing tops out at $600 an hour. The operational lever is the same one as every trade: the multiplier is triggered by a guest discovering the problem outside business hours. A slow drain caught at turnover is a $95 weekday call; the same drain backing up on a Saturday night is an emergency, a refund conversation and a review.
The long-term rental side
Under a lease the operator does not carry the timing premium, the tenant does, and the floor is set by law rather than by platform policy. According to the National Association of Home Builders (nahb.org), renters occupy 3.5 million of the 6.45 million inadequate US homes, against 2.8 million owned, even though renters are the smaller tenure group. According to the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (hud.gov), 24 CFR 5.703, the national standard for the condition of HUD housing, requires that unit components including the bathroom, hot water heater and kitchen be "functionally adequate, operable, and in good repair," and lists mold and infestation among the health and safety concerns a unit must be free of.
Statistic 43
Renters occupy 3.5 million of the 6.45 million inadequate US homes; owners occupy 2.8 million.
National Association of Home Builders, analysing the 2023 American Housing Survey (2025)
Statistic 44
Federal standards require a unit's bathroom, hot water heater and kitchen to be functionally adequate, operable, and in good repair, and the unit to be free of mold.
24 CFR 5.703
What this means: the tenure skew is the same one that shows up in our HVAC research, where renters were nearly twice as likely as owners to be uncomfortably hot: the person who experiences the failure is not the person who calls the plumber, and the gap between those two people is where a leak becomes mold and a slow toilet becomes an inadequate unit. Short-term rentals compress that gap to hours. A lease can stretch it for months, which is exactly what the federal standard exists to prevent.
Cite this study
Academic or press use: copy a ready-made reference. RapidEye is the publisher.
Quick FAQ
How much does a plumbing repair cost?
Plumbing repair costs $340 on average, with a normal range of $182 to $500 and outliers from $99 to $987, according to Angi's 2026 plumbing cost guide. HomeGuide puts the national average lower, at $280 with a typical range of $125 to $350 for small jobs. Common repairs sit well under the average: toilet repair runs $100 to $300, drain clearing $95 to $500 and a leaking pipe $175 to $550, according to Angi.
How much more does an emergency plumber cost?
Emergency plumbers charge 1.5 to 3 times their normal rate, according to Angi, averaging $170 per hour against a standard $45 to $200 per hour. Angi tiers it by timing: $60 to $300 an hour on a weekday evening, $80 to $400 on a weekend, and $120 to $600 on a holiday. HomeGuide independently reports double or triple time after hours, or about $125 to $170 per hour.
How common are plumbing failures in US homes?
In 2023, 11.2 million of the 133.2 million occupied US housing units reported water leakage from inside the home, and 2.3 million had no working toilet at some point in the previous three months, according to the US Census Bureau's American Housing Survey. That is roughly one home in twelve with an interior leak in a single year.
Does Airbnb refund guests for plumbing problems?
Airbnb's Rebooking and Refund Policy for homes does not name plumbing directly, but it does define a Reservation Issue to include accommodations that are not reasonably clean and sanitary or that contain safety or health hazards, and it requires the guest to report within 72 hours of discovery. A non-functioning toilet or an active leak will typically be argued under those two clauses.
What are the most expensive plumbing repairs?
Main sewer line clog repair costs $1,325 to $5,000 and burst pipe repair $150 to $5,000, according to Angi. HomeGuide puts sewer main line repair at $1,880 to $3,700 and pipe repair at $400 to $2,000. Whole-house repiping runs $10,000 to $20,000, according to Angi.
How much does a plumber charge per hour?
Plumbers charge $45 to $200 per hour, according to Angi, rising with credential: $45 to $90 for an apprentice, $60 to $110 for a journeyperson and $80 to $200 for a master plumber. HomeGuide puts the range at $45 to $150 per hour with an average of $75 before trip fees and materials, and reports residential plumbers average about $70 per hour against $85 for commercial.
Data sources
Every figure on this page traces to one of these named public sources, each checked against the original document before publishing.
US Census BureauAmerican Housing Survey, 2023 housing quality releasecensus.gov
AngiPlumbing repair and emergency plumber cost guides, by job, credential and cityangi.com
HomeGuidePlumber cost guide, hourly rates and repair price listhomeguide.com
National Association of Home BuildersHousing inadequacy analysis of the 2023 American Housing Surveynahb.org
AirbnbRebooking and refund policy for homes, Reservation Issue definitionairbnb.com
US Department of Housing and Urban Development24 CFR 5.703, national standards for the condition of HUD housinghud.gov