Toowong by the numbers
Apartments dominate
At the 2021 Census, 67.9% of the suburb's occupied homes were flats or apartments, against 12.5% across Queensland. Separate houses made up 28.5%.
Small homes
47.3% had 2 bedrooms and 11.8% had just 1.
Mostly renters
54.8% of homes were rented, 22.3% owned with a mortgage and 21.0% owned outright.
In a unit, start with the body corporate
Urban Utilities' part ends at the water meter and the sewer connection point, and in a complex that point can sit on common property. Pipes between there and your unit may serve neighbours too, so check with the body corporate before booking a plumber for a leak or blockage that reaches beyond your own walls.
Your meter may sit beside your unit or in a central meter cabinet. If the building runs on one main meter, the body corporate, not individual owners, applies for Urban Utilities' concealed leak assistance.
Plans, permits and backflow devices
Brisbane City Council sells as-constructed hydraulic plans for multi-dwellings and commercial buildings, showing the in-ground sanitary drainage. Ask whether the body corporate already holds a copy before a big drainage job. Permit plumbing work on an apartment building needs a Form 1 application and a set of hydraulic plans.
Council says backflow prevention devices are usually fitted on fire hose reels, hydrants and mains-connected irrigation. Each testable device must be tested by a licensed backflow tester at least once every calendar year, and Council's reminder notices ask for that by 31 December. Our Brisbane backflow testing page explains the process.
What we would do
Learn where your meter and isolation valve are before you need them; Urban Utilities says the valve usually turns no more than a quarter turn, so don't force it. When a leak or blockage could involve shared pipes, tell the body corporate first. And for any drainage job in a block, ask whether the hydraulic plans are on file, because they save the plumber a lot of searching.
Toowong specialists
We match leak detection, blocked drains, backflow testing and commercial plumbing for body corporates, each with a licence-checked plumber who does that work. Nearby, see Indooroopilly, Paddington and Ashgrove.