Q: Cistern is leaking at connection as water enters cistern! Any thoughts please. Andrew.

A: On a modern toilet it's usually it's a screw on hose similar to those that you find in washing machines that provides mains water to the cistern. As with a hosepipe there are several common culprits;

1. It needs tightening
2. The rubber seal has degraded over time and needs replacing - turn off the water to your cistern, flush to reduce the water pressure, and remove the seal and take it to your local DIY store who should be able to provide you with a matching replacement.
3. The threads on the connector were damaged - you can use PTFE/thread sealing tape to recreate a watertight seal.

Alternatively you can replace the entire hose with one with the same connectors.

On older cisterns, it's often a copper pipe leading to the cistern. The issues are the same, although instead of a rubber seal there will often be a copper 'olive' providing the seal. You also have the added issue that the pipe may have split somewhere, and you may need to replace a section of it. Many leaks in older pipes can be fixed by just tightening everything up though.

Unfortunately I've only described the two most common setups, there are plenty more ways it could have been setup. If nothing there helps, try taking a photo of where the leak is coming from, and I will see if I can provide any further help.

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