Maintenance is where a lettings business earns trust or loses it. Tenants judge you by how fast a leak is fixed. Landlords judge you by what it cost and whether the statement makes sense. And in more and more places, the law sets the clock.
This guide walks through property maintenance management from the first report to the landlord statement: the lifecycle, priority levels, the repair rules in the UK, US and UAE, contractors, inspections, a preventive calendar and the numbers worth tracking.
Why maintenance makes or breaks a lettings business
Repairs are not a side task. England's latest housing survey shows how much is left to do in rented homes, and private rented homes come out worst on damp and on decency.1
Behind each number are calls, emails and photos that someone has to handle. When that happens in personal inboxes, three things go wrong. Jobs are forgotten. Nobody can prove when the problem was reported or what was done. And the landlord gets a bill with no story behind it.
A clear process, backed by property management CRM software, fixes all three. Every job has a number, a status, a person in charge and a cost.
The maintenance lifecycle, step by step
Every repair, from a dripping tap to a failed boiler, follows the same path. What changes is the speed.
- ReportTenant, owner or inspector reports it, ideally with photos
- TriageCategory and priority set, decide who fixes it
- Work orderContractor, scope, access notes and quote
- ScheduleA date agreed with the tenant and the contractor
- CompleteJob done, checked, notes and photos saved
- Record costFinal amount, and who pays: landlord, tenant or you
- StatementThe landlord's share comes off their next statement
Report. Capture what is wrong, where, when it started and how to get in. Photos save a wasted visit. Record the date and time; under some rules, the clock starts when you become aware of the problem.3
Triage. Decide the priority and the trade. Some jobs need a visit before anyone can say what is wrong. Others, like a broken extractor fan, can go straight to a contractor.
Work order and schedule. Give the contractor one clear instruction: the work, the address, the access details, the date and the agreed price. Tell the tenant who is coming and when.
Complete and check. Ask for a short note and a photo of the finished job. For bigger jobs, check with the tenant that the problem is really gone before you close it.
Cost and statement. Record the final amount, the date paid and who pays. If the landlord pays, the cost should land on their next statement without anyone retyping it.
Priority levels and response times
A simple four-level scale works for most portfolios. The examples below are typical; the benchmarks come from published rules and guidance, which are outer limits, not targets. Set your own targets in your management agreements, and make them shorter.
| Priority | Typical examples | Benchmarks from the rules |
|---|---|---|
| Emergency | Gas smell, flooding, dangerous wiring, no heating in freezing weather, a front door that will not lock | English social housing: emergency hazards investigated and made safe within 24 hours3. UK government guide: for a boiler or electricity failure, a technician within 24 hours may be reasonable2 |
| Urgent | No hot water, significant damp and mould, a heating fault in cold weather | English social housing: significant damp and mould hazards investigated within 10 working days, safety work within 5 working days after that3. California: for a broken furnace in very cold weather, one to two days may be reasonable6 |
| Normal | Dripping tap, sticking door, faulty extractor fan, a broken appliance you supplied | California: the law usually considers 30 days a reasonable time to repair before a tenant may repair and deduct6 |
| Low | Cosmetic marks, a loose handle, small garden jobs | Usually no legal clock; group them with the next visit |
Who must repair what: UK, US and UAE
Repair duties come from the law and the lease. Here are the main points in the places Kelo serves. They are examples, not a full statement of the law.
| Where | Main repair duty | Time limits and standards |
|---|---|---|
| England, all rented homes | The landlord is always responsible for the structure and exterior, and the installations for water, gas, electricity, sanitation, heating and hot water2 | A reasonable time after being told; tenants must give reasonable access for repairs2 |
| England, social housing | Awaab's Law, in force since 27 October 20253 | Emergency hazards: 24 hours. Significant damp and mould: investigate within 10 working days, written summary within 3 working days, safety work within 5 working days3. From 30 November 2026 it also covers excess cold and heat, falls, structural collapse, fire and explosions, electrical hazards and domestic hygiene4 |
| England, private renting | Awaab's Law will be extended under the Renters' Rights Act 2025 | Timing to be confirmed, subject to consultation5 |
| California | The landlord must repair conditions that seriously affect habitability6 | If not, the tenant may repair and deduct, up to one month's rent and no more than twice in 12 months6 |
| New York City | Heat and hot water | Heat from 1 October to 31 May: at least 68°F by day when it is below 55°F outside, and 62°F at night. Hot water at 120°F all year7 |
| Dubai | Unless agreed otherwise, the landlord maintains the property and repairs defects that affect the tenant's use (Article 16)8 | The tenant must care for the property as an ordinary person would and return it in the same condition, except ordinary wear and tear8. In jointly owned buildings, developers are liable for structural defects for 10 years and minor defects for one year from completion9 |
Managing contractors: trades, quotes and approval limits
Good contractors are the heart of property maintenance. Keep them in one list, by trade, so whoever takes the call can find the right plumber or electrician in seconds.
Build an approved list
For each contractor, record their trades, phone, email, and the documents you rely on, such as insurance and trade registrations. Some work has its own rules. In Great Britain, for example, the annual gas safety check must be done by a Gas Safe registered engineer.10 Note the expiry dates of these documents and check them before each job.
Quotes and approval limits
Agree an approval limit with each landlord in the management agreement: the amount you may spend on a repair without asking first. Above it, you send the quote and wait for a yes. Emergencies are the exception: make it safe first, then report.
Record the quote on the work order, and the final amount when the job is done. A gap between the two is worth a question.
Clear instructions
A work order should say what to do, where, by when, and how to get in: keys, parking, the tenant's phone, pets. Ask the contractor to confirm they accepted the job, when they started and when they finished, with a photo.
Inspections: move-in, routine and move-out
Inspections protect everyone. They catch small problems before they grow, and they give you evidence when a deposit is disputed. Good property inspection software helps, but the habit matters more than the tool.
- Move-in: the baseline. Record the condition of every room with dated photos, and share the report with the tenant.
- Routine: a check during the tenancy for leaks, damp, safety alarms and damage. Give the notice your local rules and the lease require.
- Move-out: compare with the move-in report. In Dubai, for example, the tenant must hand back the property in the same condition as received, except ordinary wear and tear.8
Tick through this list on your next visit:
Room-by-room inspection checklist
A preventive maintenance calendar
Preventive maintenance (PM) means doing the checks before something fails, and much of it is required by law. Put these dates in your property maintenance software, attached to each property, so reminders arrive without anyone remembering them.
| Task | How often | Required or recommended by |
|---|---|---|
| Gas safety check by a Gas Safe registered engineer; copy to existing tenants within 28 days | Every year | Legal duty for landlords in Great Britain10 |
| Electrical installation inspected and tested; remedial work within 28 days | At least every 5 years | Legal duty in England, private and social rent11 |
| Smoke alarm on every storey with living space; CO alarm in rooms with a fixed combustion appliance, except gas cookers | Working on the day each tenancy begins | Legal duty in England12 |
| Test smoke alarms | Every month | U.S. Fire Administration advice13 |
| Replace smoke alarms | 10 years from the manufacture date | U.S. Fire Administration advice13 |
| Inspect, clean or change heating and cooling air filters | Every month | ENERGY STAR advice14 |
| Contractor check-up: cooling system in spring, heating in autumn | Every year, before the season | ENERGY STAR advice14 |
| Heating ready for the heat season | Before 1 October | New York City heat season7 |
Maintenance KPIs worth tracking
You cannot improve what you do not measure. These numbers tell you whether your process works, and they give landlords a straight answer when they ask how their property is looked after.
- Time to first response: hours from the report to your first reply or visit.
- Time to fix: days from the report to the job being done.
- Cost per job and cost per unit per year: what maintenance really costs, so you can budget and compare properties.
- Repeat rate: how many jobs come back. A high rate points to quick fixes that did not last.
Pull the figures for a period from your records and try them here:
Maintenance KPI calculator
Watch the trend, not one month. A rising time to fix often means one contractor is overloaded. A high cost per unit on one property may mean it needs a bigger repair rather than more small ones.
From repair cost to landlord statement
The last step is where many offices lose time: matching contractor invoices to landlords at month end. It is simple when each cost is recorded once, against the property, with a clear answer to who pays.
- Landlord pays: the cost comes off the landlord's next statement.
- Tenant pays: for damage they caused, where the law and lease allow it.2
- Your company pays: for example, a repeat visit caused by your own mistake.
A landlord statement then shows, for one landlord and one period, the rent received, your fees, the costs charged to them and the amount left to pay out. When each line links back to a work order, the landlord can see exactly what they paid for, and the questions stop.
How Kelo fits your maintenance work
Kelo for Real Estate includes a CRM for Property Management, built for letting agents and property managers in the US, UK and UAE. The maintenance tools are in the Lettings and Property Management edition, and in the edition that combines sales and lettings.
A tenant reports a repair with photos through their portal, and Kelo adds a maintenance request assigned to the property's agent, with a task to reply. Requests carry a category and a priority of Low, Normal, Urgent or Emergency, and move across a board from New to Triaged, In progress and Waiting. An automation rule can create a task or send an email whenever a new request comes in.
From the request you create a work order for a contractor, and the request moves to In progress. When it is done, you record the cost once and, if the landlord pays, it goes on their statement. Kelo records the date each request is closed, and the request list exports to CSV for your KPI sheet.
See every part on the features page, compare editions on the pricing page, or start a 14-day free trial with no card and log your next repair in it.
Questions people ask
What is the difference between a maintenance request and a work order?
A maintenance request is the problem as it was reported: what is wrong, where and how urgent. A work order is the instruction you give a contractor to fix it: the work, the date, the access details and the agreed price.
How often should a rental property be inspected?
It depends on your agreement with the landlord and the notice rules where the property is. Inspect at move-in and move-out for every tenancy, agree an interval for routine visits, and record the next due date so it is not missed.
Who pays for repairs in a rented home?
The law and the lease decide. In England, California and Dubai the landlord carries the main repair duty, while a tenant can be asked to pay for damage they cause. Check the rules where the property is.
Does Awaab's Law apply to private landlords?
Not yet. It has applied to social landlords in England since 27 October 2025. The Renters' Rights Act 2025 will extend it to private renting, but the government lists the timing as to be confirmed, subject to consultation.
Can contractors update their jobs in Kelo?
Yes. Through their own portal, contractors see the work orders sent to them and mark each one Accepted, In progress or Done, with a note and a photo. The property's agent then gets a task.
Does Kelo pay contractors or landlords?
No. Kelo records costs and payouts so statements add up, but the money itself moves through your bank.
See it working in your own office
Kelo for Real Estate brings listings, leads, viewings, deals, tenancies, rent and repairs into one place. Try every feature free for 14 days, no card needed.
Sources
- English Housing Survey Headline Report 2024-25: housing quality and energy efficiency — Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
- How to rent a safe home — GOV.UK
- Awaab's Law: Guidance for social landlords - timeframes for repairs in the social rented sector — GOV.UK
- Awaab's Law Phase 2: Guidance for social landlords — GOV.UK
- Implementing the Renters' Rights Act 2025: our roadmap for reforming the private rented sector — GOV.UK
- Landlord's responsibility for repairs — California Department of Real Estate
- Heat and hot water information — NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development
- Law No. (26) of 2007 Regulating the Relationship between Landlords and Tenants in the Emirate of Dubai — Dubai Legal Portal
- Know Your Rights: For Real Estate Investors in Dubai — Dubai Land Department
- Gas safety check records and what to keep — Health and Safety Executive
- Electrical safety standards in the private and social rented sectors: guidance — GOV.UK
- The Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (England) Regulations 2015: Q&A booklet for the private rented sector — GOV.UK
- Smoke alarms — U.S. Fire Administration
- Maintenance checklist — ENERGY STAR
Facts and figures were checked against the sources above on 5 November 2026. Rules and fees change, so check the current position before you act. This article is general information, not legal or financial advice.