tennanseed.LANDLORD OPERATIONS · PRACTICAL GUIDE
Tenant Repair Reporting: A Landlord’s Practical Guide
A repair report needs more than a message saying “someone will look at it”. It needs a reference, an owner and a clear next step. Here is a process you can use with a small portfolio, whether you currently work from a spreadsheet or property maintenance software.
What should a tenant repair report include?
Collect enough information to understand the problem and arrange the next action. A tenant should describe what they can see or experience; they should not have to diagnose a technical fault.
| Record | Useful detail |
|---|---|
| Property and precise location | Kitchen sink in Flat 2, rather than ‘plumbing problem’. |
| What is happening | Water drips from the waste connection when the sink empties. |
| When it began and what changed | First noticed this morning; previously reported problems should use the earlier reference. |
| Impact and any immediate concern | Describe what cannot be used and any apparent danger; the team must assess the urgency. |
| Report date, reference and owner | Keep one reference and name the person responsible for the next action. |
| Access and next update | Record agreed arrangements and when the reporter will hear back, without storing access codes in general notes. |
Where photographs are useful, agree a suitable way to share them and avoid including people, identity documents or unrelated belongings. Never ask someone to approach a hazard just to collect evidence. Keep contact details and access information limited to the people who need them.
A six-step process from report to resolution
1. Keep one record, even when the report arrives elsewhere
Residents may contact you by telephone, email or message. Put the information into your chosen repair record and preserve when the original report arrived. Ask the resident to use its reference when adding information, rather than opening a new case for every update.
2. Acknowledge, assess and assign
Confirm receipt, identify who will review the issue and give a realistic next-update time. Assess urgency through a competent person where appropriate. A software priority label is an organisational aid; it does not establish that a property is safe or that a legal deadline has been met.
3. Turn the report into a clear contractor brief
Describe the location, reported symptoms and intended outcome. Separate known facts from assumptions. Ask the contractor to identify the work included, exclusions, materials, labour, tax and proposed dates. Check whether investigation is being quoted separately from a permanent repair.
Compare scope before comparing totals. A cheaper quote excluding disposal, making good or a replacement part may not cover the same work. Record approval and any agreed variation before work changes. An invitation through software is not a substitute for checking suitability, insurance or credentials for the particular job.
4. Agree access and keep the resident informed
Confirm the appointment and access arrangements with the people involved. Distinguish an estimated start from an agreed appointment. If a visit is delayed or a part is unavailable, explain the next action and provide a new update time rather than leaving “in progress” unchanged.
5. Check the result before closing the record
Ask for appropriate completion evidence and review what was actually done against the approved scope. A completion photograph can document a visible result, but it cannot prove that every fault has been resolved. Relevant testing or specialist certification may also be needed for the work concerned.
6. Ask whether the problem remains
Give the reporter a way to confirm the outcome or explain an unresolved issue. Keep their response with the repair history. If more work is required, identify its owner and next step; distinguish the reopened repair from any new contractor instruction or charge.
A tenant repair reporting template you can copy
Use this for a routine report by email or message. Replace the bracketed prompts. It is a reporting aid, not a formal legal notice.
Subject: Repair report — [short description] Property and location: [property reference, room or shared area] Problem: [what is happening, in plain language] First noticed: [date and approximate time] Current impact: [what cannot be used or what has changed] Previous report reference, if any: [reference] Access availability: [suitable times; agree arrangements separately] Please acknowledge this report and let me know the next step and when I should expect an update.
How this works in TennanSeed
The property team creates a reporting link for a property. A reporter submits a title and description and receives a private tracking link. They should save that link and keep it private: anyone with it can view that repair and submit feedback.
The team can link an existing repair to an Enterprise contractor job, invite a contractor, review a quote and approve the work. Linked-job progress updates the repair status. A validated completion photo is required before requesting or confirming linked-job completion, and the property team signs off separately from the contractor.
Once the repair is marked completed, the reporter can confirm it is fixed or reopen it with a reason. Reopening the repair does not automatically reopen a contractor agreement. The team still needs to decide and arrange the next action.
Core includes the maintenance workspace. Contractor jobs and quote approvals require Enterprise, currently £29 per workspace per month. TennanSeed provides software for coordinating work; it does not supply an emergency response or automatically appoint a vetted contractor.
Give each repair a clear next step.
Start with a free property workspace, then use the plan that fits your workflow.
Common questions
Can I manage repairs with a spreadsheet?
Yes. Keep a reference, report date, property, description, owner, status, next action and next-update date. Software becomes worth considering when coordinating access, files and several people makes the spreadsheet difficult to keep current.
When should a repair be marked completed?
When the responsible team has checked the agreed work and recorded the outcome. Keep a separate record of the resident’s confirmation where available. If they have not responded, do not record that they confirmed the issue was fixed.
Does a repair tracker make a landlord legally compliant?
No. It can help organise records and actions. Repair duties, access requirements and response times depend on the property, tenancy, location and circumstances. Follow the relevant official guidance and obtain professional advice when needed.
Official guidance and further reading
For private renting in England, GOV.UK sets out repair responsibilities and access requirements. The operational steps above are general organisational suggestions, not a replacement for those requirements. Rules elsewhere may differ.