Maintenance Request Form: How Tenants Should Report Repairs

A maintenance request form gives tenants one clear way to report a problem and gives you the details you need to act on it: what is wrong, where, how urgent it is, and whether someone can enter. Paired with a log, it also leaves a record of each request from the first report to the finished repair.

Tell tenants how to report repairs

Put it in writing at move-in. Explain how to submit a request (paper form, email or text), who to contact and what counts as an emergency.
Separate emergencies from everything else. Water leaks, gas smells, no heat and safety problems should be phoned in right away, not left on a form.
Ask for photos when they help show the problem.
Ask about entry. Find out whether you or a vendor may enter if no one is home, and whether there are pets.

Repair responsibilities, entry notice and response expectations vary by state and city, and your lease may add its own terms. Check your local law before you set your process.

What a maintenance request form captures

Tenant section

Date submitted, tenant name, unit and best phone or email
Urgency: emergency, soon or routine
Location in the unit
A description of the problem: what it is, when it started, and whether photos are attached
Permission to enter if no one is home, and any pets in the unit

Landlord section

Received by and date
Vendor assigned
Scheduled date and completed date
Cost and who pays
Notes

Example filled request

Example only. The names are fictional and the details are placeholders.

MAINTENANCE REQUEST
Date submitted: [date] · Tenant: Jamie Placeholder · Unit: [unit] · Contact: [phone / email]
Urgency: Soon · Location in unit: kitchen, under the sink
Problem: slow drip from the pipe under the sink, started [date]; photo attached
Permission to enter if no one is home: Yes · Pets: one cat
Landlord use only
Received by / date: Alex Example, [date] · Vendor assigned: [plumbing company]
Scheduled: [date] · Completed: [date] · Cost / who pays: $[amount], landlord
Notes: tenant confirmed fix by text on [date]

From request to completed repair

Acknowledge the request and write down when you received it.
Triage by urgency and schedule the work, confirming entry with the tenant.
Assign a vendor (or yourself) and note the scheduled date.
Complete and confirm: record the completed date and cost, and check with the tenant that the problem is fixed.
File it: keep the form with photos, invoices and messages, and add the job to your maintenance log.

A log turns individual forms into a running history for each unit. See how to keep a rental maintenance log. Repair costs also belong in your expense records: see rental property expense categories.

Keep records of every request

Keep each request, your replies, photos and invoices together, filed by unit and date. They help you answer questions about past repairs and show what was done at move-out. See documenting security deposit deductions.

Not legal or tax advice. This is general information. Repair responsibilities, emergency and response expectations, entry notice and record-keeping rules vary by state and city and change over time. Check your lease and your state and local law, or ask a qualified attorney, and ask a tax professional about your records.

Want a printable request form? The Small Landlord Kit PRO ($24) includes the Maintenance Request Form, a one-page PDF in US Letter and A4 with a tenant section (date submitted, tenant name, unit, best phone / email, urgency, location in unit, problem description, permission to enter, pets) and a landlord-use section (received by / date, vendor assigned, scheduled date, completed date, cost / who pays, notes), plus an emergencies call line. PRO also includes the rent tracker, the inspection checklist and 4 other landlord forms. See the Kit PRO

Also analyzing your next rental? The Landlord Complete Bundle ($34) includes everything in the Kit PRO plus the Rental Deal Analyzer and the free Move-Out Deposit Deduction Checklist.