Rental Maintenance Request Log
A one-log-for-every-property request sheet with the seven fields a landlord needs later, from the date reported and the urgency tier to who did the work, what it cost, and where the documents are.
Reviewed for 2026, updated September 8, 2026.
The single most useful record a small landlord can keep is a request log with the same columns for every property. Not a separate sheet per building, and not a text thread per tenant, but one list where every request has a date reported, a property and unit, a plain description with a category, an urgency tier, an assignee, a completion note, and a cost with the documents attached. The Records section of our guide explains why: tax questions about repairs versus improvements, deposit disputes, insurance claims, and the due diligence a buyer will run when you sell all come back to whether you can show what was reported, when, and what you did about it. Our article on keeping a clear repair history across multiple rental properties goes deeper on why the property and category fields matter more than they look.
The rows below are examples with placeholders, not figures to copy. Replace the dates, the vendor names, and every cost with your own, and keep the urgency tier consistent with the response standard you have published to tenants; if you have not written one yet, our article on setting fair response times for different types of repair issues walks through it. Two or three units can live on this sheet for years. If you want to see what the time spent maintaining it by hand is worth, the Maintenance Request Time Saved Calculator in the Tools section compares your current minutes per request with a tracked intake process. Whichever way you keep the log, the discipline is the same: every request gets a row, and no row is closed until the tenant confirms the fix and the invoice or receipt is attached.
| Date reported | Property and unit | Issue and category | Urgency tier | Assigned to | Completed and outcome | Cost and documents |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Your date | Your property, unit 1 | Kitchen faucet drips at the base when running; plumbing | Routine | You (DIY): cartridge replacement | Your date; tenant confirmed fixed | Your figure; receipt and after photo attached |
| Your date | Your property, unit 2 | No heat, furnace will not ignite, outdoor temperature below freezing; heating | Emergency | Licensed HVAC contractor: Your vendor | Your date; space heaters delivered same day, ignition part replaced next morning | Your figure; invoice, before and after photos, parts warranty length noted |
| Your date | Your property, unit 3 | Toilet runs constantly, only bathroom in unit; plumbing | Urgent | Handyman: Your vendor | Your date; flapper and fill valve replaced, tenant confirmed | Your figure; receipt attached |
| Your date | Your property, unit 1 | Bedroom outlets dead, breaker trips again after reset; electrical | Urgent | Licensed electrician: Your vendor | Your date; faulty outlet replaced, circuit checked, tenant confirmed | Your figure; invoice and photo of the panel label attached |
| Your date | Your property, unit 4 | Ants in kitchen along the window sill; pests | Routine | Pest control: Your vendor | Your date; treated, follow-up visit scheduled for your date | Your figure; service report attached |
| Your date | Your property, unit 2 | Bathroom sink drains slowly; plumbing | Routine | You (DIY): hair clog cleared, strainer installed | Your date; tenant confirmed | Your figure; note: second clog in this unit this year, ask plumber to check the line at the next visit |
| Your date | Your property, unit 3 | Refrigerator not cooling, freezer still cold; appliance | Urgent | Appliance repair: Your vendor | Your date; fan motor replaced, model and serial added to inventory | Your figure; invoice attached, warranty on part noted |
| Your date | Your property, common entry | Exterior door lock sticks and sometimes will not latch; doors and locks | Urgent | Locksmith: Your vendor | Your date; cylinder replaced, new keys issued to all units | Your figure; invoice attached, key log updated |
| Your date | Your property, unit 4 | Smoke detector chirping in hallway; safety | Routine | You (DIY): battery replaced, all detectors tested | Your date; tenant confirmed, next test date logged | Your figure; date of test noted in property record |
| Your date | Your property, all units | Fall furnace service before heating season; preventive | Routine | HVAC contractor: Your vendor | Your date; filters replaced, burners checked, one unit flagged for replacement within a few years | Your figure; service report attached, replacement added to the capital plan |
https://rentfixr.com/templates/rental-maintenance-request-log/Use it in your business, share it with your team, or link to it from your own site.
Also from RentFixr
- Seasonal Rental Preventive Maintenance Checklist: A twice-a-year walk-through checklist for self-managing landlords that covers the exterior, heating and cooling, water, safety devices, and the quiet leaks tenants never report, with every finding logged as its own request.
- Free calculators