Landlords with five to fifty units ask the same question on every forum: how do you actually keep track of maintenance requests? The answer is rarely software. It is a tenant's text, a vendor's voicemail, a photo in an email, and a manager's memory of which one is still open.
This post gives you the log that fixes that, the two emails that go with it, and then shows how Tensor Autonomous keeps the log current for you, with your approval before anything is sent.
The log
One Google Sheet, one row per request. Nine columns are enough; more than that and nobody fills it in.
| Received | Unit | Tenant | Issue | Urgency | Vendor | Status | Next follow-up | Closed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 3 | 2B | I. Novak | Kitchen tap dripping | Routine | Ortega Plumbing | Scheduled Oct 8 | Oct 9 | |
| Oct 4 | 4C | M. Lopez | Bathroom fan not working | Routine | Harbor HVAC | Vendor called | Oct 9 |
Two rules make the sheet work:
- Urgency is one of three words: Emergency (today), Urgent (this week), Routine (next visit). Anything finer gets argued about.
- Next follow-up is a date, not a feeling. When the date passes and the status has not changed, somebody chases. That column is the whole point of the sheet.
Keep the tenant's original message in the row's note, or link the email. When the vendor asks what exactly the tenant said, you will have it.
The acknowledgement email
Tenants stop calling when they know the request landed. Send this the same day, every time:
Subject: Your maintenance request for Unit 2B
Hi Iris, thanks for letting us know about the kitchen tap. I have logged it as a routine repair and asked Ortega Plumbing for their next available slot. I will confirm the date with you as soon as they reply, which is usually within two working days. If it gets worse before then, reply here or call the office.
Say what you logged, who you asked and when they will hear back. Do not promise a date you do not have.
The vendor follow-up
When the follow-up date passes:
Subject: Unit 2B kitchen tap, scheduled for Oct 8
Hi Luis, checking that Wednesday the 8th still works for the tap at 14 Maple Ridge, Unit 2B. The tenant is home after 3 pm. Could you confirm the window so I can let her know?
Short, specific, with the address and the access note. Vendors answer these; they ignore "any update?".
Tensor keeps the log for you
The Library's Log maintenance requests starter does the tedious half of this routine. You connect the sheet above and the Gmail account the drafts should sit in, and when you hand Tensor a request (paste the tenant's email in, or turn on Start from new email so new requests start it within about a minute), it:
- Reads the request, picks out the unit, the tenant, the issue and anything that says how urgent it is. An active leak is an emergency; a dripping tap is routine.
- Adds the row to your log, with a one-line summary of the request.
- Drafts the acknowledgement to the tenant in your words: the safety step first if there is one, what was logged, no time promised, and that you will confirm access before anyone comes. Tensor shows you the proposed reply for your OK, as it does every change until you set limits; nothing is sent until you send it.
- Leaves a receipt for every run: the email it read, the row it wrote and read back, the reply it drafted.
The vendor chase is a second responsibility you describe in your own words ("for each row whose next follow-up date has passed and whose status is not closed, draft the vendor email in my words and note the date"), then put on a schedule, say weekdays at 8am. It drafts; you send. Recording the vendor's reply is yours.
Tensor sets the urgency by your rule (an active leak is an emergency), but it does not diagnose the problem, pick the vendor or promise a time. Those stay with you. It does the logging, the first reply and the chasing you would do yourself if the day had more hours.
Today this runs on Gmail and Google Sheets. If your tenants reach you through a portal or a property-management app, that app keeps the official record; Tensor's log is for the owners and managers who run on email and a spreadsheet.
Where to start
- Tensor for property management: the starters for landlords and managers, including Log maintenance requests, Reply to rental inquiries and Book showings.
- Property maintenance requests: the use case in more detail.
- Try it live on sample data, with your approval before anything changes.
- Plans from $149 a month.
Related reading
See it in a demo
If requests still live in texts, voicemails and memory, watch Tensor answer a sample rental inquiry: the draft, your OK, the receipt.