Optimisation4 min read
Repair management: from request to closure
A method to centralise repair requests, assess them, follow contractors through to closure and keep costs under control.
The homePad team
A leak reported by phone, a quote received by email, an appointment set by text message, an invoice that arrives three weeks later: a single repair soon ends up being followed in four different places. The cost of this disorder does not appear on the contractors' invoices. It hides in the chasing, the wasted journeys and the forgotten requests. The method that follows holds whatever the tool, from a spreadsheet to specialist software.
Centralise every request
As long as requests arrive through several channels without being recorded in the same place, nobody knows how many are open. Set a single point of entry or, failing that, a single log in which every request is entered the same day, whatever the channel. A usable request always contains:
- the property and the room concerned
- the occupant's description of the problem, with a photo
- the date of the report and the name of the person who made it
- the contact details and the times available for access to the home
Without a photo or a location, a first trip is often needed just to understand the problem.
Assess: urgency and responsibility for the repair
Two questions are settled before calling a contractor.
The first is urgency. Define three or four levels, written down and known to the whole team: danger to people or ongoing damage, a home left without an essential piece of equipment, an inconvenience that is not getting worse, comfort works. Each level has a response time that you commit to keeping.
The second is knowing who bears the cost of the repair. In France, for a home let as a main residence, the law of 6 July 1989 makes the tenant responsible for routine maintenance and for tenant repairs (réparations locatives), defined by a decree of 26 August 1987, except where they are due to wear and tear, poor workmanship, a construction defect, a fortuitous event or force majeure. The other repairs fall to the landlord. Settling this point at the assessment stage avoids ordering works whose invoice nobody wants to pay. The rules differ in Switzerland, Belgium and Luxembourg: check those that apply to the property.
Order in writing and follow through to closure
The contractor must receive in writing what you expect of them: the address and access arrangements, the description and the photos, the limits of the job, the amount above which a quote is required and the expected timescale. Agree with each owner, in the mandate or in writing, the threshold below which you order without consulting them. Above it, ask for a quote, and for several where the works are substantial. Keep the owner's agreement with the file.
A repair then goes through simple statuses: received, assessed, ordered, scheduled, carried out, checked, invoiced, closed. Every open request has a person in charge and a next deadline. Review each week those that have not moved forward.
Inform the occupant at each change of status: it is the simplest way to avoid chasing calls. Close only after a check, at the very least a photo of the finished work and the occupant's confirmation. Finally, compare the invoice with the quote before approving it.
Anticipate the works arising from a move-out inspection report
Some repairs come from a move-out inspection report, and the timetable is then tight. In France, the deposit must be returned within one month of the handover of the keys if the move-out inspection report matches the move-in one, within two months otherwise, and any deduction must be justified. The quotes or invoices on which a deduction is based are therefore to be requested as soon as the tenant moves out, not at the end of the second month.
Keep the repair history for each property, with the dates, photos and invoices. It serves to answer an owner, to judge the wear and tear of a piece of equipment and to spot the breakdowns that keep coming back.
Measure, and correct the common mistakes
Three indicators are enough to start with: the time between the report and closure for each level of urgency, the number of requests open for more than a month, the cost per property and per type of repair. Record them before changing the way you are organised, then at regular intervals. Your own figures are the only reliable basis for comparison.
Four mistakes come up often.
Ordering by phone, with nothing in writing. If there is a disagreement over the price or the scope of the works, no trace remains.
Closing when the invoice arrives. It proves that the contractor has invoiced, not that the fault is repaired.
Leaving the occupant without news. They will call back, or turn to the owner.
Treating every request as an isolated case. Three repairs on the same boiler form a single issue: repair again, or replace.
What homePad brings
homePad Resolve brings repair requests together in a space shared by occupants, managers and contractors. Occupants report an incident from a web app, the manager approves the request, manages the quotes and follows the repair. Tracking is in real time and archiving is automatic. homePad's dashboards include repair tracking at portfolio level.
- interventions
- repairs
- rental management
- contractors