How to handle maintenance request emails
A simple routine for property managers: sort by urgency, get the details in one reply, answer the same day and track every repair to done.
Maintenance requests rarely arrive in a neat form. They come as emails with a photo, a one-line text, a forward from an owner, or a reply to an old thread about something else. When they all land in one shared inbox, the urgent ones can sit next to a question about parking. Here is a simple way to keep them under control.
1. Sort by urgency first, not by arrival time
Read new requests once and put each one in one of three groups:
- Emergency, act now: gas smell, flooding or active leaks, no heat in cold weather, no water, a door or lock that won't secure the home, sparking or burning smells.
- Needs a repair soon: a broken appliance, a slow drain, a heater that works but poorly, a window that won't close.
- Routine: a burnt-out porch light, a loud bathroom fan, a sticking cabinet door.
Answer emergencies first, even if they arrived last. For anything dangerous, tell the resident what to do right now, such as leaving the building and calling 911 and the gas company for a gas smell.
2. Get the details you need in one reply
Most back-and-forth comes from missing details. Before you book a vendor, make sure you have:
- the address and unit;
- what is wrong, in the resident's words, and when it started;
- a photo, if it helps;
- whether someone can enter if no one is home, and any pets;
- the best way to reach them.
If something is missing, ask for all of it in one short list instead of one question at a time. Don't ask for things you already have on file, like their lease dates or payment history.
3. Reply the same day, even if the fix takes longer
Residents mostly want to know they were heard. A short reply that says the request is logged and someone will follow up stops the "any update?" emails. Don't promise a time or a vendor until one is booked.
4. Track every request until it's done
An inbox is a bad to-do list. Move each repair to a simple board or list with three columns: open, in progress and done. Add a note when a visit is booked, so anyone on your team can answer the resident.
5. Keep the conversation in one place
When the resident writes back, their reply should land on the same request, not start a new one. If you use a shared inbox, reply from the same thread and keep the subject line. If a reply arrives while a job is in progress, check whether it changes the urgency: "the leak got worse" is not the same as "thanks!".
Where Clerova helps
Clerova does the sorting for you. You forward your requests email to it, and it reads each message, pulls out the address and urgency, suggests the next step and drafts a reply. Urgent ones are flagged at the top. You edit the draft if you want and approve it, and approved repairs land on a jobs board. Nothing is sent without you.
It works alongside AppFolio, Buildium or whatever you already use, because it handles the emails that still land in your inbox. For ready-to-use wording, see our tenant email templates.