Your landlord will not make a repair: how to build the record

Make sure the request exists in writing

A text message, a portal ticket or an email counts. A conversation in the hallway does not, and neither does a voicemail you did not keep. If every request so far has been spoken, send one short written message now that repeats what you already asked for and when you first asked.

Keep it factual and unemotional: what is wrong, where, the date you first noticed it, the dates you raised it, and what you are asking for. Our repair request template is a plain starting point you can copy.

Follow up on a schedule, in the same thread

Replying inside the original thread keeps the whole history in one place, in order, with dates attached. Starting a new message each time scatters it.

A rhythm that is easy to defend later: the first written request, a follow-up after a reasonable wait for that kind of problem, then a further follow-up noting that the first two went unanswered. Say how long it has been rather than how you feel about it. "Reported 14 days ago, no reply" is a fact. Anything sharper is an argument, and arguments are easier to dismiss than dates.

Photograph it again as it changes

One photo proves a problem existed. A series proves it got worse while someone knew about it. Re-photograph the same spot from the same angle every week or two, and after anything happens: a patch that did not hold, a stain that spread, a part that finally broke.

Keep the original files rather than screenshots, and do not crop or edit them. See how to document damage in a rental for the wide, medium and close shots worth taking each time.

Note the knock-on effects as they happen

Write down the practical consequences on the day they occur, not from memory months later. The window that will not close and the room that is cold because of it. The second appliance you now use instead. A day of work missed for a visit nobody came to.

Keep receipts for anything the problem made you spend. Whether any of it is recoverable depends entirely on your lease and your local rules, so record it now and find that out separately. Do not arrange your own repair and deduct the cost on the assumption that it is allowed; in many places there are strict steps for that, and skipping them can cost you.

Safety problems do not belong in this queue

An active leak, spreading mold, anything electrical or a gas smell is not a slow repair to follow up on next week. Get safe first, use the emergency contact in your lease or the utility's own line, and report it the same day. See what to do about a leak, mold, a gas smell or electrical problems.

Document it the same way afterwards, but never let the record-keeping delay getting out or getting help.

What a finished file looks like

By the time this matters, you want one place holding: every photo with its date, every message you sent and any reply, the dates of visits and what was done, and your short notes on the effects. In order, with nothing missing in the middle.

That file is also what answers a deposit charge for something you reported and nobody fixed, so keep it through move-out rather than deleting it when the repair finally happens. The move-out checklist covers the handover, and normal wear and tear vs damage covers which side of the line a long-standing problem tends to fall on.

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