Quick summary
Repairs pile up fast when every job arrives differently, moves differently, and gets followed up differently. If you feel like you’re always behind or constantly getting chased, you’re not failing - your workflow is.
Why repairs get messy so quickly
Repairs are the most chaotic part of PM work because:
- Jobs arrive from everywhere
- Tenants expect instant updates
- Stalled approvals delay progress
- Trades run on their own timelines
- You’re juggling 20-60 open jobs at once
It’s not the volume that gets you.
It’s the inconsistency: each repair follows a slightly different path depending on who reported it, who’s assigned, who approved, who’s waiting, and who’s chasing.
You get trapped with too many pathways, not enough structure.
How to stay on top of repairs without losing your mind
1. Standardise the repair workflow from report → done
Repairs should never be a choose-your-own-adventure.
You need one consistent flow that covers:
- Intake (granted, there could be 3-4 different ways here - but they should all be systemised)
- Triage
- Owner approval
- Trade assignment
- Completion
- Follow-up
- Closure
If the path is predictable, the work becomes predictable.
2. Make that approval easy
Most repair delays aren’t trades. They’re approvals. Ensure that your owner has everything that they need to make that decision quickly. Context, images, recommendations. Not only will you get a faster approval, but you’ll gain trust and rapport with that landlord.
Avoid having approvals via text, email threads, calls, and portal messages all at once.
3. Use proactive communication to cut down follow-ups
Tenants will always ask, “Any update?” if you don’t beat them to it.
A small number of proactive touch points:
- “Received and logged”
- “Waiting on owner approval”
- “Repair booked”
- “Job completed - let us know if anything’s still not right”
Proactive comms shrink inbound noise dramatically, build trust, and create breathing room in your day.
4. Categorise repairs into three buckets
Not all repairs are the same. Splitting them into three buckets helps you prioritise quickly:
- Urgent: risk of damage, safety issues
- Routine: normal repairs, no safety risk
- Low-impact: cosmetic, long-term, non-time-sensitive
This bucket system removes mental load and gives you clarity on the order of operations. This should be shared across the team, so that there’s no ambiguity over why a job is labelled a certain way.
5. Review your open repairs at the same time every day
Repairs become unmanageable when the list grows silently behind you.
A daily 5–7 minute repair review solves this:
- What’s overdue?
- What’s stuck?
- Who’s waiting on who?
- What needs escalation?
A simple, consistent daily check-in keeps the whole workflow tight.
A better way to think about repairs
Most property managers try to “stay on top of repairs” by responding faster or checking more often.
But the real answer is designing a repair workflow that doesn’t create chaos in the first place. Predictability beats speed every time.
Quick checklist to stop repairs slipping through the cracks
- One clear workflow for repairs
- A single approval moment
- Proactive update checkpoints
- Urgent / routine / low-impact categorisation
- Daily review of open repairs
- Defined “done” criteria for every job
Want the full framework?
Download The Method - the operational playbook behind predictable, low-stress PM repairs.
