Maintenance request form
By Maya Ellison - updated
A maintenance request form is how a tenant reports a repair in writing: what is wrong, where, how urgent it is and whether you may enter. This template comes in two parts: a printable form to give tenants, and a CSV log for Excel, Google Sheets or Numbers that tracks every request until the repair is done.
Download the free maintenance request form
Enter your email to get the CSV and the printable copy. The CSV opens in Excel, Google Sheets or Numbers.
The printable copy is blank, ready to fill in by hand or save as a PDF from your browser's print dialog. It is one portrait letter page with blank lines at the top for your name, property, unit, phone, email, date, ok to enter if you are out (yes or no), best times to enter and pets in the home, and 8 rows with columns for location, problem, when it started and urgency.
A filled-in maintenance request log
Four requests at the Cedar Court triplex in September and October 2026. Three are completed for $237 in total, including the $85 faucet repair noted at move-in on unit 1, and an emergency furnace repair on unit 2 is in progress.
| Request number | Date submitted | Unit | Problem | Urgency | Status | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-019 | 9/22/2026 | 2 | Toilet runs all the time | Routine | Completed | $140.00 |
| 2026-021 | 10/2/2026 | 1 | Faucet drips at the base | Routine | Completed | $85.00 |
| 2026-022 | 10/4/2026 | 3 | Smoke alarm chirping | Urgent | Completed | $12.00 |
| 2026-023 | 10/8/2026 | 2 | Furnace does not start | Emergency | In progress | - |
| Total | $237.00 |
When to use a maintenance request form
Give tenants the form at move-in, and ask for every non-emergency repair in writing. A written request records the date you heard about the problem and the details you need to send the right person with the right part.
Emergencies such as no heat in winter, a gas smell, flooding or a lockout need a phone call first. Put your emergency number on the form, and have the tenant follow up in writing so the request lands in your log.
What a maintenance request form includes
- The tenant's name, property, unit, phone and email.
- The date of the request.
- Where in the home the problem is.
- What is wrong, in the tenant's words, and when it started.
- How urgent it is: routine, urgent or emergency.
- Whether you may enter if the tenant is out, and the best times to come.
- Pets in the home, so whoever does the repair knows before they arrive.
- In the log: a request number, who it is assigned to, its status, the date completed and the cost.
How to use this maintenance request form
The printable form is what tenants fill in. The CSV is your log, with four example requests from the invented Cedar Court triplex and blank rows for your own.
- Download the CSV log and print the blank form.
- Add your contact details and emergency number to the form, and give each tenant a copy at move-in.
- When a request comes in, give it the next request number and add a row to the log.
- Set the urgency, confirm when you may enter, and assign the job to yourself, staff or a vendor.
- Update the status as the job moves along, and tell the tenant when someone is coming.
- When the work is done, enter the date completed and the cost from the invoice.
- Review the log each month for repeat problems in the same unit or with the same appliance.
Common maintenance request mistakes
- Taking requests only by phone or text, so there is no single record of what was reported and when.
- Skipping permission to enter. Ask on the form, and give notice before entering as your lease and state rules require.
- Losing track of open requests. Keep a status on every row and check the open ones each week.
- Leaving costs out of the log. Repair costs are expenses for your books and show which units cost the most to keep up.
- Treating every request the same. Sort by urgency so emergencies come first.
Frequently asked questions
What should a tenant include in a maintenance request?
Where the problem is, what is wrong, when it started and how urgent it seems, plus contact details, whether you may enter while they are out and whether pets are in the home. A photo helps whoever does the repair bring the right tools and parts.
What counts as an emergency maintenance request?
Anything that threatens safety or could quickly damage the property: no heat in cold weather, a gas smell, a major leak or flooding, no water, an electrical hazard or a door that will not lock. These need a phone call first and a written request after.
How do I track maintenance requests?
Give each request a number and a row in a log with its date, unit, problem, urgency, who it is assigned to, status, date completed and cost. The CSV in this template is set up that way.
Can tenants submit maintenance requests online?
Yes. Property management software lets tenants file requests from a portal with photos attached, so each request arrives with its date and details already recorded.
Take maintenance requests in KeyRing
Tenants file maintenance requests with photos from the KeyRing tenant portal and say whether you may enter. You assign staff or a vendor, track each job from new to closed, and keep every comment in the request's history. Your first subscription starts with a 14-day free trial.