---
title: "How to handle a maintenance request"
description: "Log a maintenance request, cap the vendor spend, decide who pays, and put the invoice on the owner statement before you close it."
url: https://tivio.io/blog/how-to-handle-a-maintenance-request
author: "Tivio Team"
publisher: Tivio (https://tivio.io)
published: 2026-10-26
updated: 2026-10-26
topic: "Maintenance"
---

# How to handle a maintenance request

> Take a maintenance request in writing: the unit, the problem, how to enter, and whether the owner must approve the cost. Send the vendor the work order and a spending cap, not the tenant's ledger. Ordinary repairs are the owner's bill. Tenant damage is a tenant charge only when the lease and the local law allow it. Post the invoice on the owner statement for the month you pay it, and keep the closed work order.

## Key takeaways

- Record the unit, the problem, entry rules, and the approval cap the day the tenant reports it.
- Send the vendor a not-to-exceed amount. Get written owner approval before you pass the cap.
- Bill the owner for ordinary repairs. Bill the tenant only for damage the lease and the law allow.
- Enter the invoice before the owner statement goes out, and keep the closed work order.

A maintenance request is a record of what broke, who is allowed to fix it, what it cost, and whether the owner or the tenant pays. Take the request in writing, send the vendor only what they need, and post the bill to the owner before you pay it from the trust account.

![Window cleaners on ladders doing maintenance on a building.](https://tivio.io/blog/media/2026/10/window-cleaners-on-ladders-doing-maintenance-on-a-building-bjqena.webp)

## What should a maintenance request include?

Write the request so a vendor, and a later manager, can act without calling you.

| Field | Example |
| --- | --- |
| Unit | 14 Maple Street, Unit 3 |
| Reported | April 8, 2026, by the tenant, through the portal |
| Problem | Kitchen sink does not drain |
| Entry | Weekdays after 9 a.m. Tenant will be home. |
| Urgency | Not a flood, not heat in winter. Schedule this week. |
| Owner approval | Required above $200. This estimate is $140. Under the cap. |
| Who pays | Owner, ordinary repair. Not tenant damage. |

A text message that says "sink broken" is the start of the request, not the file. Copy it into the work order the same day. Photos from the tenant belong on the work order.

Emergency rules are local and belong in the lease: no heat, an active leak, a lock that will not secure the door. Those skip the ordinary approval cap and get a same-day call. Everything else waits for the schedule you promised the owner in the management agreement.

## How do you dispatch the vendor?

Send the vendor the unit, the problem, the entry rules, and a not-to-exceed amount. Do not send the tenant's full ledger or the owner's bank details. A secure link with the work order is enough.

On April 9 the plumber clears the line for $140. The invoice names Unit 3 and the date. You check that the tenant confirmed the drain works, or you visit. Then you post the bill.

If the cap in the agreement is $200 and the plumber says the job is $480, stop and get the owner's approval before the work. A text from you that says "I went ahead" is not the approval. Write the approval on the work order.

## Who pays, the owner or the tenant?

The owner pays for ordinary repair of the building. The tenant pays for damage they or a guest caused, beyond ordinary wear, when the lease and the local law allow you to charge them. A clog from ordinary use is the owner's bill. A clog from a toy the tenant admits flushing can be the tenant's charge, if you can show it and the lease allows the charge.

Do not deduct tenant damage from the security deposit in the middle of the lease unless the statute lets you. Many do not. Bill the tenant, or wait for move-out and follow the deposit rules. The move-out itemizing steps are separate from this work order.

Post the owner's $140 as a vendor bill on the property, paid from trust cash, and show it on the April owner statement. Post a tenant charge only when the tenant is the one who owes it, as its own line on that lease, not as a reduction of rent.

## How do you close the request?

1. The invoice matches the work order and the unit.
2. The amount is within the cap, or the owner approved the exception in writing.
3. The bill is entered before you send the owner statement.
4. The tenant is told the visit happened, without a promise about who pays unless you already decided.
5. The work order is marked closed. Do not delete it. The next clog, six months later, should show this visit.

[Tivio](https://tivio.io/) keeps maintenance work orders, tenant requests from the portal, and secure links you can send a vendor. The vendor bill then sits on the trust ledger with the other bills, and the owner statement PDF shows the $140 beside the rent. A request that never becomes a bill is how an owner hears about a plumber from the tenant first.

Write the request down, cap the spend, decide who pays, and put the invoice on the statement for the month you paid it.
## How do you write up tenant damage versus an ordinary repair?

Two sinks, two outcomes. Use the work order to force the choice.

Unit 3, April 8. The sink does not drain. The tenant reports ordinary use. The plumber clears a normal buildup for $140. You pay the plumber from Helen's trust funds. The April owner statement shows the $140. The tenant is not charged. You tell the tenant the drain is clear. You do not mention the owner's bill.

Unit 2, April 18. The tenant emails a photo of a cabinet door off its hinges and writes that a guest hung on it. The lease allows a charge for damage beyond ordinary wear. You get a $90 invoice to rehang and repair the hinge. You post $90 on Jordan Lee's ledger as "cabinet repair, guest damage, April 18," and you send the invoice with the charge. You do not pull $90 from the security deposit while they still live there, unless the statute for that unit allows a mid-lease deduction. Many do not. The owner is reimbursed when the tenant pays, or the charge sits open like any other charge.

Write the reason in the description. "Repair" is not a reason. "Guest damage, cabinet hinge" is a reason. If the tenant disputes it, the photo and the email are already on the work order.

## What if the job grows past the cap?

The agreement says you may spend up to $200 without a call. The plumber looks at Unit 3 and says the trap is cracked and the job is $460. You stop. You text Helen the photo, the $460 figure, and the question. She replies yes. You save the reply on the work order, then you authorize the plumber. The statement shows $460, not $200 plus a surprise.

If she says no, you tell the tenant what will and will not be done, and you close or reschedule the work order with that note. You do not split the difference and hope she notices a $300 bill later.

[Tivio](https://tivio.io/) keeps the request, the vendor link, and the bill on the property. The tenant portal is where the request can start. The statement is where the owner sees the dollars. Close the work order only after the invoice is in the month you paid it.

## Frequently asked questions

### Is a text message enough?

It is enough to start. Copy it onto a work order the same day, with photos, entry rules, and who is paying. The text alone is not the file.

### Who pays for a clogged sink?

Ordinary use is the owner's repair. Damage a tenant caused can be the tenant's charge when the lease and the local law allow it. Do not guess. Write the reason on the work order.

### Can I take tenant damage out of the deposit during the lease?

Only if the statute lets you use the deposit before move-out. Many do not. Bill the tenant, or wait and follow the move-out deposit rules.

### What belongs in the vendor's link?

The unit, the problem, how to enter, and the spending cap. Leave out the tenant ledger and the owner's bank details.

## Sources

- [California Civil Code section 1950.5](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=CIV&sectionNum=1950.5), California Legislative Information
- [Paying rent](https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/housing-tenancy/residential-tenancies/rent-rtb/paying-rent), Province of British Columbia