Who handles a repair depends on the service level for the property. Abide.Rent shows who is responsible, and keeps the documents and dates a repair or an incident often turns on.
Who this is for: letting agencies and landlords.
A repair and everything that has happened.
What you are deciding
Who deals with a repair or an incident at this property, and what record to keep.
Your options
- Fully managed. The agency deals with day-to-day repairs and keeps the landlord informed.
- Rent collection or let only. Most repairs stay with the landlord. The agency passes the report on.
- Self-managed. The landlord deals with it directly.
- An incident that may matter later. Keep a dated note of what happened, who reported it and what was done.
How to do it
- Open Duties to see who is recorded as responsible for the property.
- Reply to the tenant in writing, with the date, saying who is dealing with it.
- Keep the report, the reply and any invoice with your own records for the property.
- If a certificate is renewed as a result, for example a gas safety record after a boiler is replaced, upload the new one.
A worked example
A tenant emails her agent on Tuesday 10 November 2026 to say the boiler has stopped. The property is fully managed, so the agency instructs an engineer the same day and tells the landlord. The boiler is replaced on Friday 13 November at a cost of £1,860.00. The agency uploads the new gas safety record, expiring Saturday 13 November 2027, and keeps the tenant's email, its reply and the invoice on its own file.
What Abide.Rent does for you
- Shows who is recorded as responsible for each duty at each property.
- Shows the tenant who their landlord and agent are, with contact details.
- Keeps certificates and their dates with the property.
If something goes wrong
- “Only a tenant or occupier on this tenancy can report a repair here.”
What to do: Agents and landlords use Record a repair. - “Choose the property or tenancy.”
What to do: Pick the home before saving.
Common mistakes
- Assuming the tenant knows who to contact. Their portal shows the landlord and the agent; make sure both are right.
- Dealing with a repair by phone and keeping no note.
- Forgetting to upload a certificate that the repair replaced.
What to do next
More in The Act
Respond to a pet requestApprove a request, refuse it with a written reason, or ask the tenant for more information.
Pet requests and the 28-day deadlineA tenant can ask in writing to keep a pet. Abide.Rent counts 28 days from the request and shows who is to answer.
A tenant's notice to quit, and withdrawing oneA tenant ends a tenancy by giving notice in writing. Abide.Rent records it, checks the end date and records a withdrawal both sides agree.