Your lease & your money
How do I document repair requests so they hold up?
The short answer: almost every renter fight is won or lost on paper. Put every request in writing, photograph everything with timestamps, save every response, and keep one folder per issue. Code enforcement, mediators, small-claims judges, and lawyers all run on documentation — your memory of a phone call is not documentation.
The five things to capture
- The request, in writing. Email or text — anything with a timestamp and a record. Include: the date, a specific description of the problem, where it is, when it started, why it matters (safety, health, habitability), and a requested repair date. "The bathroom ceiling has been leaking since March 3; the drywall is sagging; please repair by March 14."
- Photos and video, dated. Wide shots for context, close-ups for detail. Most phones timestamp automatically — don't strip the metadata. Photograph the problem getting worse over time; a progression series is devastating evidence.
- Every response. Save the landlord's replies, voicemails (transcribe them), and notes from in-person conversations — date, who was there, what was said. Follow up verbal promises with a confirming text: "Just confirming you said the plumber comes Tuesday."
- Every entry and interaction. Unannounced entries, threats, sudden rule changes — log date, time, and what happened. This is the timeline a retaliation claim is built from.
- Receipts and costs. Anything you spend because of the problem — a space heater during a heat outage, a hotel night during a sewage backup — keep the receipt. These become damages.
The template
A repair request that holds up has five parts: date, description, habitability link, deadline, and paper trail. Example:
Hi [name], I'm writing to report [specific problem] in [location], which started on [date]. [One line on impact: no hot water since Tuesday / water staining spreading on the ceiling.] Please have this repaired by [reasonable date]. I'll follow up if I haven't heard back. Thank you — [your name], [unit], [date].
One folder per issue
Physical folder or cloud folder — doesn't matter, as long as it's one place: the request, the photos, the responses, the receipts, the log. When you walk into legal aid, a mediation, or a hearing with a dated folder per issue, you look like someone who wins. Because you usually do.
Documentation practices are universal, but the remedies your documentation supports vary by state. Nothing here is legal advice. Contact a local tenant-rights organization or legal-aid office for guidance on your situation.