Building a Maintenance SOP for Your Property Management Team

If you have a team, you can't rely on "common sense." One manager might treat a running toilet as an emergency, while another might ignore it for a week.

To scale your business without losing quality, you need a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP).

An SOP ensures that no matter who is on call, the tenant gets the same experience and the property gets the same level of care.

The Core Elements of a Maintenance SOP

1. The Ingest Protocol

Where do requests go?

• Rule: "All maintenance requests must be submitted via email to maintenance@yourcompany.com. Phone calls for non-emergencies are discouraged."
• Goal: Create a single, searchable source of truth.

2. The Triage Framework

How are requests scored?

• Rule: "Every request must be assigned a Severity Score (1-5) within 4 hours of receipt." (See our Severity Scoring guide for definitions).
• Goal: Ensure high-priority items are handled first.

3. The Communication Standards

How do we talk to tenants?

• Rule: "All tenant communication must be professional, empathetic, and include an estimated timeline."
• Goal: Manage tenant expectations and reduce follow-up inquiries.

4. The Dispatch Rules

Who gets the job?

• Rule: "Category 3 and above must use a Tier 1 vendor. Category 1-2 can be batched for the Tuesday handyman visit."
• Goal: Optimize vendor spend and reduce service fees.

5. The Resolution Workflow

When is a job "Done"?

• Rule: "A job is only closed when the vendor confirms completion AND the tenant acknowledges resolution."
• Goal: Prevent "zombie" requests that resurface a week later.

Making Your SOP "Live"

An SOP in a PDF that no one reads is useless. To make it work:

1. Include it in Training: Every new hire should walk through the maintenance flow on day one.
2. Review it Monthly: If a mistake happens, check the SOP. Was the rule unclear? Or was the rule ignored?
3. Automate where possible: The best way to follow an SOP is to have a tool that "forces" the workflow.

The Benefit of Systems

When you have a maintenance SOP, you can step away from your business. You'll know that if you go on vacation, your team has a playbook to follow.

Systems allow you to grow from "running a job" to "running a company."

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OpsPilot Note: OpsPilot is effectively an "SOP in a box." It enforces a consistent triage, scoring, and drafting process for your entire team, ensuring that every request is handled according to your highest standards, every time.