Understanding severity levels

In 30 seconds

What the 1-5 severity scale means

Every maintenance request gets assigned a severity from 1 to 5. Here's what each level means and how quickly you should respond.

Severity 5: Emergency

Drop everything and deal with this now.

Things like:

  • Gas leaks
  • Flooding or major water damage
  • No heat when it's freezing outside
  • Electrical hazards
  • Security issues (broken locks, shattered windows)

You'll get an immediate alert for these so you don't miss them.

Severity 4: Urgent

Needs attention today.

Things like:

  • No hot water
  • AC broken during a heat wave
  • Toilet won't flush (and it's the only one)
  • Major appliance failure affecting daily life

Severity 3: Moderate

Handle within a day or two.

Things like:

  • Minor leaks
  • Appliance issues that aren't critical
  • HVAC not working perfectly but still functional
  • Damage that affects livability but isn't an emergency

Severity 2: Minor

Take care of it this week.

Things like:

  • Small repairs
  • Routine maintenance requests
  • Non-urgent improvements
  • Things that are annoying but not affecting daily life

Severity 1: Low

Schedule when convenient.

Things like:

  • Cosmetic issues
  • Suggestions or requests
  • Questions that aren't time-sensitive
  • "Nice to have" improvements

A note about the AI

The severity is assigned based on what's in the email. Sometimes the AI gets it wrong. If a tenant writes "my faucet drips a little" it might be a 2, but if the tenant is actually describing a bigger problem, you can always adjust the severity yourself.

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