A useful repair history distinguishes an appointment from work completed and an invoice from proof that the defect was resolved. National standards and the actual risk determine the response required.
Open a record at the first report
The chronology should show what was known and what happened next.
- Record the date, reporter, affected location, description and photographs if available. Preserve the original message.
- Assess urgency and any occupant needs. Record interim advice or arrangements without asking the tenant to undertake unsafe work.
- Identify the person responsible for the case and the next contact date.
Instruct and follow up
A useful contractor instruction states the problem to investigate and the evidence required at completion.
- Include access arrangements, relevant property information and known hazards. Distinguish diagnosis from an assumed cause.
- Keep attendance records, findings, quotations, authorisation and changes to the plan. Explain delays to the tenant.
- Where an agent or freeholder controls part of the work, record the referral and chase the result. Do not close your record when the referral is sent.
Prove the outcome
Choose evidence appropriate to the fault.
- Obtain test results, certificates, photographs or a written completion account. Check the original reported issue is addressed.
- Ask the tenant whether the service or room is usable again and arrange a follow-up where recurrence or drying is relevant.
- Retain unsuccessful attempts and reopened cases. A clean chronology is more useful than deleting the parts that did not solve the problem.
Example: the contractor attended but found no fault
A fictional intermittent heating fault does not occur during a visit. Record what was tested and agree how further occurrences will be captured and investigated. Attendance alone is not evidence that the tenant's report was false.
What to do
- Capture when the issue was reported and any immediate danger.
- Record inspection, access attempts, agreed work and occupant updates.
- File completion evidence and check recurring problems.
- Keep “evidence not found” separate from a conclusion that work was never done.
Evidence to keep
- Original report and dated communications
- Inspection findings, job evidence and follow-up
Sources and guidance
- Damp and mould: health risks and landlord actionUK Government · checked 20 October 2026
- Repairing Standard: statutory guidanceScottish Government · checked 20 October 2026
- Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act: landlord guideUK Government · checked 20 October 2026