Repair issues
Ignored repair requests need a paper trail.
A repair that never happens is frustrating. A repair you can't prove you asked for is worse. Written, dated requests change the conversation — and if things escalate, they're exactly what provincial tenancy processes look at.
What to do right now
Three habits that change how repair issues resolve.
Useful whether or not you ever escalate — and essential if you do.
Date it, describe the specific issue, attach a photo, and keep a copy. A verbal request is easy to forget; a written one starts a record.
Log each follow-up, each response — and each silence. Photos taken over time show whether a problem sat unaddressed or got worse.
Provincial tenancy boards handle repair and maintenance disputes, and their decisions turn on when you asked and what happened after. A clean timeline does most of the talking.
Where a record helps
One place for requests, photos, and follow-ups.
Screenshots scattered across a camera roll and three chat apps are hard to assemble under pressure. A tenancy record keeps them together and dated.
Private document vault
Keep written requests, photos, and responses stored privately in one dated place.
A timeline, not a shoebox
Records added as things happen build a sequence — which is what repair disputes are actually about.
Shared only by you
Nothing in your vault is visible to anyone unless you decide to share it. See how privacy works.
Builds your rental history
A documented, responsible tenancy becomes part of the rental history you carry to your next application.
Related resources
Document the whole tenancy, not just the repairs
The same record protects you at move-out and strengthens your next application.
Start with the next request
Your next repair request can be the first one on the record.
Put it in writing, date it, photograph it — and keep all of it somewhere you can find it.
This page is general information, not legal advice. Rules and timelines vary by province — check your provincial residential tenancy authority for current requirements.