Most work orders are written for whoever does the repair, then filed and forgotten. Write yours for the two times you'll need it again: when the job turns out bigger than the order said, and when a tenant caused the damage and the cost comes out of their deposit. This one puts a spending cap beside the parts and labor, adds them up as you type, and has room for the hours, rate and parts a deposit statement asks for.
Still sorting out how urgent a tenant's request is and whether you can enter the unit? Use the maintenance request form first. The work order starts when you send someone to do the job.
Picking a not-to-exceed amount
The not-to-exceed amount (the cap) is the most anyone on the job can spend without calling you. Leave it empty and nothing limits what the job can cost. Set it at what a normal job of this kind costs, plus a little room. If your management agreement lets you approve repairs up to a set amount without asking the owner, keep the cap at or under that amount.
When the job grows, the work stops until someone approves more. Write the new amount on the order, with who approved it and when. In the example, unit 4C's wall patch and new blind came to $160.50, $10.50 over the $150 cap, so the order also shows the $200 the owner approved by phone on Nov 3. That's the record you'll point to when the bill comes in.
Charging a repair to a tenant's deposit in California
In California, a security deposit can pay for damage the tenant or their guest caused, not normal wear and tear. A worn carpet or an old water heater is your cost, not theirs. Within 21 days of move-out, you send the tenant an itemized statement of what you kept and why, with the paperwork behind each repair:
- For your own staff's work: what they did, the time spent and the hourly rate.
- For a vendor's work, a copy of their bill, plus their name, address and phone if the bill doesn't show them.
- For parts and supplies, a copy of the receipt.
You don't have to send that paperwork when repairs and cleaning together come to $125 or less, unless the tenant asks for it within 14 days of getting the statement. California also wants photos of the unit after the tenant moves out and before the repair, and again once it's done.
Work order 1042, done
- Patched the bedroom wall, replaced the blindWhat the work was
- Sam Ortiz, maintenance staffYour own staff did it, so no vendor bill
- Labor: 2 hours at $55.00The time spent and the hourly rate
- Patch kit $18.50, blind $32.00Parts, with the receipts attached
- Photos before and after: checkedThe photos California asks for
- Total: $160.50Over $125, so the paperwork goes with the statement
Other states set their own deposit rules and deadlines, so check yours before you deduct. Whatever the state, an order with the hours, the rate and the receipts is easier to defend than a total on its own.