How to track maintenance across multiple properties

This applies to a landlord with a handful of homes, a small operator with a mix of residential and commercial sites, or a manager looking after their own portfolio. The number changes the effort, not the method.

A single spreadsheet is a reasonable start. It tends to break down in familiar ways as the portfolio grows:

• Each property ends up with its own tab or layout, so nothing lines up.
• Dates are typed in, so what is overdue depends on someone looking.
• The documents live elsewhere: invoices in email, certificates in folders, photos on a phone.
• History is overwritten. The last service replaces the one before it.
• Provider details sit in one place and the work they did in another.

1. 1

   One record per property

   Each property has its own history: what is installed, what was done, who did it and the documents that prove it. This keeps each property’s story intact, including when one is sold or handed to another manager.

2. 2

   Use consistent categories

   Agree a short set of work types, equipment groups and document categories, and use them for every property. Consistency is what makes cross-portfolio questions possible later, such as “all gas servicing” or “all roof work”.

3. 3

   Record recurring work with dates and owners

   Every recurring item needs a next due date and a named person or provider. See the guide to a property maintenance schedule and the guide to planned preventative maintenance for the detail.

4. 4

   Attach evidence to the work

   File the invoice, service report or photos against the piece of work, in that property’s record, not in a general folder.

5. 5

   Keep provider details with the work

   Record who attended each job. Over time you can see which providers look after which properties, and how often.

6. 6

   Review across the portfolio on a rhythm

   Once a month, or whatever suits, look at what is upcoming and overdue across all properties, then act on it property by property.

The first two points are covered in more depth by how to create a property maintenance schedule and planned preventative maintenance (PPM). For the records themselves, see what records a landlord should keep.

A portfolio view is useful when it answers a question and leads back to the property. A pooled list of work with no property attached is not.

• A record per property, with its own history, rather than one flat list.
• Recurring work with next due dates and a visible overdue status.
• Completed work kept permanently, with documents attached.
• Provider details linked to the work they carried out.
• A view across properties that links back to each property’s own record.
• Clear control over who can see which property.

MyPropertyRecord is built around the first of these. Each property has its own record, and the Property Management Hub adds an optional organisation view across linked properties.