Written by
Emma Collins
Published on
Jan 18, 2026
A tenant makes a housing disrepair claim. They say they reported a leak six months ago and nothing was done. The landlord knows that's not true — a contractor visited, fixed the issue, and the tenant seemed happy at the time.
But there's no record of the original report. No timestamped photos. No confirmation email to the tenant. No contractor sign-off.
The claim proceeds. The landlord pays.
This scenario plays out constantly. Not because landlords are negligent, but because they can't prove they weren't. In property maintenance, what you can't document might as well not have happened.
Why Audit Trails Matter More Than Ever
Housing disrepair claims in the UK are increasing. Solicitors and claims management companies actively target tenants in social and private housing, and the process has become more accessible. For landlords, the cost of defending a claim — even a weak one — can be significant.
But it's not just about claims. Several regulatory shifts are making documentation essential:
Awaab's Law requires social landlords to keep clear records of all attempts to comply with repair timeframes, including correspondence with tenants and contractors. If you can't show you acted within the legal deadlines, you're in breach.
The Pre-Action Protocol for Housing Conditions Claims expects early exchange of information between landlords and tenants. Courts look unfavourably on landlords who can't produce basic records of when issues were reported and what was done.
The Housing Ombudsman routinely criticises landlords for poor record-keeping. In damp and mould cases — which make up half of all complaints — the absence of documentation often tips findings against the landlord.
And for private landlords, the direction is the same. The Renters' Rights Act 2025 is extending similar expectations to the private rented sector, and local authority enforcement is tightening.
The message is clear: if you want to defend yourself, you need a trail.
What a Good Audit Trail Looks Like
A proper audit trail captures the full lifecycle of a maintenance issue — from first report to confirmed resolution. Here's what that includes:
1. When the issue was reported Date, time, and channel (email, phone, WhatsApp, portal). If the tenant sent photos or a voice note, those should be stored too.
2. When you acknowledged it A timestamped confirmation that you received the report and are acting on it.
3. What triage decision was made Did you classify this as an emergency or routine? What was the reasoning? Under Awaab's Law, this decision determines your legal deadline.
4. When inspection or investigation happened Date of visit, who attended, what was found. Photos from the inspection are invaluable.
5. What was found A written summary of the issue — ideally with photos. This is now a legal requirement under Awaab's Law for significant hazards.
6. What repair was scheduled Which contractor, what work, what timeframe. If the tenant was given a choice of appointment slots, note that too.
7. When the repair was completed Contractor confirmation, completion photos, and any sign-off. If the tenant was present, a note confirming they were satisfied.
8. Follow-up confirmation Did the issue recur? Was the tenant contacted after a few weeks to check? This is particularly important for damp and mould, where government guidance recommends a follow-up at least six weeks post-repair.
Each of these steps should be timestamped and stored against the property — not just the individual job. That way, you can see the full maintenance history at a glance.
Common Gaps That Cause Problems
Even well-intentioned landlords and agents often have gaps in their records. The most common:
Verbal reports that were never logged. A tenant mentions a problem during an inspection or on a phone call. The agent makes a mental note but never records it. Weeks later, the tenant claims they reported it months ago — and there's nothing to contradict them.
Emails buried in inboxes. The information exists, but it's scattered across individual staff mailboxes with no central record. When someone leaves or a complaint escalates, piecing together the timeline is painful.
Contractor invoices with no completion evidence. You have proof you paid for the work, but no photos showing it was done, no sign-off from the tenant, and no record of what the contractor actually found.
No record of tenant communication. The repair was done, but the tenant says they were never told. Without a sent message or delivery confirmation, it's your word against theirs.
Status updates that never happened. The tenant chased multiple times asking for progress. Each time, someone replied verbally or forgot to respond. The tenant's frustration — and their evidence of being ignored — builds.
Practical Steps to Build Better Trails
You don't need expensive software to improve your documentation. But you do need discipline and a system.
Use a single system of record. Whether it's a property management platform, a shared drive, or a dedicated maintenance tool — pick one place where everything lives. Scattered records across email, WhatsApp, and spreadsheets will fail you when you need them most.
Require photos at intake and completion. Make it policy: no job is logged without a photo from the tenant, and no job is closed without a photo from the contractor. This alone eliminates most disputes about what the problem was and whether it was fixed.
Log all communications automatically. If you're using WhatsApp or email to communicate with tenants, make sure those messages are captured somewhere permanent. Manual copy-pasting is error-prone; automated logging is reliable.
Set up status updates that go to tenants. Don't wait for tenants to chase. Send automatic confirmations: "We've received your report." "Your repair is scheduled for Tuesday." "The contractor has marked this job complete." This keeps tenants informed and creates a paper trail simultaneously.
Store everything against the property. When a new issue comes in, you should be able to see instantly: has this property had similar problems before? What was done? This context helps you triage correctly and demonstrates diligence if a pattern emerges.
What to Do If You Don't Have Good Records Today
If your current documentation is patchy, don't panic — but do start now.
For ongoing issues: Take dated photos today. Send the tenant a written summary of where things stand. This won't fill gaps in historical records, but it establishes a clear baseline going forward.
For closed jobs: If you have invoices but no completion evidence, you may not be able to reconstruct the full picture. Accept that and focus on improving future documentation.
For your process: Identify where records are most likely to fall through the cracks. Is it intake? Contractor confirmation? Tenant communication? Fix the weakest link first.
The best time to build good habits was years ago. The second-best time is today.
The Bottom Line
Documentation isn't bureaucracy — it's protection. Every timestamped message, every photo, every logged decision is evidence that you acted responsibly.
In an environment of rising disrepair claims, stricter regulation, and better-informed tenants, the landlords and agents who keep good records will spend less time defending themselves and more time running their portfolios.
The ones who don't will keep paying for problems they already fixed.
Lanten creates a timestamped audit trail for every maintenance conversation — from first report to contractor sign-off. No manual logging, no scattered emails, no gaps. Book a demo to see how it works.
