Warranty calls: logging, responding and closing them
At 7:12 the property manager emails: water under the kitchen sink in unit 304, a door that will not latch in 211, and "the heat is weird" on the third floor. It is month seven of the warranty on a 48-unit rental building. Last month's calls are scattered across your inbox and two text threads.
Warranty work is where a contractor's reputation outlasts the project. Calls arrive in pieces, through different people, and without one log they get lost, duplicated or argued about. The opposite failure is fixing everything asked, covered or not, because nobody checked what the contract promises.
- Log every call the day it arrives: date, who reported it, unit or area, description, photos and urgency.
- Sort by urgency: water, heat, security and life safety today; broken functions within days; cosmetic items batched.
- Check coverage before you send anyone: the warranty's start and end dates, its exclusions, and which trade or manufacturer carries the item. An active leak or a safety hazard is made safe first; coverage is settled after.
- Send the responsible trade with the details, a date to attend and a request for photos of the finished repair.
- Tell the owner the next step in writing, with a date — including when an item is not covered, and why.
- Close a call only when the repair is confirmed by the owner or on a visit, with the date, the trade and the photos in the log.
- Review the log monthly: the same fault in several units is a defect to investigate, not a string of calls.
Common mistakes
- Repairing first and checking coverage afterwards.
- Closing a call because the trade says it is done.
- Refusing a claim by phone, with no written reason.
- Letting the warranty end without a final walk with the owner.
Checklist
Every warranty call
- Logged the day it arrives, with photos
- Urgency set: today, this week or batched
- Coverage checked against the contract and product warranties
- Responsible trade sent with a date
- Owner told the next step in writing
- Closed only after the repair is confirmed
Check your understanding
The owner reports cracked lobby tile, and your trade says the owner's floor scrubber caused it. What do you do before answering?
Show the answer
Look at the tile or get photos, read the warranty terms and exclusions, and ask the trade for its reasoning in writing. If the cause is outside the warranty, explain why in writing with the evidence; if it is unclear, fixing it may cost less than the argument.
