Managing Maintenance Tickets Like a Pro (Even with 50 Units)

'''

The Scaling Challenge: From Your First Duplex to a 50-Unit Portfolio

Remember the early days? A tenant in your first duplex in Le Plateau-Mont-Royal would text you about a leaky faucet, and you'd either pop over with a wrench or call your one trusted plumber. It was simple, personal, and manageable. But as your portfolio grows, that ad-hoc system starts to crack. Five units, ten, twenty, and suddenly you're drowning in texts, emails, and voicemails. A tenant in a Rosemont triplex has no hot water, a student in a Verdun 8-plex reports a broken window, and a family in your Laval property has a fridge on the fritz. Forgetting a request, mixing up priorities, or failing to follow up becomes not just possible, but probable. This is the critical point where amateur landlording ends and professional property management must begin.

Scaling a real estate portfolio in Quebec brings incredible rewards, but it also magnifies operational complexities. The maintenance management system that worked for a handful of units will actively work against you as you approach 50. The consequences are severe: unhappy tenants, higher turnover, potential legal issues with the Tribunal administratif du logement (TAL), and a damaged reputation. To successfully scale, you need a robust, repeatable system that ensures nothing falls through the cracks.

The 5-Step Professional Maintenance Framework

Forget the scattered texts and sticky notes. Professional operators use a structured framework to handle maintenance. This five-step process ensures every request is logged, prioritized, and resolved efficiently, keeping your tenants happy and your properties in top condition.

Step 1: Receive - Centralize Every Request

The first rule of professional maintenance management is to create a single point of entry for all requests. This isn't just about convenience; it's about control and documentation. When requests come from multiple channels, it’s impossible to track them effectively. Mandate that all non-emergency requests be submitted through a dedicated system. This could be a specific email address, a form on your website, or, ideally, a tenant portal within a property management platform like Gero Immo. Centralizing requests creates an automatic, time-stamped log of every issue, which is invaluable for tracking and legal purposes.

Step 2: Triage - The Priority Matrix

Not all maintenance requests are created equal. A chirping smoke detector is an annoyance; a non-functional heating system in January is an emergency. Triaging requests based on urgency is crucial for deploying your resources effectively and meeting your legal obligations. A priority matrix is the best tool for this.

Here is a sample priority matrix you can adapt:

This matrix removes guesswork. When a request comes in, you categorize it and immediately know the required response time, setting clear expectations for both your team and your tenants.

Step 3: Assign - Building Your Quebec Contractor Dream Team

With a prioritized ticket in hand, the next step is assigning it to the right person. For a 50-unit portfolio, you can’t rely on a single handyman. You need a network of qualified, reliable, and insured contractors across Quebec. Your network should include:

• General Handymen: For routine repairs and smaller jobs.
• Licensed Plumbers & Electricians: Essential for any work involving plumbing or electrical systems. Don’t cut corners here; the legal and safety risks are too high.
• HVAC Specialists: For heating, ventilation, and air conditioning issues.
• Appliance Repair Technicians: For fridges, stoves, washers, and dryers.
• Roofers, Masons, and other specialists: For larger, less frequent jobs.

When building your network, look for contractors who are familiar with the specific housing stock in your areas, whether it's century-old triplexes in Montreal or newer constructions in Brossard. Check for references, verify their liability insurance, and negotiate rates upfront. Organizations like CORPIQ (Corporation des propriétaires immobiliers du Québec) can be a great resource for finding trusted local professionals.

Step 4: Track - From Assignment to Resolution

Assigning the job isn’t the end of the process. You must track the request through to completion. This is where many landlords drop the ball. A good system will allow you to see the status of every open ticket at a glance: "Assigned," "In Progress," "Awaiting Parts," or "Scheduled."

This is another area where a dedicated tool shines. For instance, Gero Immo can help you track the entire lifecycle of a maintenance ticket. You can see when the contractor has contacted the tenant, when the work is scheduled, and when it’s marked as complete. This visibility is crucial for keeping tenants informed and ensuring contractors are meeting their service level agreements.

Step 5: Close - The Final Lap

Once the contractor reports the job is done, the final step is to close the loop. This involves two key actions:

1. Confirm with the Tenant: Send a quick email or message through your portal to the tenant confirming that the work was completed to their satisfaction. This small step shows you care and helps catch any lingering issues before they escalate.
2. Process the Invoice: Once confirmed, process the contractor’s invoice. Tag the expense to the specific property and repair category in your accounting software. This is vital for accurate budgeting and understanding the true cost of maintaining your portfolio.

Tenant Communication: Your Secret Weapon

Effective communication can turn a frustrating maintenance issue into a positive customer service experience. The key is to be proactive. Even if you can’t fix a problem immediately, keeping the tenant informed makes all the difference.

• Acknowledge the Request Immediately: An automated or personal reply confirming receipt of their request provides immediate peace of mind.
• Provide a Timeline: Based on your priority matrix, let them know when they can expect to hear from a contractor and what the target resolution time is.
• Share Updates: If there’s a delay (e.g., a part needs to be ordered), let the tenant know. Silence breeds frustration.

The Law in Quebec: Navigating Your Legal Obligations

In Quebec, landlord responsibilities are clearly defined in the Civil Code. Understanding these obligations is not optional; it’s essential for protecting your investment and avoiding disputes with the TAL.

Habitability, Safety, and Enjoyment

As a landlord, you have a primary obligation to provide a dwelling that is in a good state of repair, habitability, and cleanliness. This means the property must be safe and fit for its intended purpose. This covers everything from functioning plumbing and heating to ensuring the structural integrity of the building.

Reasonable Delays and Urgent Repairs

The law requires landlords to make all necessary repairs during the lease, with the exception of minor maintenance repairs, which are the tenant’s responsibility (e.g., changing a lightbulb). For urgent and necessary repairs—like a burst pipe or a furnace failure in winter—you must act quickly. If a landlord fails to make urgent repairs in a timely manner, a tenant may have the right to undertake the repairs themselves and seek reimbursement, or apply to the TAL for an order.

The Role of the TAL

The Tribunal administratif du logement is the ultimate arbiter of landlord-tenant disputes in Quebec. A well-documented maintenance process is your best defense. If a tenant files a complaint regarding a repair, your ability to show a complete record—from the initial request to the final invoice and tenant confirmation—demonstrates your diligence and professionalism.

Budgeting for the Unexpected: Tracking Maintenance Costs

For a large portfolio, you can’t treat maintenance as a random expense. You need to budget for it. A common rule of thumb is to set aside 1-2% of the property’s value annually for maintenance. For a $500,000 triplex, that’s $5,000-$10,000 per year. Another method is to budget $100-150 per unit per month.

Accurate tracking is key. By categorizing every expense (plumbing, electrical, appliances, etc.) for each property, you can identify trends. Is one building costing you significantly more? Are you constantly repairing the same appliances? This data is gold. It helps you make informed decisions about preventive maintenance and capital expenditures, like replacing all the hot water heaters in a building rather than repairing them one by one.

Leveraging Technology: The Gero Immo Advantage

Managing 50+ units with spreadsheets and a cell phone is a recipe for burnout and failure. Technology is the force multiplier that allows you to manage a large portfolio professionally without a massive team. A platform like Gero Immo is designed for this. It integrates maintenance management directly into your workflow. Tenants can submit tickets through their portal, you can triage and assign them to your pre-vetted contractors, and you can track every step until resolution. All communication and documentation are stored in one place, creating an unshakeable record for every single request.

By automating the administrative heavy lifting, you free up your time to focus on high-value activities: acquiring new properties, optimizing your financing, and building your contractor network. It’s the difference between being a reactive firefighter and a proactive portfolio manager.

Conclusion

Scaling your Quebec real estate portfolio from a handful of units to 50 or more is a significant achievement. It requires a fundamental shift in how you operate. By implementing a professional maintenance framework, building a strong contractor network, understanding your legal obligations, and leveraging technology, you can manage maintenance like a pro. This systematic approach will not only protect your assets and keep your tenants happy but will also provide the solid operational foundation you need to continue growing your real estate empire. '''