Two weeks ago I woke up at 3 a.m. because my nose was cold. Sam was buried under every blanket we own, Olive was pressed against my legs like a hot water bottle, and the baseboard heater under the bedroom window was silent and cool to the touch. The breaker was fine. The thermostat dial clicked the way it always does. The heater just wasn't working.
It got fixed four days later, which is pretty good for our building, and I think part of the reason it went smoothly is that we've gotten better at asking. We've lived here since October 2023, and the way I handle repair requests now looks very different from how I handled them my first month. Here's what we've learned.
Why "in writing" matters even with a nice landlord
Our landlord is a reasonable person who owns a few small buildings and mostly answers texts. Still, I put every repair request in writing, by email, with the date and a photo. Not because I expect a fight, but because:
- It creates a record. If the same thing breaks again, or something is still broken when we move out, there's a dated trail showing when it was reported and that we didn't cause it.
- It's easier for them. A clear email with the unit number, the problem and a photo is something they can forward to a repair person directly.
- It protects the deposit. When I moved out of my old studio, I lost part of my deposit for issues I'm fairly sure I'd mentioned verbally. Verbally doesn't count for much later.
I still text a heads-up for anything urgent. Then I follow up with an email that says "just putting this in writing too."
What a good repair request includes
This is roughly the email I sent about the heater:
Subject: Unit 3B – bedroom heater not working
Hi, I wanted to let you know that the baseboard heater in our bedroom stopped working sometime overnight on Monday. The breaker is on and the other heaters in the apartment work normally. I've attached a photo of the heater and thermostat. Could someone take a look this week? We're home most days and happy to work around a repair person's schedule. Thanks so much.
A few things I try to always include:
- Unit number and what's wrong, in the subject line.
- When it started and what we already checked, so nobody wastes a trip flipping a breaker.
- A photo or short video.
- Our availability. Since I work from home, I can usually let someone in, which helps.
- A polite tone. Even when I'm annoyed. Especially when I'm annoyed.
When it's not fixed right away
For anything non-urgent, I wait about a week before following up. The follow-up is short: I reply to my original email, so the whole history stays in one thread, and ask if there's an update or a time planned.
If something affects heat, water, safety or the locks, I follow up sooner. The heater was a gray area, since the rest of the apartment was warm, so in a quick follow-up that same day I mentioned that nighttime temperatures were dropping and asked whether a space heater would be okay in the meantime. The landlord said yes, we borrowed one, and it got the bedroom through the four days until the repair person came.
I'm not a lawyer, and rules about repairs and timelines vary a lot from place to place. If something serious were being ignored, I'd look up our local tenant rights resources rather than guess. Thankfully we haven't needed to.
Small things I've learned along the way
Batch the minor stuff
A loose cabinet hinge, a sticky window latch and a light fixture that flickers can go in one email instead of three. Landlords seem to appreciate one list more than a drip of small requests.
Be home or be specific
If you can't be there, say exactly what the repair person needs to know: where the problem is, whether the cat is shut in the bathroom, where to leave a note.
Say thank you after
When the heater was fixed, I sent a two-line email thanking them and confirming it was working. It closes the loop on the record, and it's just nice. We negotiated our rent renewal down from the proposed $1,525 to $1,480 this fall, and I genuinely think two years of being easy, clear tenants helped that conversation.
The bedroom is warm again. Olive has gone back to sleeping on the heater cover instead of on me, which I'm choosing not to take personally.
