Key takeaways:
If you manage rentals, the fastest way to avoid holiday chaos is to give tenants a clear, written emergency maintenance procedure for tenants before your office closes. Not a vague “call us if you need us.” A real plan. What counts as urgent, who to contact, what to do in the first five minutes, and what happens next. When people are stressed, they do not improvise well. They follow the last clear instruction they saw.
This guide gives you a practical message you can send, plus the logic behind it, so your tenants know how to act during an emergency and you can protect the home.
Holiday schedules change everything. Vendors run limited hours. Your maintenance team may be rotating on-call coverage. Tenants travel, guests visit, and small issues get ignored until they become loud.
That is why emergency maintenance feels more frequent in late December. It is not always that more things break. It is that the margin for delay disappears.
For anyone in property management, this is the moment to be explicit. The goal is twofold: keep people safe and reduce property damage.
Tenants need a definition they can use at 2 a.m.
A good rule is: something qualifies as an emergency when it poses a risk to health, safety, or the building, or when waiting will cause major damage.
Use plain language. Give examples. Then give counterexamples.
These are typical maintenance emergencies in rental properties:
Each of these often constitutes an emergency because it can escalate quickly.
Tenants get stuck here, so say it directly: a clogged sink that still drains, a cosmetic issue, or a minor appliance problem often isn’t considered an emergency.
That does not mean you do not care. It means it should go through the normal queue.
This is the heart of understanding what constitutes an emergency. It is not about minimizing tenant concerns. It is about triage.
When something goes wrong, tenants need to know what to do before they reach you.
Give them a short list of steps for immediate action. Keep it simple.
This is where you reinforce tenant safety and the safety of the tenant as the priority.
If the issue can worsen fast, tell them to act to prevent further damage. That phrase matters. It frames the tenant’s role as helpful, not burdensome.
Tenants get confused when you give them five options.
Pick one primary method for submitting a maintenance report, and then one backup for true emergencies.
For example:
The on-call number is your emergency contact. Make it obvious. Put it near the top.
If you use a portal, explain how to submit maintenance requests and what details to include. Tenants should know what photos help, what to write, and how to share access notes.
This is basic maintenance management, but it is where most confusion starts.
Holiday coverage is real life. You cannot promise instant fixes.
Explain your triage standards:
If you want to include timing, be careful and realistic. Many teams aim to acknowledge urgent issues within 24 hours, and complete non-urgent work within 24 to 48 hours depending on parts and vendor availability.
The point is not the exact number. It is that tenants understand the difference between an emergency and a queue.
Different buildings have different failure points.
If you have older plumbing, call out pipes. If you have shared HVAC, call out heat loss.
A short list helps tenants decide if something qualifies as emergency maintenance.
Examples:
You can say these are considered emergencies in your building.
This reduces unnecessary calls and speeds up the right calls.
This is the part tenants care about.
Define your after-hours emergency process:
This is your emergency response system. Keep it predictable.
If you use a third-party call center, say so. Tenants do not mind, as long as the process works.
If you have a dedicated property manager, name them and list the escalation path.
Tenants often report symptoms, not causes. That is fine. Help them do it clearly.
Ask for:
This improves your maintenance process and reduces repeat calls.
It also helps you decide if the issue qualifies as emergency or if it is a normal maintenance issue.
If you want fewer emergencies, you need a short seasonal checklist.
This is where preventive maintenance earns its keep.
Before holiday closures, send tenants a quick list:
This is part of your maintenance program and your broader preventive maintenance programs.
If you do regular inspections and preventive maintenance, mention it. Tenants like knowing you are not waiting for failures.
If you want to go further, you can implement a preventive maintenance schedule that includes furnace filters, smoke/CO detector checks, and plumbing inspections.
This is proactive maintenance. It reduces emergencies and improves tenant satisfaction.
Tenants often ask what they are responsible for. Give a simple answer.
Some items may be tenant-caused or tenant-handled. In some leases, tenants may be responsible for things like replacing light bulbs, resetting a tripped breaker, or basic drain care.
Say what applies in your building. If you are unsure, point them back to the lease.
This keeps the relationship fair. It also reduces resentment.
People learn through examples. Use a few.
If the water is actively flowing, it is likely a common emergency. Tell the tenant to shut off the valve, place towels, and call.
If it is a slow drip, it may be considered a maintenance concern that can be scheduled.
This is not a wait-and-see situation. It can pose an immediate threat. Tell the tenant to leave and call emergency services.
This can lead to frozen pipes and major damage. It often requires immediate attention and may be treated as considered an emergency.
Annoying, yes. But it may fall under non-emergency maintenance unless there is a health risk.
These examples help tenants decide when to call and when to submit.
Below is a template you can copy, then customize.
Hello,
Our office will be closed from [dates/times]. During this time, please use the following process for repairs.
Emergency repairs (call): If an issue threatens health/safety or could cause major damage, call our on-call line at [number]. Examples include active leaks, no heat in freezing weather, electrical hazards, or suspected gas leaks.
Non-emergency repairs (submit): For routine issues, please submit through [portal/email] with photos and a short description.
If there is immediate danger: Call 911.
To help us respond quickly, include: unit number, what happened, when it started, and whether water/gas/electricity is involved.
Thank you for helping us keep the property safe.
A tenant notice is half the work. The other half is your internal plan.
You need an emergency maintenance plan that covers:
This step is the operational side of handling maintenance and managing emergency maintenance.
If you are managing rental properties across multiple locations, centralize your vendor contacts and keep a shared log.
This matters because emergency maintenance is crucial for protecting assets and keeping residents safe.
Use clear, direct phrases tenants can repeat.
That is your clear emergency framing.
It also helps keep tenants calm. People do better when they know what the process is.
Holiday closures do not have to mean surprise damage and frantic calls. Give tenants one clear reporting path, define what counts as urgent, and back it up with a short preventive checklist. That is how you protect the property and keep residents safe.
Rent With Clara can support the turnover side of maintenance planning by helping renters share verified information in one place when you are screening for the next lease.
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