How to Create a Free Maintenance Request Form for Tenants

The fastest way to stop chasing repair requests across text, email, and voicemail is to give every tenant one link. Here is how to set up a maintenance request form that actually gets used.

Why a request form beats texts and calls

When repairs come in by text or phone, three things go wrong: details are vague ("the sink is broken"), photos are easy to lose, and there is no record of when the request came in. A simple form fixes all three by asking for the right information up front and landing every submission in one queue.

What a good tenant request form asks for

• Which unit — so the request routes to the right property automatically.
• What is wrong — a short description of the issue.
• A photo — one picture removes most of the back-and-forth.
• How to reach them — name and contact, in case you need access.
• How urgent — "no hot water" is not "squeaky door," and tenants usually know the difference.

Keep it short. Every extra field is a reason for a tenant to give up and text you instead.

Three ways to build one

1. A free form tool. A general form builder can collect submissions to a spreadsheet or your inbox. It works, but you still have to track each request to completion yourself.
2. A shared inbox or email alias. Better than personal texts, but there is no structure, priority, or status — just a pile of messages.
3. A dedicated maintenance tool. The request form and the tracking live together, so a submission becomes a ticket you can assign, prioritize, and close — with the tenant's photo already attached.

How it works in Sarta

Sarta gives every workspace a public request link you can share with tenants — on a lease, a fridge magnet, or a text. Tenants pick their unit, describe the issue, and add a photo; no account or app download on their end. Each submission lands in your queue as a ticket, ready to triage and assign. From there you can track it through to a documented close.