Letting agents
Repair report first reply: one procedure your whole team uses
General information, not legal or qualified advice. Last checked 2 Nov 2026. Sources are linked under each section.
When a tenant reports a repair, the first reply sets the tone for everything after it. If each person in the office replies differently, tenants get mixed messages and the agency loses track of what was promised. A short written first-reply procedure fixes that.
What the Code of Practice asks for
The Letting Agent Code of Practice sets these duties where the agency manages repairs for the landlord:
| Para | What the Code says | What your first reply needs |
|---|---|---|
| 86 | "Your procedure should include target timescales for carrying out routine and emergency repairs." | Your target times, written down |
| 89 | "Where the work required is not covered by your agreement you should inform the landlord in writing of the work required and seek their instructions on how to proceed." | A check: is this within our authority? |
| 90 | "Repairs must be dealt with promptly and appropriately having regard to their nature and urgency and in line with your written procedures." | An urgency triage step |
| 91 | "You must inform the tenant of the action you intend to take on the repair and its likely timescale." | The action and likely timescale in the reply |
| 93 | "If there is any delay in carrying out the repair and maintenance work, you must inform the landlords, tenants or both as appropriate about this along with the reason for it as soon as possible." | A rule for what happens if the timescale slips |
Source: gov.scot, Letting Agent Code of Practice, Management and maintenance.
The standard behind the repair
The landlord's duty is the Repairing Standard in section 13 of the Housing (Scotland) Act 2006. Among other things, the house must be "wind and water tight and in all other respects reasonably fit for human habitation" (section 13(1)(a)). The Code paras above set how the agency manages the repair. See our Repairing Standard checklist.
Source: legislation.gov.uk, Housing (Scotland) Act 2006 section 13.
The first-reply procedure
- Log it. Record the report, the property, and when it arrived.
- Triage urgency against your para 86 targets: emergency, urgent or routine, using your agency's categories.
- Check authority (para 89). If the work is outside your agreement with the landlord, write to the landlord for instructions and tell the tenant you are doing so.
- Reply to the tenant (para 91): what you will do next and the likely timescale.
- Diary the follow-up for the date you gave, so a delay prompts a para 93 update.
- File the reply with the repair record.
A first-reply message
Fill in the brackets:
Thanks for letting us know about [issue] at [address]. We've logged it as [urgency]. Next, we will [action, for example arrange a contractor to inspect]. We expect this to happen by [date]. If that changes, we'll tell you and explain why.
How Lorework helps
- First replies drafted your way. Lorework drafts replies that follow your procedure, for staff to approve, so the first reply reads the same whoever is on shift.
- Nothing goes out unapproved. A member of staff approves every reply before it is sent.
- Your team works in chat. Staff check and approve each drafted reply in chat.
- Tenants kept informed. Once staff approve them, updates go to tenants by SMS, in the agency's tone.
Related: Code of Practice repairs · Repairing Standard checklist · Repair update templates · Lorework for letting agents in Scotland
Questions
Do letting agents in Scotland need a written repairs procedure?
Para 86 of the Code says agents who provide this service directly on the landlord's behalf "must put in place appropriate written procedures and processes" for tenants and landlords to report repairs, and that the procedure should include target timescales.
What must the first reply tell the tenant?
Para 91: "the action you intend to take on the repair and its likely timescale."
What if the repair isn't covered by our agreement with the landlord?
Para 89: inform the landlord in writing of the work required and seek their instructions on how to proceed.
See your first-reply procedure in a demo
Book a 30-minute demo, Monday to Friday, 08:00 to 18:30 UK time.
General information, not legal or qualified advice.