Maintenance software
Property maintenance management software: what the category actually does
Repair requests arrive by text, email and voicemail, and the one that costs you is the one nobody wrote down. What the software category actually does about that, what it does not, and how Dardaris carries one request from the tenant's first message to the invoice.
14 days before the first charge · Nothing is switched on until you say so
Before: four places to check
- TextThe kitchen tap is still drippingStatus unknown
- EmailRe: Re: noise from the boilerStatus unknown
- VoicemailMissed call about the hallway lightStatus unknown
- NotebookCall a plumber about 3B?Status unknown
After: one queue
- Unit 3BKitchen tap drippingWaiting for you
- Unit 1ANoise from the boilerWith the trade
- Unit 2CHallway light outDone
The category, honestly
What good maintenance software actually does
Strip away the marketing and it is one request carried through five steps. The software keeps the record straight at every one of them; the repair itself is still done by a person.
- 1ReportedTenantA tenant reports what is wrong somewhere consistent, instead of a text to a personal phone that gets lost in a thread about something else.
- 2SortedSoftwareWhat is broken, in which unit and how urgent it is, taken from the message so nobody has to type it out again.
- 3Handed overYou or your tradeWhether that is a contractor, a handyman, or the owner themselves, the same thread carries what they need to know.
- 4FixedYou or your tradeThe work is done, and when and what was done go on the same request rather than into a separate notebook.
- 5Billed and filedSoftwareThe invoice sits on the request, and the whole thread stays filed against the unit for the accounts and for the next time the same thing breaks.
The checklist
What to look for, scored
Seven questions worth putting to any tool before you pay for it, answered for a shared inbox, for a plain ticket tracker and for Dardaris.
- Every request lands in one placeTexts and emailNoA ticket trackerYesDardarisYes
- A status you can read at a glanceTexts and emailNoA ticket trackerYesDardarisYes
- The whole thread, not just a status wordTexts and emailPartlyA ticket trackerAskDardarisYes
- Who it was handed to, and whenTexts and emailNoA ticket trackerYesDardarisYes
- The message read and sorted before you open itTexts and emailNoA ticket trackerAskDardarisYes
- A drafted reply that waits for your approvalTexts and emailNoA ticket trackerAskDardarisYes
- Every automatic step written to an audit trailTexts and emailNoA ticket trackerAskDardarisYes
What it is not
What maintenance software does not do
It is worth being precise here, because this category gets oversold. Two things it does not claim to be.
It does not replace a handyman or a contractor
No software fixes a leaking tap. What good software saves is the time spent working out what was actually reported and chasing whether anyone dealt with it.
It is a record, not necessarily a vendor marketplace
Some tools bundle a network of contractors to book through; others, including Dardaris today, keep the record of what happened rather than a marketplace layered on top of it. Know which one you are actually buying.
Where your property is
Who fixes what, where your property is
The software keeps the record, but the law of the building decides who pays for a repair and which safety checks a landlord has to book. Here is the split where your property stands.
Elsewhere
General guidance- Most countries split repairs between a landlord who keeps the home fit to live in and a tenant who handles small, everyday upkeep.
- Where that line falls, and which safety checks are required, is set by national or regional law and often by the lease.
- A dated record of each request and what was done is what settles a disagreement later.
Ask the local housing office or a lawyer before relying on a split you have not read in the law.
Where Dardaris is different
The AI reads the message before a person has to
When a tenant emails about something broken, Dardaris reads it, works out what is actually being reported, and either drafts a reply or flags that a person needs to decide, all inside limits the owner sets. Here is one request, start to finish.
- The owner's own limits decideWhat can run unattended and what waits for a person is set by the owner, and those limits can only ever get more cautious, never less, however the setting is changed.
- Every action is auditableWhatever the AI does gets written to a record with a human-readable summary, so nothing it did is a mystery after the fact.
- Nothing sends to a tenant unattendedA drafted reply waits for the owner unless the message and the owner's own settings both allow otherwise; the most it ever does alone is file the answer against the thread.
One request, one thread
Unit 3B, kitchen tap
- Mon 19:04Email in: the kitchen tap has been dripping since Sunday.Tenant
- Mon 19:04Read as plumbing, routine, Unit 3B, and filed on the unit.Done by Dardaris
- Mon 19:05A reply is drafted, thanking the tenant and asking for a photo.Waits for you
- Tue 08:10You approve the reply and pass the job to your plumber.You
- ThuTap fixed. The plumber's invoice goes on the same request.You
- Each stepWritten to the audit trail with a plain summary.Done by Dardaris
Maintenance software
Questions about maintenance software
What should maintenance software actually track?
The report itself, in the tenant's own words; when it came in and what was said about it since; who it was handed to, if anyone; and how it was resolved. A tool that only stores a status word without the thread behind it is not much better than no record at all.
Does maintenance software replace needing a handyman or a contractor?
No. Software keeps the record of what was reported and what happened; it does not fix a leaking tap. What it can save is the time spent figuring out what was actually reported and chasing whether anyone dealt with it.
How does AI help with maintenance requests without making unsupervised decisions?
By reading the incoming message, working out what is actually being reported, and either drafting a reply or flagging that a person needs to decide, all within limits the owner sets. Nothing sends to a tenant unattended, and every action taken is written to an auditable record.
What happens when a tenant reports an emergency?
In Dardaris, a message that reports an emergency is never answered automatically. It waits for a person whatever the settings say, so it lands in front of you rather than in an automatic reply. The call to a plumber or an emergency service is still yours to make.
Is maintenance software worth it for one or two properties?
The value is the record, and a small landlord needs that as much as a large one: the request you lose track of costs the same whether you own one flat or forty. Starting with a single building is the easiest way to find out whether it saves you time.
How do I choose between maintenance tools?
Put the same questions to each one: does every request land in one place, is the whole thread kept rather than a status word, does it record who a job was handed to, and if it uses AI, does a reply wait for your approval and is every automatic step written down. A tool that cannot answer those clearly is a to-do list.
See what happens when a tenant's email actually gets read.
Start with one building, and the next repair request that comes in gets read, filed and left for you to approve.
14 days before the first charge · Nothing is switched on until you say so