New data from property maintenance platform Lettie has revealed that half of all tenant property maintenance cases are first reported outside traditional office hours. Drawing from Lettie’s database of more than 10,000 tenants, the analysis tracks maintenance issues reported between 1 June and 31 August 2026.

Out-of-hours demand

The data shows that exactly half of all maintenance cases were logged outside standard Monday-to-Friday, 9am-to-5pm hours, with nearly one in five reported over the weekend.

Essential services showed even heavier out-of-hours spikes:

• Hot water: Nearly three-quarters of all heating and hot-water cases - and an even greater share of hot-water disruption reports - were first logged out of hours

• Emergencies: More than half of high-priority and emergency-labelled cases were first reported outside standard weekday hours

The findings suggest that the maintenance problems most disruptive to tenants are also among those most likely to be raised when property management offices are traditionally closed.

Connor Hawkins, Chief Solutions Officer at Lettie, says:

"Anyone working in property management knows that maintenance does not stop at 5pm, but the scale of the out-of-hours demand is striking. When half of maintenance cases are first reported outside the traditional working day, and almost three-quarters of hot-water disruptions arrive out of hours this cannot really be treated as an occasional exception. For landlords and letting agents, the challenge is having an effective way to capture the problem, understand its urgency and decide what needs to happen next, regardless of when the tenant reports it."

Plumbing and recurring issues

Plumbing and drainage emerged as the single largest maintenance category, followed closely by issues involving doors, windows, and access, as well as heating and hot water, appliances, and ventilation.

Plumbing, drainage, heating, and hot water account for roughly a third of all cases.

Beyond initial repairs, the data reveals that at least one in eight cases contained evidence of a previous report, recurring symptoms, a prior repair attempt, or an unresolved follow-up. This trend was particularly pronounced in electrical, lighting, and damp-related issues, where a quarter of cases showed signs of a recurring concern.

While this should not be interpreted as a contractor failure rate, it demonstrates the importance of understanding the history behind a maintenance report rather than treating every new contact as an isolated incident.

Hawkins adds:

"The data also shows why maintenance is about more than simply receiving a message and arranging a repair. A meaningful proportion of issues have some previous history attached to them. Understanding whether something has happened before, whether an earlier repair was attempted or whether symptoms are recurring can materially affect what the right next step should be. As property portfolios become larger, maintaining that context becomes increasingly important."