Vacation Rental Maintenance Schedule

Who this is for

12 recurring maintenance tasks for a short-term rental — the things that don't happen at turnover but decide whether the property holds up. Rentals wear at several times the rate of a home, and the failures arrive when the property is occupied, which is the most expensive time for them to arrive.

Preventive beats reactive by a wide margin

A boiler serviced on schedule is an appointment. A boiler that fails on a Friday in December with guests in the property is an emergency callout, a refund, and a review. Nearly everything on this list is a cheap scheduled version of an expensive unscheduled one.

Set it up as a recurring calendar, not a memory

Turn on due dates for this template and re-run it each quarter with a fresh start date. Annual items — boiler service, chimney, gutters, deep carpet clean, appliance descaling — get missed precisely because nothing reminds you until something breaks.

Check the things guests test hardest

Water pressure and hot water recovery, drains, the shower seal, the washing machine, and every lock and key. These take the heaviest use and produce the most complaints. Locks in particular fail gradually and then completely.

Keep a supplier list with the property

Plumber, electrician, locksmith, appliance engineer — found and vetted before you need them, with numbers stored somewhere your co-host or cleaner can reach. The middle of an incident is a bad time to be searching for a tradesperson who can come today.

Budget for replacement, not just repair

Mattresses, towels, linens, pans, and outdoor furniture have a rental lifespan of a couple of years. Plan the replacement cycle rather than waiting for a review to point it out.