How to track homeowner requests so none get lost

Published October 27, 2026

Most complaints to a management company or board are not really about the broken gate or the leaking pipe. They are about silence: a message nobody answered, or a request nobody owned. Fixing that does not need special software. It needs seven habits. Here they are, in the order we would put them in place.

1. One front door

Decide where requests go and say so: a portal, a shared inbox, or a published address and phone number. If requests also arrive by personal text or in the parking lot, whoever receives them logs them at the front door the same day. A request that is not logged does not exist yet.

2. One owner for every request

Give each request a named person, not a team. "The office" is not an owner. Name a backup for when that person is away, and make reassigning a request quick and visible.

3. A clock on every request

Set a response target (when the homeowner hears from a person) and a resolution target (when the work should be done), and show both on the request. Our starting template for response targets has numbers you can adapt.

4. A status the homeowner can see

Keep the list short: new, in progress, waiting on the homeowner, with the board, resolved. Tell the homeowner whenever it changes. Most follow-up calls disappear when people can see where their request stands.

5. A clear route to the board

Decide in advance which kinds of requests need a board decision (for example exterior changes, spending above a limit, or exceptions to a rule), how many approvals are needed, and by when. Give members a way to hand their vote to someone while they are away. Record each decision with a short reason that the homeowner can read.

6. Escalate by rule, not by volume

When a response deadline is missed, the group lead hears about it. When a resolution deadline is missed, the manager does. Written rules mean the quiet homeowner gets the same attention as the loud one.

7. Close the loop and keep the record

When work is done, tell the homeowner what was done and close the request. Keep what was asked, who decided, and what happened, so that next year's board or a new manager can see the history.

A one-page checklist

• Is there one place to send requests, and does every request end up in it?
• Does each open request have a named owner and a backup?
• Does each have a response target and a resolution target on it?
• Can the homeowner see the status without calling?
• Do we know which requests need the board, and by when?
• Do missed deadlines reach a named person automatically?
• Is every closed request kept with its decision and outcome?

Where Proverbs Light fits

Proverbs Light is built around these seven habits: one queue with a named owner, deadlines on the clock, a status homeowners can see, board votes with a record, escalation by rule, and a log of every step. It is a tool for habits you still have to choose. If you would like to try it with real communities, become a design partner.