TenantPad — Maintenance How-To Guide

TenantPad — Maintenance

A step-by-step guide to every feature in TenantPad. If you’re opening the app for the first time, start at the top and work down. If you’re looking for something specific, jump to the section you need.

Get started

When you first open TenantPad you’ll see the Dashboard with a welcome message: “Welcome to TenantPad”. Two buttons are shown:

  • Add Property — takes you straight to the property creation form.
  • Restore from Backup — takes you to Settings, where you can tap Backups and then Import from file… to load a backup from another device.

There are three tabs along the bottom — Dashboard, Properties and Requests — and a gear icon in the top-right that opens Settings.

Before you can log maintenance requests, you need at least one property with a unit. The Properties tab will show “No properties yet. Tap + to add your first property.” until you create one, and the Requests tab will show “No maintenance requests yet.”

Properties

Add a property

  1. Tap the Properties tab.
  2. Tap the + button.
  3. Enter a name (e.g. “123 Oak Street”) and address. Both are required — if either is left blank you’ll see “Name is required” or “Address is required”.
  4. Pick a property type: House, Apartment, Condo, Townhouse, Duplex, Commercial or Other.
  5. Set the currency (defaults to your device’s region, e.g. GBP) and timezone (defaults to your device’s timezone). These are set per property, so you can manage properties in different countries.
  6. Tap Save.

A default unit called “Main” is created automatically with every new property. You can rename it or add more units later.

Add a property photo

  1. Open a property from the list.
  2. Tap the photo area at the top of the screen.
  3. Choose Take Photo or Choose from Library.
  4. The photo appears as a banner on the property detail and as a thumbnail on the property card in the list.

To change the photo later, tap the banner again and select a new one.

Edit a property

  1. Open the property.
  2. Tap the overflow menu (three dots) → Edit.
  3. Change any field — name, address, type, currency or timezone.
  4. Tap Save.

Search properties

Use the search bar at the top of the Properties tab. It filters by property name and address as you type.

Archive a property

Archiving hides a property from the main list without deleting it.

  1. Open the property.
  2. Tap the overflow menu → Archive.

All active tenants must be moved out before you can archive. You’ll see “Cannot archive property: it has active tenants in one or more units” if any are still active. Open requests on vacant units do not block archiving.

Restore an archived property

  1. Go to Settings → Archived Properties (if you haven’t archived anything yet, this screen will show “No archived properties”).
  2. Tap Restore on the property you want to bring back.

The property returns to the Properties tab with all its units, tenants and requests intact.

Units

Add a unit

  1. Open a property.
  2. Tap Add Unit.
  3. Enter a label (e.g. “Flat 1A”, up to 50 characters), number of bedrooms and bathrooms.
  4. Tap Save.

Units are listed alphabetically within a property. Deleting a unit is not currently supported — you can rename it if needed.

Edit a unit

  1. Open the unit from the property detail screen.
  2. Tap the pencil icon.
  3. Update the label, bedrooms or bathrooms.
  4. Tap Save.

Tenants

Add a tenant

  1. Open a unit. If the unit has no tenant, you’ll see a No tenant — Add Tenant button.
  2. Tap it to open the form.
  3. Enter the tenant’s first name (required) and last name (required). Optionally add their email, phone and move-in date (defaults to today, e.g. 2026-03-09).
  4. Tap Save.

If you enter an invalid email you’ll see “Please enter a valid email address”. An invalid phone number shows “Please enter a valid phone number”. Each unit can have one active tenant at a time — move the current tenant out before adding a new one.

Contact a tenant

On the tenant detail screen (or the unit detail screen), use the Call, Text or Email buttons to contact them directly. These open the phone dialler, SMS composer or mail app with the tenant’s details pre-filled.

Edit a tenant

  1. Open the tenant’s detail screen.
  2. Tap the pencil icon.
  3. Update any field.
  4. Tap Save.

Move a tenant out

  1. Open the unit.
  2. Tap Move Tenant Out.
  3. Enter the move-out date (defaults to today, e.g. 2026-03-09). The date must be in YYYY-MM-DD format — entering letters or an invalid date like “2026-13-45” will show an error.
  4. Tap Next. You can also tap Cancel to go back without making any changes.
  5. If the tenant has open maintenance requests, you’ll be asked: “This unit has N open request(s). What would you like to do?”
    • Resolve All — closes every open request with a note “Closed — tenant moved out”.
    • Leave Open — keeps the requests as they are.
    • Cancel — aborts the move-out.
  6. If there are no open requests, the move-out happens immediately.

The tenant moves to a collapsible Previous tenants section on the unit detail screen, and the unit becomes vacant — ready for a new tenant.

Anonymise a former tenant

Under GDPR (the data protection regulation that applies in the EU and UK), tenants can ask for their personal data to be removed. Once a tenant has moved out, you can remove their personal identifiers while keeping the maintenance history intact.

The app labels this feature “anonymisation”, but it is technically pseudonymisation — the tenant’s name, email and phone are replaced with “[Removed]”, while request content, notes and photos are preserved. If any of those contain information that could identify the tenant, review and edit them separately before or after using this feature.

  1. Open the former tenant’s detail screen (under “Previous tenants” on the unit).
  2. Tap the Anonymise Tenant button (shown in red at the bottom of the screen).
  3. Confirm.

Their first name, last name, email and phone are replaced with “[Removed]”. Any linked maintenance requests will show “[Removed]” as the tenant name.

This action cannot be undone.

Maintenance requests

You need at least one property with a unit before you can create requests. If you haven’t set that up yet, see Properties and Units.

Create a request

  1. Tap the + button on the Requests tab, or tap New Request on the Dashboard (the shortcut only appears once you have at least one property).
  2. Select a property and unit. If the property has only one unit, it’s selected automatically.
  3. If the unit has an active tenant, they’re linked to the request automatically. You can also create requests on vacant units — the tenant field will simply be empty.
  4. Enter a title (required — you’ll see “Title is required” if left blank) and optionally a description.
  5. Set the priority: Low, Medium, High or Emergency.
  6. Optionally enter an estimated cost. Only digits and a decimal point are accepted — invalid characters are silently ignored.
  7. Optionally assign a contractor from your saved list. If you haven’t added any contractors yet, you’ll need to do that first via Settings → Contractors (see Add a contractor).
  8. Tap Save.

The request is created with a status of Reported.

Understand the status flow

Every request moves through these statuses:

  • Reported — the issue has been logged.
  • In Progress — work is underway.
  • Waiting — on hold for a part, contractor availability, or tenant access.
  • Resolved — the issue is fixed.

The allowed transitions are:

FromTo
ReportedIn Progress, Resolved
In ProgressWaiting, Resolved
WaitingIn Progress, Resolved
ResolvedReported (reopen)

You cannot skip from Reported directly to Waiting — it must go through In Progress first.

Change request status

  1. Open the request.
  2. Tap the status button you want to move to (e.g. In Progress).
  3. When resolving, you’ll be prompted to enter the actual cost. Enter the amount and confirm, or leave it blank. If you enter something that isn’t a number, you’ll see “Please enter a valid number (e.g. 125 or 125.50)”.
  4. An auto-generated note is added to the timeline each time the status changes (e.g. “Status changed to In Progress — 9 Mar 2026, 14:32”).

Reopen a resolved request

  1. Open the resolved request.
  2. Tap Reported.
  3. The status resets to Reported, the resolved date and actual cost are cleared, and an auto-note is added (e.g. “Reopened — 9 Mar 2026, 14:32”).

Edit a request

  1. Open the request.
  2. Tap the overflow menu → Edit.
  3. You can change the title, description, priority, estimated cost, actual cost and contractor. Property and unit cannot be changed after creation — if you need to change these, delete the request and create a new one.
  4. Tap Save.

If you change the priority, an auto-note is added (e.g. “Priority changed from Medium to Emergency — 9 Mar 2026, 14:32”).

Delete a request

  1. Open the request.
  2. Tap the overflow menu → Delete.
  3. You’ll see a confirmation: “Delete this request? This cannot be undone. All notes and photos will be permanently removed.”
  4. Confirm to permanently delete.

Search and filter requests

On the Requests tab:

  • Use the Open / Resolved / All tabs at the top to filter. Open shows Reported, In Progress and Waiting requests. Resolved shows only resolved requests. All shows everything.
  • Use the search bar to filter by request title, property name, tenant name or contractor name.

Requests are sorted with the most recently created at the top.

Bulk resolve requests

  1. On the Requests tab (with the Open filter active), long-press any open request.
  2. Selection mode activates with checkboxes. Resolved requests cannot be selected.
  3. Tap additional requests to select them. Tap a selected request again to deselect it.
  4. Tap Resolve on the bottom bar to resolve all selected requests at once. Auto-notes are generated for each. You will not be prompted for actual cost — you can add that later by editing each request individually.
  5. To exit selection mode without resolving, tap Cancel.

Photos

Add photos to a request

  1. Open the request. The request must not be resolved — see Photos on resolved requests below.
  2. Tap Add Photo.
  3. Choose Take Photo (opens the camera) or Choose from Library.
  4. The photo appears in the grid. You can add up to 10 photos per request.

Photos may capture sensitive or personally identifiable information. Keep this in mind when sharing requests via PDF or email.

Photos on resolved requests

Once a request is resolved, photos become read-only. You cannot add new photos or delete existing ones. Reopen the request (change status back to Reported) if you need to modify photos.

Delete a photo

Long-press a photo in the grid, then confirm the deletion.

How photos are stored

Photos are saved to the device’s document directory and survive app restarts. If you create a Full Backup, photos are included. A Light Backup saves data only — photos are not included and will show a placeholder if you restore from a Light Backup.

Notes

Add a note to a request

  1. Open the request.
  2. Scroll to the notes timeline at the bottom.
  3. Type your note (up to 2,000 characters) and tap Add.

Auto-generated notes

TenantPad automatically adds timestamped notes when:

  • The status changes (e.g. “Status changed to In Progress — 9 Mar 2026, 14:32”).
  • The priority changes (e.g. “Priority changed from Medium to Emergency — 9 Mar 2026, 14:32”).
  • A request is reopened (e.g. “Reopened — 9 Mar 2026, 14:32”).
  • A contractor is removed from a request (e.g. “Contractor Bob’s Plumbing removed”).
  • A tenant is moved out with “Resolve All” selected (e.g. “Closed — tenant moved out — 9 Mar 2026, 14:32”).

Auto-generated notes are displayed in italic and cannot be deleted.

Delete a note

Long-press a manual note to delete it. Auto-generated notes cannot be deleted.

Contractors

Add a contractor

  1. Go to Settings → Contractors (if you haven’t added any yet, this screen will show “No contractors saved”).
  2. Tap Add Contractor.
  3. Enter the contractor’s name (required, up to 100 characters), phone, email, trade and any notes (up to 2,000 characters).
  4. Available trades: Plumber, Electrician, Roofer, Painter, Locksmith, HVAC, Cleaner, Carpenter, Builder, Gas Engineer, General, Other.
  5. Tap Save.

Assign a contractor to a request

  1. Create or edit a request (see Create a request).
  2. In the Contractor field, select a contractor from the list of existing contractors.
  3. Once assigned, the contractor’s name and contact details appear on the request detail screen.

You can call, text or email the contractor directly from the request detail screen using the contact buttons.

View contractor history

  1. Go to Settings → Contractors.
  2. Tap View history on any contractor.
  3. You’ll see every request they’ve been assigned to, with the title, status and property.

Edit a contractor

  1. Go to Settings → Contractors.
  2. Tap the contractor to open their details.
  3. Tap the pencil icon, make your changes and save.

Delete a contractor

  1. Go to Settings → Contractors.
  2. Long-press the contractor.
  3. If they’re linked to any requests, you’ll see a warning: “This contractor is linked to N requests. Detach from all and delete?”
  4. Tap Detach All & Delete. The contractor is removed, and an auto-note is added to each affected request (e.g. “Contractor Bob’s Plumbing removed”).
  5. If the contractor has no linked requests, you’ll see a simple confirmation instead.

Dashboard

The Dashboard gives you a quick overview of what needs attention.

Summary cards

  • Open Requests — total count of requests that are not resolved. Tap to jump to the Requests tab filtered to Open.
  • Resolved This Month — requests resolved in the current calendar month. Tap to jump to the Requests tab filtered to Resolved.
  • Highest Priority — shows the title and priority of your most urgent open request, or “All clear” if there are none. Tap to go directly to that request.

Needs Attention

Below the summary cards, a list of open requests sorted by priority (Emergency first, then High, Medium, Low) and by age (oldest first within each priority level). Tap any item to open it.

Global search

The search bar on the Dashboard searches across everything — properties, units, tenants, requests and contractors. Results appear as you type. If nothing matches, you’ll see “No results for” followed by your search term.

New Request shortcut

The floating + button on the Dashboard lets you create a new request without switching tabs. It only appears once you have at least one property.

PDF export

Generate a professional PDF summary of any maintenance request.

  1. Open the request.
  2. Tap the overflow menu → Export PDF.
  3. Your device’s sharing options appear (the system menu for saving, emailing or sharing files), letting you save the PDF, send it via AirDrop, email it, or share it through any installed app.

The PDF includes the request title, status, priority, property and unit, tenant name, contractor (name and phone), cost breakdown, all photos and the full notes timeline.

Send to tenant

  1. Open the request.
  2. Tap the overflow menu → Send to Tenant.
  3. If the tenant has an email address, the mail composer opens with their email pre-filled, the request title as the subject line, and the PDF attached.
  4. If the tenant has no email, or there’s no linked tenant (e.g. the unit is vacant), your device’s sharing options appear instead so you can share the PDF another way.

The PDF may contain photos, notes or descriptions with sensitive details. Make sure you’re comfortable sharing the full contents before sending.

CSV export

Export all your maintenance request data as a CSV file.

  1. Go to Settings.
  2. Tap Export as CSV. You’ll see a confirmation dialog showing the number of requests to export (e.g. “Export 12 maintenance requests as CSV?”). Tap Export to continue.
  3. Your device’s sharing options appear with the CSV file ready to save or send.

The CSV includes these columns:

  • Request ID
  • Title
  • Property
  • Unit
  • Tenant Name
  • Status
  • Priority
  • Created Date
  • Resolved Date
  • Estimated Cost (minor units)
  • Actual Cost (minor units)
  • Currency Code
  • Contractor Name
  • Contractor Phone
  • Description
  • Photo Count
  • Note Count

Cost values are raw integers in minor units (e.g. 15000 means £150.00) with the currency code in a separate column, so you can format them however you need in your spreadsheet.

The exported CSV contains tenant and contractor personal data (names, phone numbers). Store and share the file securely.

Backup and restore

All data in TenantPad lives on your device. There is no cloud sync. If you lose your device or uninstall the app without a backup, your data is gone — back up regularly.

Create a backup

  1. Go to Settings.
  2. Choose one of:
    • Full Backup — includes all data and photos. Larger file size.
    • Light Backup — includes data only, no photos. Smaller file size.
  3. A progress indicator appears while the backup is created.
  4. The backup is saved locally and appears in Settings → Backups.

The Settings screen shows when you last created a backup (labelled “Last backup:”) so you can tell at a glance whether you’re overdue.

View and manage backups

  1. Go to Settings → Backups (if you haven’t created any yet, this screen will show “No backups yet”).
  2. You’ll see a list of all backups with their date and type (Full or Light).
  3. Tap any backup to Share or Delete it.

Restore from a local backup

  1. Go to Settings → Backups.
  2. Tap the backup you want to restore.
  3. Tap Restore and confirm.
  4. A pre-restore backup is created automatically (so you can undo the restore if needed).
  5. Your current data is replaced with the backup contents.

After restoring a Full backup, all data and photos are intact. After restoring a Light backup, data is restored but property photos and request photos will show a placeholder.

Import a backup file

If you received a backup file from another device (e.g. via email or AirDrop), save it to your device’s Files app first, then:

  1. Go to Settings → Backups.
  2. Tap Import from file… and pick the backup file.
  3. Confirm and restore.

If you pick a file that isn’t a valid TenantPad backup, you’ll see an error such as “Invalid backup file format”. Only files created by TenantPad’s backup feature can be imported.

Move data to a new device

  1. On your old device, create a Full Backup in Settings.
  2. Share the backup file to your new device (via AirDrop, iCloud Drive, email, etc.).
  3. On your new device, open TenantPad, go to Settings → Backups → Import from file…, select the file and restore.

Backup security

Backup files are not encrypted. They contain all your property, tenant and contractor data, and in the case of full backups, all photos. Store your backup files in a secure location and be mindful of who you share them with. Delete old backups you no longer need.

Settings

The Settings screen is accessed via the gear icon in the top-right corner of any tab.

SectionWhat’s inside
Backup & RestoreLast backup date, Full Backup, Light Backup, Backups list, Import from file…
ExportExport as CSV
ManagementContractors, Archived Properties
AboutApp version and build number

Dark mode

TenantPad follows your device’s display setting automatically. On iOS, open the system Settings app → Display & Brightness and choose Light or Dark. On Android, open the system Settings app → Display and change the theme. No setting inside TenantPad is needed.

Complete workflow example

Here’s a typical end-to-end scenario: a tenant reports a leaking tap, you log it, get it fixed, and close it out.

  1. Log the request. Go to the Requests tab, tap +. Select the property and unit. Enter the title “Leaking kitchen tap”, set priority to High, add a description and an estimated cost. Save.
  2. Take photos. Open the request, tap Add Photo and photograph the leak. Add as many as you need (up to 10).
  3. Assign a contractor. Edit the request and pick your plumber from the contractor list. If you haven’t added them yet, go to Settings → Contractors → Add Contractor first, then come back and assign them.
  4. Update the status. Once the plumber confirms, tap In Progress. An auto-note is added to the timeline.
  5. Add notes as work progresses. Scroll to the notes section and add updates like “Plumber visiting Thursday” or “Waiting for replacement part”.
  6. Mark as Waiting if needed. If work is paused (waiting on a part, tenant availability, etc.), tap Waiting.
  7. Resolve. Once the work is done, tap Resolved and enter the actual cost. The request is closed with a timestamp.
  8. Share a summary. Tap the overflow menu → Export PDF to save a record, or Send to Tenant to email it directly.

Input limits reference

FieldMaximum
Property name100 characters
Unit label50 characters
Tenant first name100 characters
Tenant last name100 characters
Request title200 characters
Request description5,000 characters
Note2,000 characters
Contractor name100 characters
Contractor notes2,000 characters
Photos per request10

Costs are entered as regular amounts (e.g. 150.00). Only digits and a decimal point are accepted — invalid characters are silently ignored. Dates must be in YYYY-MM-DD format (e.g. 2026-03-09) — entering letters or an invalid calendar date will show an error. Emails and phone numbers are validated when you save.

Data and privacy tips

  • Back up regularly. Your data lives only on your device. If you lose your phone or uninstall the app, a recent backup is the only way to recover.
  • Secure your backups. Backup files are not encrypted and contain personal data (tenant names, emails, phone numbers, photos). Store them somewhere safe and delete old ones you no longer need.
  • Exports contain personal data. CSV files include tenant names and contractor phone numbers. PDFs include photos, notes and full request details. Handle exported files with the same care as the data in the app.
  • You are the data controller. As a landlord storing tenant personal data on your device, you are responsible for keeping it secure and handling it in line with applicable data protection laws (including GDPR in the EU and UK GDPR in the United Kingdom).
  • Tenants have data rights. Under GDPR, tenants may exercise rights such as access, rectification, portability or erasure of their personal data. Respond to these requests in line with your legal obligations.
  • Use the Anonymise feature when tenants leave. Once a tenant has moved out and you no longer need their personal details, use the Anonymise button on their profile to remove their name, email and phone. This is technically pseudonymisation — request descriptions, notes and photos are preserved and may still contain identifying information. Review and edit those separately if needed.
  • Consider your retention obligations. Think about how long you need to keep tenant data and maintenance records. Delete what you no longer need.
  • No data leaves your device unless you explicitly export, share or back up. There is no cloud sync, no account, and no data transmitted to any server.

For full details on what data the app stores and how it’s handled, see the Privacy Policy.

Links

Contact

If you need help with something not covered here, email us at hello@appsforlife.co.uk.