Rental maintenance reports jump 41% during storm week
02 November 2026
Properties reporting problems rose 58%, while roof, guttering and external leak reports increased 460% across an established cohort of rental properties using Lettie
2 November 2026 - UK: Rental property maintenance reporting increased by 40.8% during the week of 21-27 October, compared with average weekly reporting levels across the preceding four weeks, new analysis from property maintenance platform Lettie has found.
The number of individual properties reporting a maintenance issue increased even more sharply, rising 58.1% against the previous four-week average.
The biggest increases were seen in issues involving the exterior of properties, water ingress and drainage.
Reports concerning roofs, guttering and external leaks increased by 460%, while reports of external damage rose by 233.3% and drainage and guttering issues increased by 150%.
Tenant accounts during the period included reports of fences damaged by wind, rain entering around windows, roof leaks and guttering leaking during heavy rainfall.
The analysis tracks maintenance activity across an established cohort of rental properties using Lettie, comparing 21–27 October 2026 with the average weekly reporting level across the preceding four weeks.
Out-of-hours maintenance jumps 61.5%
The increase was particularly pronounced outside the traditional working day.
Out-of-hours maintenance cases increased by 61.5% compared with the previous four-week weekly average.
Cases first reported outside Monday-to-Friday, 9am-to-5pm hours accounted for 47.7% of all maintenance reporting during the storm week, compared with 41.6% during the preceding period.
Connor Hawkins, Co-founder & Chief Solutions Officer at Lettie, said:
“The interesting thing for landlords and agents is not simply that maintenance reporting increased, but where that increase appeared and when tenants were reporting it.
“We saw a particularly sharp rise in roof, guttering, drainage and external problems, alongside a 61.5% increase in maintenance cases being reported outside traditional office hours.
“When weather conditions deteriorate, property managers can find themselves dealing with a sudden concentration of problems at exactly the time when their teams may be least available.”
Roof and external problems see biggest increases
The category data showed some of the largest increases among problems likely to become apparent during periods of wind and heavy rain.
Compared with the preceding four-week weekly average:
- Roof, guttering and external leak reports increased 460%
- External damage reports increased 233.3%
- Drainage and guttering reports increased 150%
- Appliance and ventilation reports increased 50%
- Plumbing and drainage reports increased 40%
The categories were assessed using tenant descriptions, conversations and stored report summaries.
Some categories overlap and the larger percentage increases relate to relatively small groups of cases, meaning they should be treated more cautiously than the overall maintenance increase.
As a further cross-check, overall maintenance reporting during 21–27 October was 63% higher than the immediately preceding week and higher than every individual week within the four-week comparison period.
More maintenance issues - not simply more messages
The increase also appears to reflect a rise in maintenance reporting within the cohort, rather than simply tenants sending more messages.
Overall tenant message volume increased by just 3.1% during the period, compared with the 40.8% increase in grouped maintenance cases.
For the analysis, multiple reports, follow-ups and chasers that clearly related to the same ongoing fault were grouped together so that repeated contact about one problem did not artificially inflate the result.
Hawkins added:
“That distinction is important. We weren’t simply seeing tenants sending 40% more messages.
“The increase remained when reports relating to the same underlying problem were grouped together, and considerably more individual properties were reporting maintenance issues too.
“For agents managing hundreds or thousands of homes, that kind of sudden shift can create a significant operational challenge. Periods of severe weather don’t necessarily generate a steady increase in workload – they can create a surge of different problems across a portfolio in a very short period.”
Existing problems can also reappear in bad weather
Not every issue reported during the period was necessarily a new defect.
Some tenant conversations indicated that existing problems had become visible again during periods of heavy rain or wind, including water ingress and recurring leaks.
That makes periods of severe weather potentially significant not only for new damage but also for revealing existing weaknesses within a property.
Hawkins said:
“A storm can expose issues that may not have been obvious during normal conditions.
“For property managers, the challenge is therefore not only responding to obvious new damage. It is also understanding whether a tenant is describing a new problem, the recurrence of an earlier issue or an existing defect that has suddenly become more serious.
“Having that history and context available when the report arrives can make a real difference to how efficiently the issue is handled.”
