Rental property maintenance, and what it costs
RL Property Management bills in-house maintenance at $84 per hour plus a $15 trip charge, materials at cost. Vendor work carries a 15% project fee capped at $450. Median time to close a repair is 6 days.
The short version
- $84 per hour in-house labor, 2026 rate
- $15 trip charge per visit, materials at cost
- No minimum charge on a work order
- 15% vendor project fee on vendor costs up to $3,000, capped at $450
- After hours: 2x weekday evenings and Saturdays, 3x Sundays
- Median 6 days to close a repair
- Repair approval limit of $1,500, $750 or $350 per item, by plan
- Reserve of $350 to $1,500 per unit held on your account
What does maintenance cost?
Every rate is below. Ask any manager you are considering for the same four numbers: hourly labor, trip charge, material markup, and vendor markup with a cap. If a quote does not include a cap on the vendor markup, the vendor markup is uncapped.
| Item | Amount | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| In-house labor | $84 per hour | Plus a $15 trip charge per visit. Materials at cost. No minimum charge. 2026 rate. |
| After-hours labor | 2x or 3x | 2x on weekday evenings and Saturdays, 3x on Sundays. |
| Vendor project management | 15% of vendor cost | Applies to vendor costs up to $3,000, capped at $450 per project. Waived on insurance claim work. |
| Vendor fee on turns | 15%, 10%, 7.5% | 15% on turns up to $15,000, 10% from $15,001 to $25,000, 7.5% above $25,000. |
| Equipment rental | $1 to $120 per day | Heating, drying and air-cleaning equipment. Varies by unit. |
| Key copies | $2.50 each | We keep two working copies of every unit. |
| Insurance claim oversight | $1,250 | End to end claim handling. The 15% project management fee is waived on insurance claim work. |
There is no minimum charge on a work order, so a fifteen minute fix is billed as a fifteen minute fix plus the $15 trip. Materials are at cost.
Who approves a repair?
You do, above your plan limit. Below it we handle the work and you see it on the statement. This is the only thing the three plans differ on, and it is a real tradeoff: a low limit means more control and more emails, a high limit means fewer interruptions and less visibility on small spending.
Per item, at $117 per unit per month.
Per item, at $137 per unit per month.
Per item, at $184 per unit per month.
One exception in both directions: a genuine emergency gets stabilized first, because a leak that waits for an email costs more than the repair did.
What happens at 11pm?
The resident calls us, not you. Emergency response is included in the monthly fee. Labor after hours is billed at 2x on weekday evenings and Saturdays, and 3x on Sundays, which is exactly why the line between an emergency and a next-day repair has to be written down.
Tonight
- No heat in winter or no cooling in extreme heat
- No water, or an active leak that is spreading
- Sewage backup
- No electricity to the unit
- Gas smell, which goes to the utility first
- A door or lock that will not secure the unit
Next business day
- One appliance out, with the rest of the unit fine
- A slow drain
- A single outlet or fixture out
- Cosmetic damage
- A running toilet that can be shut off at the valve
Giving residents that list at move-in is the cheapest maintenance policy there is, because it converts a 3x Sunday call into a Monday work order without a fight.
How is a turn between residents billed?
A turn is the work between one resident moving out and the next moving in: clean, paint, repairs, flooring where needed. Vendor cost on a turn carries a tiered fee, so the percentage falls as the project grows.
- 15% on turns up to $15,000
- 10% from $15,001 to $25,000
- 7.5% above $25,000
Median turn time across the portfolio is 12 days. If you take our turn scope and then have the work done by someone else, the scope itself is $250. Every other turn charge is labor, materials and vendor cost at the rates above.
Maintenance questions
What do property managers charge for maintenance?
RL Property Management charges $84 per hour for in-house labor plus a $15 trip charge per visit, with materials at cost and no minimum charge. Vendor work carries a 15% project management fee on vendor costs up to $3,000, capped at $450 per project. Those rates are published rather than quoted case by case.
Do I have to approve every repair?
No, and that is what the three plans differ on. Plan One at $117 per unit per month carries a $1,500 per-item approval limit, Plan Two at $137 carries $750, and Plan Three at $184 carries $350. Anything above your limit needs your approval before work starts.
What counts as an emergency?
Anything that threatens safety or is actively causing damage: no heat in winter, no water, an active leak, sewage backup, no power, a security failure such as a broken exterior door or lock, a gas smell. Those get a same-night response. A dishwasher that stopped draining is a next-business-day repair, and residents are told the difference.
What does after-hours maintenance cost?
Labor is billed at 2x on weekday evenings and Saturdays, and 3x on Sundays. That is why the emergency definition matters: it decides which calls are worth paying a multiplier for tonight instead of tomorrow morning.
Why do you hold a maintenance reserve?
A reserve of $350 to $1,500 per unit sits on your account so a routine repair does not wait on a funding request. It stays your money and it is returned when management ends. Without it, a small plumbing call turns into a two-day delay while funds move.
Do you mark up materials?
No. Materials are provided at cost. The markup that does exist is the 15% project management fee on outside vendor work, and it is capped at $450 per project, so a large vendor project cannot generate an unbounded fee.
What happens on an insurance claim?
End to end claim handling. The 15% project management fee is waived on insurance claim work. End to end claim handling is $1,250. The reason to waive the project fee is simple: a claim is already an expensive month for the owner and we do not want two fees stacked on the same work.
How fast do repairs get closed?
Median 6 days from request to closed across the portfolio, as of September 2026. Emergencies are handled the same night. The long tail is parts and vendor scheduling, particularly HVAC in July and January.
Who is responsible for what, the resident or the owner?
The lease decides. As a general division, the owner covers systems and structure while the resident covers small consumables and anything they damaged, such as filters, batteries, light bulbs and a clog they caused. Ambiguity here is what turns a small repair into an argument, so the split belongs in the lease in writing.
Last verified September 2026. Reviewed by Peter Lohmann, Principal Broker and CEO.
Where to go next
- InspectionsCatching the repair before it becomes an emergency.
- PricingThe complete fee schedule, including every maintenance rate.
- Owner reportingWhere maintenance charges show up on your statement.
- All servicesThe other seven jobs a manager does.
- Client HandbookThe full maintenance policy in its original form.
Get off the emergency call list
Residents call us, work gets scoped at published rates, and you see it on the statement. Start with a rent evaluation and we will walk through how your property would be handled.