Holiday season tasks for property managers: What to wrap up before you log off

The end of year hits property managers in a very particular way.

Some days feel calm, then suddenly everything lands at once.

Tenants want updates, owners have questions, tradies are trying to squeeze in last jobs, and you’re just trying to get your inbox under control before the break.

A little prep now makes January feel lighter.

This isn’t a strict checklist, just a handful of things that are worth sorting before you close your laptop for the year.

Maintenance clean-up

Maintenance tends to stack up in December because everyone wants things finished before the shutdown.

A quick review now helps you avoid running into small problems once you’re back.

Start by checking all open requests. Sort them by what’s complete, partly done or still waiting.

If anything is marked “work complete”, close it so it doesn’t carry into the new year.

Then look at newer requests and decide what genuinely needs attention before the break and what can wait until January.

It’s also a good time to check tradie availability.

Some take leave early. Some shorten their hours.

Update your emergency contractor list so tenants know who to call for things that can’t wait until you’re back.

If you want a refresher on logging maintenance issues in Reapit PM, here’s the guide.

Inspection clean-up

Inspections often sit half-finished at this time of year.

A quick tidy-up goes a long way.

Check entries, exits and routines.

Some inspections might be scheduled on public holidays or days when team members are away.

Move them now rather than dealing with changes in January.

If a routine has been completed and the report is there, close it.

It keeps your January list from looking bigger than it actually is.

In Reapit PM, filtering by inspection time makes this super quick.

The Activity Planner report is also useful for seeing what’s coming up once you’re back.

Lease renewals and rent reviews

January renewals always arrive sooner than you expect.

Sending intention requests now gives owners and tenants time to think instead of replying in a rush.

Start preparing rent reviews before you switch off.

Even getting the basics done helps you move faster when you return.

The Lease Renewal workflow inside Reapit PM can guide you step-by-step.

Email replies land in Conversations too, which keeps everything on the property timeline without chasing stray messages.

Vacates during the holiday period

Check upcoming vacates and highlight any that land during your closure dates.

Send pre-vacate reminders now, including cleaning expectations, key return instructions, utilities and anything else tenants typically forget.

Assign the vacate inspection to someone in your team who’s available.

It avoids confusion and gives tenants a clear point of contact.

Arrears and automation settings

Arrears need a quick look before the break.

If your team won’t be receipting during that time, you may want to switch arrears automation off.

Set a task to turn it back on the day you return. Nobody remembers these things after two weeks away.

Here’s the arrears automation reference if you need it.

Holiday communications

A short, simple email to your database makes a big difference.

Include your closure dates, emergency contacts and how tenants can log maintenance during the break. Keep it easy to skim.

Update your socials with the same information so nobody has to dig for it.

And if you add a festive email signature, set a reminder to change it back in January.

Planning and reflection

If you get a few minutes, skim over the year.

Nothing deep.

Just a look at what tended to slow things down and what tended to run smoothly.

Analytics+ in Reapit PM is handy for this.

You can see patterns quickly without pulling reports apart.

Watch the PM Workflows Health Check session

We recently ran a session that covered many of the points above, plus a few helpful shortcuts inside Reapit PM.

You can watch it on-demand here.

If you want these year-end tasks to feel less manual next time, Reapit PM has workflows that keep maintenance, inspections, arrears moving even when the office slows down.