Property management · Emergencies

After-hours emergency maintenance answering service

At 2 a.m., the difference between a flood and a dripping tap is the difference between waking your on-call technician and letting them sleep. Your AI virtual receptionist asks the safety questions first, checks the call against your emergency list, puts real emergencies through to on-call at once and turns the rest into work orders for the morning.

Hear it answer — call our AI receptionist(450) 367-9990

The triage table: what’s an emergency, and what the resident hears first

A starting list of 23 common calls, sorted into four levels. Life-safety calls get safety steps before anything else. Emergencies go to on-call now. Urgent calls are emailed to on-call to decide. Routine repairs wait for business hours.

Maintenance triage: what counts as an emergency and how each call is handled
The resident reports	Treated as	Safety message you approve	The rule for your virtual receptionist
A smell of gas	Life safety	Leave now. Don’t switch lights or appliances on or off. Call the gas company’s emergency line or 911 from outside.	Give the safety steps first. Then take the address and unit and put the call through to on-call.
A carbon monoxide alarm sounding	Life safety	Get everyone outside to fresh air and call 911 from there.	Give the safety steps first. Then take the address and unit and put the call through to on-call.
Fire or smoke	Life safety	Get out and call 911.	Tell the caller to get out and call 911. Then take the address and unit and put the call through to on-call.
Sparks, a burning smell or a hot outlet	Life safety	Keep away from it. If there’s smoke or fire, leave and call 911.	Give the safety steps first. Then take the address and unit and put the call through to on-call.
Someone stuck in an elevator	Life safety	Press the elevator’s alarm button. Call 911 if anyone is hurt or in danger.	Give the safety steps first. Then put the call through to on-call with the building and elevator.
Water leaking or flooding	Emergency	If you can, close the shut-off valve for the fixture or the unit, and move belongings out of the water.	Put the call through to on-call now.
Water coming through a ceiling or a light	Emergency	Keep away from the light and the switches. Put a bucket under the drip if it’s safe.	Put the call through to on-call now, and note the unit above.
Sewage backing up	Emergency	Stop using the sinks, toilets, shower and washer until it’s fixed.	Put the call through to on-call now.
No heat in cold weather	Emergency	Don’t use the oven, the stove or a grill to heat the home.	Put the call through to on-call now during the heating season.
No water at all	Emergency	Check whether your neighbours have water too.	Ask if neighbours have water. Put the call through to on-call now.
No power in the home	Emergency	Check whether your neighbours have power. If the whole street is dark, report it to the electric company.	Ask if the street has power. If only the building is out, put the call through to on-call now.
A door or window that won’t lock	Emergency	Stay somewhere safe until it’s secured.	Put the call through to on-call now.
Locked out of the home	Emergency	If a child or someone vulnerable is locked inside, call 911.	Follow the lockout policy: put the call through to on-call, or give the approved locksmith number and the fee in the lease.
No hot water	Urgent	Tell us if the whole building has no hot water.	Urgent work order, and email on-call now. If the whole building is out, put the call through to on-call.
The only toilet won’t flush	Urgent	If it’s overflowing, close the valve behind the toilet by turning it clockwise.	Urgent work order, and email on-call now. If water is overflowing, treat it as a leak.
The refrigerator stopped cooling	Urgent	Keep the doors closed to keep food cold longer.	Urgent work order, and email on-call now.
The air conditioning stopped	Urgent	In extreme heat, if anyone feels unwell, call 911.	Urgent work order, and email on-call now. In a heat warning, put the call through to on-call.
A smoke or CO alarm chirping	Urgent	A chirp usually means a low battery. If it sounds a full alarm, get out and call 911.	Urgent work order, and email on-call now.
An appliance not working (dishwasher, washer, stove)	Routine	Nothing to do now. Don’t use it until it’s checked.	Work order with the details. Give the resident the usual timeline.
A dripping tap or a slow drain	Routine	Nothing to do now.	Work order with the details. Give the resident the usual timeline.
A light or fan not working	Routine	Nothing to do now.	Work order with the details. Give the resident the usual timeline.
Pests	Routine	Keep food sealed. Don’t use your own sprays before the visit.	Work order with the details. Give the resident the usual timeline.
Mold or mildew	Routine	If it comes from a leak that’s still running, report the leak: that part is an emergency.	Work order with the details. If water is still coming in, treat it as a leak.

A starting point to edit: your list is yours. Safety steps follow public guidance: what to do if you smell gas (Connecticut PURA) and carbon monoxide (CDC), both read October 18, 2026. Your virtual receptionist isn’t an emergency service: like any AI, it can mishear or misunderstand, so keep your own emergency arrangements. General information, not legal advice. Rules differ by state, province and city, so check yours.

Triage checker: is it an emergency?

Pick what the resident reports. You’ll see how it’s treated, what they’re told first, and the rule to paste into your agent. It uses the same list as the table above.

What is the resident reporting?

Life safetySomeone may be in danger. Safety steps come before anything else, then on-call is put through.
EmergencyDamage is spreading or the home has lost heat, water, power or a lock. On-call is put through at once.
UrgentNot dangerous, but it can’t wait days. On-call is emailed at once and decides; it’s first on the list in the morning.
RoutineA normal repair. The work order is created and the resident is told your usual timeline.

Starting points to edit, not rules we decide for you. Safety steps follow public guidance from the CDC and gas regulators. General information, not legal advice: local laws can make more things an emergency.

Choose what’s happening

—

The verdict appears here.

Told first: the safety message you approvePick an issue to see the safety steps.

The rule for your virtual receptionistPick an issue to see the rule.

Paste them into step 9, Business rules, when you build your agent. Try it free for 7 days.

The escalation ladder

What happens on an emergency call, in order, at any hour.

Safety first
For gas, smoke, fire or a carbon monoxide alarm, it gives the safety message you approve, such as getting out and calling 911 or the gas company, before anything else is asked. Your virtual receptionist isn’t an emergency service: like any AI, it can mishear or misunderstand, so keep your own emergency arrangements.
Put through to on-call
The call is transferred to your on-call number, with the address, the unit and the problem already taken.
No answer in 20 seconds
It takes a full message, tells the resident what happens next by your policy, and emails it at once to everyone on your list: on-call, a backup and the manager.
The morning after
Your office opens to every overnight call, emergencies and routine, each with its recording, transcript and summary.

A 2 a.m. emergency call

Water near electricity is an emergency on almost every list. The safety step comes first, then the details on-call needs, then the transfer.

Sample call · Lakeview Residential (example company)

AI receptionistThanks for calling Lakeview Residential. I’m an AI assistant. This call is recorded and transcribed so we can handle your request. How can I help you today?
CallerWater is dripping through the light in my bathroom ceiling.
AI receptionistPlease stay away from the light and the switch, and don’t touch either. Is anyone hurt, or is there any smoke or sparking?
CallerNo, nobody’s hurt. It’s just dripping.
AI receptionistGood. If it’s safe, put a bucket under the drip, away from the fixture. What’s your address and unit?
Caller75 Shore Road, unit 5B. I think it’s coming from upstairs.
AI receptionistThank you. I’ll note unit 6B above you. Can I get your name and the best number to reach you?
CallerAlex Chen, 773-555-0119.
AI receptionistAlex, this is an emergency, so I’m putting you through to our on-call technician now. If they don’t pick up, I’ll take a message and they’ll be emailed straight away.

When “no heat” is the law: two US cities

Some cities set minimum indoor temperatures for the heating season, which turns a no-heat call into an emergency on any list. Two examples:

Heating rules for landlords in New York City and Chicago
City	Heating season	Daytime minimum	Overnight minimum	Also
New York City	October 1 to May 31	68°F inside from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., when it’s below 55°F outside	62°F inside from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m., whatever the weather	Hot water at 120°F or more, every day of the year
Chicago	September 15 to June 1	68°F from 8:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m.	66°F from 10:30 p.m. to 8:30 a.m.	Tenants are told to contact the landlord first, then 311

Sources, read October 18, 2026: NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development, Heat and Hot Water; City of Chicago, heat ordinance requirements (January 2019). Other cities and states set their own rules. General information, not legal advice. Rules differ by state, province and city, so check yours.

A notice to give your residents

Residents call the emergency line for a dripping tap when nobody has told them what an emergency is. Give them the same list your virtual receptionist uses.

Edit the parts in brackets, then put it in your lease package, your welcome email and on each building’s notice board.

Resident notice: maintenance emergencies

Maintenance emergencies: call [your number], any time, day or night.

If you smell gas, or a carbon monoxide or smoke alarm is going off: leave first. Call 911 or the gas company’s emergency line from outside, then call us.

Call us right away, at any hour, for:
- water leaking, flooding or coming through a ceiling
- sewage backing up
- no heat in cold weather
- no water, or no power in your home
- a door or window that won’t lock
- a lockout (our lockout fee: [amount])

Everything else, such as appliances, slow drains, lights, pests and small drips: call during office hours, [hours], or use [your resident portal]. We’ll contact you within [timeline].

When you call, have ready: your address and unit, what’s happening, when it started, and whether we may enter if you’re not home.

Our phone is answered by an AI virtual receptionist, and calls are recorded.

The last line keeps residents informed: your greeting says the same thing on every call.

Build it yourself

Build your emergency line yourself

The settings for an after-hours emergency maintenance line in the 365vox portal. The triage checker above gives you the rules for step 9, ready to paste.

Build yours free for 7 days

You set all of this yourself in the 365vox portal, on the Customize screen. Everything saves as you type; then you submit, test the agent with a real call and activate it.

Customize · your agent

Step 4, Forward to a personYour on-call technician’s number. Change it whenever your rotation changes.
Step 7, When your agent answersAfter hours, for example 5 p.m. to 9 a.m. and all weekend. Or 24/7, if your office line rings to voicemail.
Step 8, Call notificationsOn-call, a backup and the manager, so a missed transfer still reaches three people at once.
Step 9, Business rulesYour emergency list (paste the rules from the triage checker) and your lockout policy. Upload your written emergency policy as a document.
Step 10, Things your agent will never doAdd Never promise when a technician will arrive and Never tell a caller it’s safe to stay after they report gas or a carbon monoxide alarm.

Illustrative example

A 450-door manager whose on-call phone rang all night

Every after-hours call went to the on-call technician’s phone, so the technician was woken for a dripping tap as often as for a flood.

After-hours calls forwarded to the virtual receptionist
Safety steps first on every gas, smoke and carbon monoxide call
Only emergencies and life-safety calls put through to on-call
Everything else turned into a work order for the morning, with the resident told when

The numbers, worked out

After-hours calls a month: 108
Put through to on-call (20%): 22
Left for the morning, as work orders: 87

365vox for those calls$244/mo

Illustrative example, not a 365vox customer result. Assumptions: 25 after-hours maintenance calls a week (4.33 weeks a month), 20% of them emergencies or life-safety calls under the manager’s list, 3 minutes a call at $0.75.

Comparing virtual receptionist services?

Live answering services usually sell monthly plans of minutes or calls. 365vox is an AI virtual receptionist that answers forwarded calls on the first ring, day and night, follows your approved answers and costs $0.75 a minute, billed by the second, with no plan.

The virtual receptionist, minus the call center

Emergency maintenance line FAQs

What does it tell a resident who smells gas?

The safety message you approve. The starting point on this page follows public guidance from gas safety regulators: leave right away, without switching lights or appliances on or off, and call the gas company’s emergency line or 911 from outside. Then it takes the address and puts the call through to on-call.

How does it reach my on-call technician?

By putting the call through to the number you set. If nobody answers within 20 seconds, it takes a full message, and the email goes at once to everyone on your call notifications list, for example on-call, a backup and the manager.

Can different buildings have different on-call people?

Yes. Build one agent for each group of buildings, each with its own number, on-call contact and emergency list, all in the same 365vox account.

Is “no heat” always an emergency?

In cold weather, almost always, and some cities make it a legal duty: New York City and Chicago set minimum indoor temperatures for the heating season (see the table above). In mild weather, many managers treat it as urgent instead. Your list decides.

What if many residents call about the same outage?

It answers them all at the same time, so nobody gets a busy signal, and logs each call. Add a line to your business rules, such as “the water is off in Building B until 6 a.m.”, and every caller hears the update.

Does it tell residents how to stop a leak?

Only the steps you approve, such as closing the shut-off valve under a sink or behind a toilet. It doesn’t troubleshoot or walk anyone through a repair.

Will it wake on-call for routine calls?

No. At night, only what your list calls an emergency or a life-safety call is put through. Urgent issues are emailed to on-call to decide, and routine repairs become work orders for the morning.

How much does an after-hours emergency line cost?

$0.75 a conversation minute, billed by the second, with no per-door fee and nothing to pay when it’s quiet. In the example above, 108 after-hours calls a month cost $244.

Emergencies don’t wait for the office to open. Your line won’t either.

No credit card required. Cancel anytime.Just forward your phone line — we'll handle the rest.

Or hear it first — call our AI receptionist(450) 367-9990

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