Property Improvement and Capital Works Record

Who this is for

The bigger jobs, kept apart from the running repairs. Each line records what was done, by whom, when it finished and what it cost, marked as an improvement or a repair so the two can be told apart years later.

Landlords who intend to sell one day, owners improving a property between tenancies, and anyone whose accountant has asked which of last year's spending was capital.

What this helps you track

• Every substantial job done to the property, with the date it finished
• Who did it and the invoice reference to find it again
• What each cost, and what the improvements come to on their own
• Whether you still hold the invoice, the guarantee and any certificates
• A dated history of the building for a sale, a valuation or an insurer

How to use it

1. Write the property, the owner and the date it was bought at the top, with the currency you are recording in.
2. Add a line when a job finishes rather than when it is ordered, so the dates mean something.
3. Describe the work plainly — what was replaced, what was added, what was left alone — and record the contractor and the invoice reference.
4. Enter the cost as invoiced and choose whether the line is an improvement, a repair or a replacement; the improvement column picks out the first of those and totals it.
5. Tick paperwork when you actually hold the invoice, guarantee or certificate, and write where it is kept in the notes.
6. Keep the sheet for as long as you own the property — how any of this is treated when you sell is set by the rules where you are, and the figures need to exist either way.

Formats

• Printable PDF (A4 and US Letter)
• Fillable PDF with form fields
• Fill in online, saved in your browser
• Excel / Google Sheets workbook

The printable is laid out inside a box that fits both A4 and US Letter, so the two files are identical and neither one is scaled. The fillable PDF has real form fields. The workbook uses plain formulas only — SUM, IF, COUNTIF and the like — so it opens in Excel, LibreOffice and Google Sheets without anything breaking, and every calculated cell is grey so you can see which figures it worked out.

How to print

Download the A4 or US Letter file to match the paper in your printer, open it in a PDF reader and print at 100% — not "fit to page", which shrinks the writing space. Both files leave a 14 mm margin, which clears the unprintable edge on home printers. To print the online version with your entries in it, use the Print this sheet button, which prints only the sheet and none of the page around it. More on printing.

Questions

What is the difference between an improvement and a repair?

Broadly, a repair puts something back as it was and an improvement makes the property better or bigger than before — but where the line falls for tax purposes is set by the rules where the property is, and this sheet does not draw it for you. Record what was done and let whoever prepares your return classify it.

Why does the improvement column only count some rows?

It picks up the lines you marked as an improvement and totals those separately from the rest, so the two figures can be read off without sorting anything.

How long should I keep this?

For as long as you own the property, and for however long records must be kept after a sale where you are. The sheet is small and the receipts it points at are the expensive part to lose.

Does it replace the maintenance log?

No. Routine repairs belong on the maintenance log; this record is for the jobs big enough that somebody will ask about them at a sale, a remortgage or an insurance claim.

What about work done by the owner?

Give it a line with the materials cost and your own name as the contractor. Note the time spent in the notes column if you want it recorded — the sheet puts no value on it.