If your buy to let property is standing empty and is likely to do so for 30 consecutive days or more, then you may need to take some steps to make sure that you have appropriate insurance for empty properties in place:

• you may wish to find the time to contact your insurance provider and arrange some unoccupied property insurance for your buy to let property;
• you may wish to carefully read through the terms and conditions of the cover provided by the insurance for empty properties policy – these may be different to those for your existing buy to let insurance;
• you may find, for example, that they require you to visit the property on a regular basis to carry out general maintenance, make sure that there are no problems that need to be fixed, and to keep a log of these visits and the work carried out;
• try to keep the garden of your property, if it has one, looking as cared for as possible, by making sure that rubbish does not accumulate or that builders’ materials are kept tidy;
• now that spring has finally arrived, your grass will start to grow quickly and if weeds get a grip now they may be more difficult to keep in check later;
• keep in mind that if you are looking for new tenants, keeping the outside of your property looking neat and tidy won’t do any harm;
• if you have someone available who can draw curtains in the evening and perhaps leave a light burning in one of the windows, then this may help to deter thieves and vandals who may target properties they believe to be empty;
• unoccupied insurance cover is not just applicable for buy to let properties – home owner buildings and contents insurance may need this cover too, if the property is empty for 30 days or more;
• there are various reasons why the property may be empty – as a landlord you may be carrying out renovations, for example, or waiting for new tenants to move in;
• equally though, the property may be empty as the result of it being in probate or because there is a divorce settlement pending;
• if your property is empty, trying to make do without insurance for empty properties may be tempting, especially since you won’t have rental income coming in – but this could cost you dear in the long run though if disasters strikes and your property is damaged.