That’s because from an insurance point of view, the risks that your property faces when it is empty can be quite different to those that may be encountered if and when you have tenants in occupancy.

Of course, there are some elements of insurance for your buy to let property that apply whether or not your house is occupied.

A good example of this would be buildings insurance cover against damage from the standard perils of fire, flood, storms, earthquake etc.

If something of this nature is going to happen, it will do so whether or not there is anyone in the house.

Different risks

If your property is empty though, the risks change and that is why your buildings insurance may apply specific conditions and you may need specific insurance for empty properties cover.

There may be some differences between insurance providers but typically a property will be considered empty if it is unoccupied for periods in excess of 30 consecutive days.

This is typically because if your property does get damaged in some way, the damage may go unnoticed if the property is empty.

This could result in additional deterioration of the building, which could, in turn, result in a bigger claim costing the insurance company more money – something that you can be sure they are keen to avoid!

An obviously empty building that is starting to look a bit run down or neglected can also act as a magnet for thieves or vandals. Apart from the actual damage they do, there may be additional deterioration of the building as a result of broken doors and windows allowing in the rain or wind etc.

Different requirements for insurance for empty properties

So to help minimise the levels of risk to an empty property, your insurers may have different conditions or insurance for empty properties. This may include requiring you to:

• notify them immediately you know the property is going to be empty for more than a certain period (typically 30 days);
• ensure that your property is inspected regularly and a log of visits maintained;
• drain down water and heating systems to avoid risks of liquid damage if frost damages pipes etc or;
• arranging for the heating to be left on to maintain a certain level or heat to avoid frozen pipes;
• arrange for the outside of the property to be kept in good repair and the garden to be kept tidy;

Not just for landlords

Even if you are not a landlord your home insurance may not cover your property if it is left unoccupied for 30 days or longer.

So if you are planning an extra long holiday or are going away on business, it may be worthwhile checking your policy and having a word with your insurer if you are in any doubt about insurance for empty properties.

There are a number of common questions that arise when thinking about this.

Why is insurance for empty properties cover required?

Every insurance provider has their own way of viewing risks and calculating the insurance premium required to cover those risks.

Typically, however, they may see an empty property as one being at a far higher risk than an occupied property in a number of areas including:

• break-ins, theft and associated vandalism;
• cumulative problems (eg. small leaks turning into very large and damaging ones);
• unnoticed damage causing other problems (eg. a broken window).

That’s why insurance for empty properties may be required – it is covering a different set of risks to those associated with classic buy to let insurance or owner-occupier cover.

In fact, this form of insurance for empty properties cover may be required by either owner-occupiers or landlords (see below).

When is a property empty?

It may make sense to get a precise definition from your insurance provider or by looking at the terms and conditions associated with a buy to let insurance quote or a traditional home buildings and contents insurance policy (depending on whether the property is your home or an investment property). Interpretations and definitions as to what constitutes a vacant property may differ.

However, typically a property will be considered empty if it is unoccupied for more than 30 consecutive days – for whatever reason.

If that sounds a lot, in practice it may happen easily if you’re:

• away on extended holiday;
• overseas on a lengthy business trip or assignment;
• have a house in probate or which is unoccupied pending a divorce settlement;
• have the decorators in or builders working on restoration etc.

This condition may apply to policies taken out by owner-occupiers or buildings and contents insurance policies taken out by landlords as part of landlords’ insurance. It may apply equally for both types of property owner.

How would people know?

If you make a claim, your insurance provider has a right and an obligation, to consider your claim professionally.

Insurance providers typically have methods of checking the exact status of your property at the time the incident, which subsequently led to the claim, occurred.

Making a false declaration as part of a claim is also a potentially serious offence that may, in some situations, result in prosecution.

Summary

For all these reasons, it might be prudent to think a little more about insurance for empty properties. It won’t take long to research and it may save you a lot of worry (and money) further down the line.

If fact, nothing could be further from the truth.

Many of the risks that a buy to let property faces can arise whether or not you actually have any tenants at all.

For any building, insurance against the main risks (that the insurance industry calls ‘perils’) such as lightning, storms, fire, flood and earthquake may be highly desirable since the cost of repairs could be substantial.

The effect of the damage resulting from any of these perils may be more serious if the damage goes unnoticed though, which is why specific insurance for empty properties may be necessary.

Some examples of this might include:

• the water from a leaking pipe in time bringing the ceiling down;
• slates dislodged during a storm allowing extensive rain damage to develop.

If you add to this the probability that an empty property may be more at risk from break-ins by thieves and from vandalism, then you may be able to appreciate the insurance providers concerns.

A final point to consider is that even when empty, someone could suffer loss or injury, which could be directly attributable to your property.

They may decide to sue you for damages.

So not having public liability cover because you decided to economise on insurance while your property was unoccupied, may turn out to be a very expensive saving on your part – and don’t forget to add in legal costs to the cheques you could be writing.

In fact you may have to pay these even if you win.

What is an empty property?

Some buy to let insurance providers may stipulate that if your property is unoccupied for a period of 30 days or more for renovations or between tenants for example, then empty property insurance (also known as vacant property insurance) may be advisable.

Your buy to let property may be one of your most important assets. Insurance for empty properties may help prevent it becoming a liability

You may wonder why, if you already have buy to let insurance cover in place, you actually need additional insurance for empty properties. The simple answer to that is that you do need it because the risks to your property when it is occupied are different to those that typically prevail when it is empty. And if you fail to advise your current let property insurer that the property will be unoccupied, it could potentially render your existing cover invalid.

Tenants are caretakers

Whether or not they actually turn out to be good at the job, when you have tenants in your property they do carry out a caretaking role of a kind.

When water starts dripping in through that hole in the roof caused by a slate blowing off, threatening to damage the belongings of your tenants then they may quickly bring this to your attention. Similarly leaks or burst pipes, which could cause them major inconvenience, may not go unreported for long.

Obvious signs of occupation – lights on in the windows, gardens being kept tidy etc – may help to deter thieves and vandals from causing damage.

Tenants can also cause problems

Of course one of the functions of buy to let insurance is to protect you financially from some of the possible repercussions of having tenants in the first place.

Tenants can accidentally cause damage to your property or its fixtures and fittings.

If an aspect of your property causes injury to your tenants or somehow damages their property (that falling slate again) then you could find yourself facing a bill for damages which you may have to pay yourself if you do not have adequate buy to let house insurance in place.

Not just about tenants

Obviously tenants are not the only consideration when it comes to insurance for empty properties. Your property may also need to be protected from disasters like floods, earthquakes, storms and the like.

And it’s not just tenants who could be injured somehow as a result of your property. Anyone, even a passer-by in the street could get hurt and could sue.

Protecting your livelihood

In all probability you are in the landlord business to make money. Protecting your investment with appropriate levels of insurance cover may be one way of making sure that you do all you can to maximise your income. Insurance for empty properties is one part of that.

Insurance providers and empty properties

It’s a fact of life that insurance companies typically prefer a property to be occupied rather than empty.

The reason is simple – empty properties are typically more at risk than those that are occupied.

Perhaps at first glance this doesn’t seem to make much sense. Clearly, if there is, say, a major natural disaster, then it’s going to happen whether someone’s in the property or not.

Unfortunately though, many forms of risk to your property arise from factors that are potentially affected by its occupancy status.

Empty property risks

Typically an empty property is more at risk across a while spectrum including:

• burglars love empty properties as it significantly reduces the chances of them being disturbed;
• unnoticed minor problems can become cumulative disasters if they are overlooked for long periods – a leaking pipe is perhaps a good example.

This list is certainly not exhaustive and there are other reasons that cause many insurance companies to see an empty property as just simply riskier than one that’s occupied.

That’s why specialised insurance for empty properties exists, whether your property is usually occupied by you or you are a landlord.

When is a property empty?

Insurance providers typically understand that your property may be empty for shorter periods and they don’t expect you to stay in 24/7 just watching like a hawk for things such as leaks!

The exact definitions of insurance for empty properties may vary slightly between individual providers and reading the policy details carefully is always advisable.

Typically though, insurance providers use a definition that any property standing unoccupied for more than 30 consecutive days comes into the category of being empty.

Implications of property being categorised as empty

This isn’t just an abstract debate on semantics.

If you have basic occupied-property buildings and contents insurance, following a subsequent problem you may encounter troubles with your claim if the insurance company find that the property meets their definition of empty and they were not advised of this.

It’s also worth keeping in mind that this may apply to owner-occupiers if, for example, you’ve been out of the country on an overseas work assignment for some months or have a probate property etc.

Insurance for empty properties may perhaps be even more important for landlords where property may stand empty for lengthy periods in between lettings or if you need to undertake renovations etc.

Provision of cover

Vacant property insurance is typically available for properties that are standing empty for a period of time and will give you peace of mind that while it is empty, it is still protected.

This is one way to recognise the importance of insurance for empty properties. The other is when you’re having trouble making a claim. You may wish to think about which one you’d prefer!

You may be tempted to do without insurance while your property is empty but this could be a very false economy indeed. When a property is unoccupied it may be more at risk than when it is tenanted. That’s why insurance for empty properties may seem to be expensive, particularly when this expense cannot be offset against rental income.

So what sort of additional risks apply?

Theft and Vandalism

Signs that a property is empty can act like a magnet for thieves and vandals. These can include obvious things like building tools and materials left lying about, rubbish accumulating in the garden or junk mail sticking out of the letterbox. More subtle indicators could be no lights going on as it gets dark or curtains not being opened or closed.

A stitch in time

If you are in your property and there is a leak of water from a burst pipe for example, you can take immediate action and turn off the water to minimise the damage caused. In an unoccupied property though, the leak could go unnoticed for some time and the resulting damage could be much more extensive and obviously more expensive to put right.

Covering the risks

A basic insurance for empty properties policy can provide essential cover for the basic insurance perils like fire, explosion, floods and earthquakes etc. More extensive cover is also available and costs of claims can be reduced if the property is checked regularly and necessary maintenance carried out. In fact, your vacant property insurance provider may stipulate that under the terms of your cover with them that you meet certain obligations, such as checking on the property on a very regular basis.

Keeping the property looking its best may help attract potential renters too.

Owners’ liability

It may be worth bearing in mind that even if your empty property does not have any tenants, someone could still sue you as a result of an injury that they may have sustained in or around the property. Property owners’ liability protection is an important part of any buy to let insurance policy whether the property is empty or not.

Up to date

Once your property is let again you may want to let your insurance providers know so that any necessary changes can be made to ensure that your cover reflects the fact that your property is no longer unoccupied.

You also may be interested in protecting your property with cover against accidental or even malicious damage by tenants, which is cover that may not be available as part of insurance for empty properties policies. (Do note that not all buy to let insurance providers do provide this element of cover).

Empty properties – a greater risk

Insurance companies don’t like empty properties. The fact is that when empty, your property is at greater risk of break-ins, mindless vandalism and disasters arising from unnoticed troubles such as leaking pipes etc.

For all these reasons, if your property is periodically unoccupied then there is a greater chance you’ll encounter a problem and subsequently make a claim on your insurance policies.

That’s why some insurance policies may not cover your property for certain categories of risk if it is unoccupied. Checking to make sure that your policy does in fact provide insurance for empty properties might be a sensible precaution to take.

Your property is never unoccupied?

It’s possible that you have been lucky to date but sooner or later your property is going to be empty between lettings. You may also have to keep it unoccupied for a period if you need to make repairs or simply re-decorate. In those circumstances, you may be seriously at risk unless you have appropriate vacant property cover in place.

Other specialised risks

Your property is also a business venture because it generates income for you. If it’s out of action because of a problem, your income will disappear. That may be a major blow if you have a loan outstanding on the property – you’ll presumably want to get it restored and back into action as a fast as possible.

That’s not the time to suddenly start asking questions about what your policy does and does not cover!

In particular, it may be worth checking the position with regard to tenant-related risks as well as whether or not you have insurance for empty properties. These may include:

• ensuring that your tenants are covered against accidents and injuries sustained on your property;
• that you are also covered for general public liability;
• tenants that wilfully damage your property, it’s fixtures and fittings or contents (note that only a selected number of buy to let insurance providers offer malicious damage cover);
• the theft of your contents if the property is furnished.

This is not an exhaustive list and it may be useful to take further advice.

In summary, your property has special risks because it is being used for commercial purposes. Making sure that you have insurance for empty properties and which also covers other rental property risks is good business practice. It may end up saving you considerable amounts of money.