Closing a property for winter without regretting it in March

Before you lock the door

Water is the whole game. Either drain the system down properly or leave the heating running on a frost setting — not neither, and not a token 8 °C with the internal doors shut. A thermostat set to 12 °C with doors open moves air through the property and costs less than one burst pipe.

Deal with the outside tap and anything exposed. Isolate and drain it. The same goes for any pipework in an unheated loft or garage.

Clear the gutters and check the downpipes. This is the single cheapest job on the list and the one most often skipped. Overflowing gutters in January are the usual cause of the damp patch somebody discovers in April.

Empty the fridge and leave the doors propped. A sealed fridge in an unheated room grows things that take a day to remove.

Take the soft furnishings out of harm's way. Pull beds and wardrobes a few inches off external walls so air can move behind them. Cover mattresses, but with something breathable — plastic traps moisture against the surface.

Security and the paperwork

• Remove anything visible from the windows that says the property is empty
• Leave a timer on one or two lights rather than the whole house
• Make sure somebody local holds keys and the alarm code, and that it is written down
• Redirect or clear the post — a full letterbox is the clearest possible signal
• Photograph the property as you leave it, dated, room by room

The insurance clause people miss

Most buildings and holiday-let policies change the moment a property is unoccupied for a defined period — usually 30, 45 or 60 consecutive days. Beyond that point the policy commonly requires the water to be turned off and drained or the heating maintained at a stated minimum, and the property to be inspected at a set interval, with a record kept.

Insurers decline claims on this ground every winter, and the owner is almost always surprised. Find the unoccupancy clause in your wording before November and do what it says, including the record of inspections. A dated photo report after each visit is what satisfies it.

How often someone should actually look

Fortnightly is the useful interval for a coastal property. Monthly is the minimum most policies accept. Weekly is worth it only if the property has a history of leaks or sits somewhere exposed.

Each visit should run the heating up, run every tap and flush every toilet so the traps stay sealed, check each room for damp and condensation, look at the roof line and gutters from outside, clear the post and air the rooms. It takes about forty minutes in a six-room property. We do this as a winter property check on an agreed cycle.

Reopening in spring

• Run every tap for several minutes before the first guest — stagnant water is a legionella risk, and it is your duty of care
• Flush the hot water system through at temperature
• Check shower heads for scale and, where the property has been closed, replace or descale them
• Air every room for a full day before linen goes on the beds
• Book the deep clean before the first booking, not the week it arrives

The spring reopening is where the standard for the whole season gets set. Most owners leave it two weeks too late — see end-of-season and deep cleaning.