By Steve Roulstone

It is strange how some matters come up on more than one occasion and this week, we have seen two occasions where absent property owners were at risk without even being aware and it is a situation that I now recommend everybody to be aware of, indeed check with your own Insurance Company to ensure the house insured is covered under your normal homeowners Buildings Insurance policy. The outcome may have a great effect on you becoming a reluctant Landlord.

Empty property.

The two occasions that have arisen this week, both concern owners, who in our case are Landlords both, who have found that their property is not insured under their existing Insurance policy, because the property is currently empty. In the first case, the property was empty whilst the Landlord had work carried out in preparation for renting the property, to ensure that the house was presented in the best possible condition. His policy only gave cover for sixty days and was discovered because of damage being claimed through a burst pipe during the recent cold weather. Needless to say he was not aware of the clause and I wonder just how many insured are?

Policy renewed.

The second case is even worse, in that because of what had happened to the first Landlord we asked the second, who had moved on over a year ago, only to find that he only had thirty days cover and the property had been empty for over a year. In fact, the Landlord had recently renewed and even with the address change, nobody at the Insurance Company asked the question about why, so it appears they gladly took the payment without even taking the opportunity to check if the house was covered! When you consider the questions we have to answer to ensure our position (property) is insurable, it seems strange that the reverse does not happen, i.e. we are not asked if a situation exists, even with evidence to support that it does (the different address) that means any claim would be rejected!

Now the implications

The advice has got to be that any owner looking to move on and leave a property empty, advises the Insurance Company from day one and of course checks how long the house is covered in their absence. But the implication for owners wishing to achieve a sale before deciding to consider their options (our experience suggests this can be anything up to six months) is that they are liable to find that their Insurance policy will not allow them the grace of time and a decision may well be forced.

Renting options

What we normally see is a request for information before owners move on, so that if they do decide to rent they will have already decided who to appoint as Managing Agents and do not have to return to the area to make an appointment. Far be it from me to suggest otherwise and of course we are accustomed to gathering everything we need at that first appointment to enable us to do our job without the then landlords having to return. But under these circumstances, owners are going to have to make that decision at an earlier date and I for one would not argue! but we must always give best advice and as was proven this week, it will be the property owner who will benefit in the long run!

One Thought on “Property Landlord advice: Further problems for reluctant Landlords.

  1. Simple and sweet. I’m thinking of starting another blog or five pretty soon, and I’ll definitely consider this theme. Keep ‘em coming!

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