It’s invisible, colourless, tasteless, odourless – and highly toxic. That’s what makes carbon monoxide (CO) gas so lethal.

Unfortunately, it is also a gas that is so readily generated when you’re doing something as normal and straightforward as burning carbon-based fuels – such as oil, gas, coal, and wood – to heat your home or provide hot water. To burn safely, without the production of carbon monoxide gas, these fuels need a steady flow of fresh air.

Carbon monoxide is less dense and lighter than air, so it rises to the top and fills a room from the ceiling down.

Some idea of the seriousness of carbon monoxide poisoning is given by the most recent figures published – on the 5^th of August 2021 – by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). These reveal that there were 116 recorded deaths from such poisoning in 2020 – but it is widely recognised that the actual death toll may be even higher, since some people may be dying from CO poisoning symptoms that are difficult for doctors to detect.

The National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA) updated a press release on the 15^th of July 2022 reminding all landlords that, with effect from the 1^st of October 2022 – following the amendment of the Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (England) Regulations 2015 – carbon monoxide detectors must be installed in every room of a let property where there is a solid fuel heating appliance. (That includes any open fireplace that has not been blocked up and therefore remains available for use).

Landlords’ responsibilities

With dangers as high as these in normal living conditions, landlords bear a particular responsibility for ensuring that their let property is always a safe environment for tenants, free of health hazards and free from any of the risks associated with carbon monoxide poisoning.

Furthermore, existing legislation already requires an annual inspection and certification of any gas installation in a let property. The supply and its appliance must be inspected each year and a safety certificate issued by a registered Gas Safe engineer. A copy of the inspection certificate must be given to your tenants, and immediately any new ones move in. Failure to carry out these annual inspections may incur fines – and other difficulties with the tenancy, including your ability to evict a tenant, for example.

In addition to the legislation relating to CO detectors and gas safety inspections, landlords also bear a more general responsibility for ensuring the health and safety of their tenants, any visitors and, indeed, members of the public. If any individual suffers an injury or has their property damaged, as the landlord you may be held liable and ordered to pay compensation – and if injuries or even deaths are involved that compensation may be substantial.

Landlord’s liability insurance

To indemnify you against such claims, landlord liability insurance is widely used and typically offers at least £2 million of indemnity – and frequently much larger sums.

Even with such indemnity included in your landlord insurance, however, it is essential to remember that the cover does not absolve you from your responsibilities and obligations towards the health and safety of your tenants.

Blatant disregard of the legislation requiring you to install carbon monoxide detectors, the need to carry out annual gas safety inspections, or failure to exercise a due duty of care towards tenants’ health and safety may invalidate your landlord insurance.

There’s been a mixed bag of UK property news making the headlines. You might want to calculate just how much the value of your home has grown since the start of the recent pandemic, or you could be a landlord worried about the damage caused by your tenants’ pets.

The good news for the owners of flats in blocks with dangerous cladding that is soon to be repaired is that mortgages may become available. And the biggest energy cost savings are achieved in new-build homes.

Post-pandemic house prices: How much has your home risen in value?

In a press release on the 20^th of July, online listings website Zoopla calculated that the value of the average UK home has grown at the rate of £48 a day since the start of the recent coronavirus pandemic.

The surge in property values has come against a background of flexible working from home and a growing demand for homes with more space inside and out, with a preference for out of town, semi-rural or coastal locations.

As that demand has taken off and outstripped the available supply, so prices have inevitably risen. But there have been marked regional differences, with values in some areas rising by as much as £106 a day whereas in others they have fallen by as much as £40 a day.

Lets with pets: 85% of landlords and agents have experienced pet damage in rental properties 

A recent survey by the National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA) suggests that many landlords are hard pressed to meet the cost of repairs for damage caused by tenants’ pets.

Announcing the results of the survey, the NRLA revealed that 85% of landlords reported some degree of property damage caused by their tenants’ pets.

So that they do not continue to suffer unacceptable financial losses, the NRLA suggests that one of the outcomes of the current “lets with pets” debate is the ability for them to charge the cost of pet damage insurance premiums or a supplementary deposit from pet-owning tenants to cover the cost of such damage.

Banks agree to lend on properties with updated cladding

On the 18^th of July, online mortgage brokers, Mortgage Solutions, reported that six leading lenders have agreed to consider granting mortgages on flats in blocks where the necessary repairs to hazardous cladding will be paid for from the public purse or the relevant property developers.

Ever since the tragic fire that decimated London’s Grenfell Tower in 2017, hundreds of thousands of flats have been identified in similar jeopardy and danger from hazardous cladding. If those issues are identified, the flat becomes effectively unsaleable and unmortgageable.

The recent decision by banks and building societies to grant mortgages in those cases where the cost of the necessary repairs and safety measures have been approved by the government or the relevant developers will come as welcome relief to their owners.

Buy a new build and save £5,000 over 5 years on energy costs

Savings of almost £5,000 a year can be made if you buy a new-build home compared with the energy costs for an existing dwelling.

That is the conclusion reached in a survey by estate agents Savills and reported by the Buy Association on the 13^th of July.

Since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, new-build homes have become popular among 41% more buyers than before. In the brief period between the first quarters of 2021 and 2022, a 7% increase has been recorded in the number of buyers reserving new-build rather than existing houses.

Against a background of rapidly increasing costs of domestic energy, the greater efficiency of new-build homes compared with older, existing buildings means that savings of an estimated £4,900 can be made by the average homeowner.

Why is unoccupied property insurance necessary?

One of the most frequently asked questions (FAQs) we’re asked here at Cover4LetProperty is why unoccupied property insurance is necessary. The property owners in question already have home insurance, landlord’s insurance or commercial property insurance and have no wish to insure the building or its contents twice over.

The answers to other FAQs may help to show that when circumstances change, specialist unoccupied property insurance may be necessary once the premises have been empty or vacant for longer than a specified time.

When do you need empty property insurance?

Unoccupied property insurance – also known as empty or vacant property cover – offers protection for your property when it is standing empty.

By “empty” we mean that no one is living there, or a commercial building is no longer in use. The property could still be furnished, but if no one is living or working there, then it will still be classed as a vacant or unoccupied property after a number of consecutive days.

What happens to standard building and contents policies?

Whether your property insurance is for an owner-occupied home, buy to let property or commercial premises, it is typically written to provide cover during its occupation by the homeowner, tenants, or leaseholders.

Allowances are made, of course, for intervals such as your own holidays, tenants’ holidays, changeovers of tenancy, and redecorating, but most policies will contain a stated maximum number of days that cover will continue while the property stands unoccupied. Typically, that’s somewhere between 30-45 consecutive days – but the precise period may vary from one insurer to another.

Should the property stand unoccupied for longer than that, insurance cover is likely to become restricted to only a few major risks or may even lapse entirely – in which case, of course, any claim you make will fail.

When is a property likely to be unoccupied for longer than a month or so?

If you are a homeowner, you might need to leave your property empty for an extended period to:

• work on a contract that takes you away from home or even abroad;
• refurbish or renovate the property to such an extent that it is temporarily uninhabitable;
• take an extended holiday abroad – to stay with relatives or friends overseas, for example, or to take a world cruise;
• safeguard an inherited property that is currently in probate; or
• you have split up from your partner and moved out of the marital home whilst waiting to sell it.

If you are a landlord, your buy to let property might also be vacated whilst it is undergoing refurbishment or renovation, tenants might be taking an extended holiday or working away from home for longer than a month or so, or there might be a longer than usual interval between one tenancy ending and new tenants moving in.

What are some of the myths about unoccupied property insurance?

Bear in mind that the additional protection of empty or vacant property insurance cover applies to unoccupied properties and not just those that have been left unfurnished. From time to time, a customer might insist that “my property is furnished, so it counts as occupied”. This could prove a costly misunderstanding and error. In fact, your property is considered “unoccupied” after the specified number of days have elapsed even if it is still fully furnished.

There are also several other myths relating to presumed exceptions to the unoccupied property conditions in a typical policy. They too could be equally damaging. To avoid putting your cover at risk, it might be a good idea to review our guide to unoccupied property insurance here.

Quite often, potential unoccupied property insurance policyholders ask: “is it worth it”?

It’s a fair question but one that could be asked for any insurance. Neither we nor anyone else can say for certain whether your particular property will suffer the loss or damage resulting in a claim while it stands formally “unoccupied”. All we can do is highlight the fact that should such a situation arise, your claim may be rejected if you do not have an appropriate form of cover in place.

You should also note that if you have a mortgage on the property, then you are typically legally obliged to always have adequate buildings insurance in place at all times to protect both you and the mortgage lender’s financial interests.

Why does my standard building and contents cover become restricted or lapse after a specified period of vacancy?

When your property is unoccupied, it is statistically likely to be more vulnerable to risks such as:

• damage arising from unnoticed, unreported, or unattended maintenance problems – so that an otherwise relatively minor fault escalates into a full-blown emergency; and
• unauthorised intrusions by burglars, vandals, squatters, or even arsonists.

True, some risks may reduce – such as liability claims from tenants, if you are a landlord – but the overall net effect is that the nature of the insurance required to protect your interests will change if your property is unoccupied. That’s why at Cover4LetProperty we always advise property owners to discuss their insurance needs with us if they think their property may stand unoccupied for more than the specified number of days prescribed in their policy documents.

By way of illustration, it is no accident that for many years the police have given specific advice to help prevent burglaries when properties are unoccupied. That’s because they know such properties are a preferred target for burglars – and so does the insurance industry.

Can’t I just “make do” with my existing property insurance?

You might think that although your property is empty, you can “make do” with your existing insurance – whether that is standard home insurance, landlords’ insurance, or commercial property insurance.

Doing so, however, will typically invalidate your existing policy and means you will not be able to make a claim under it, should you need to.

Unoccupied property cover is a very important aspect for the protection of your empty property, so if you have any questions or are unsure as to the status of your property, please feel free to contact us so that we can compare empty property insurance on your behalf. You may even arrange your unoccupied property insurance online.

What cover is provided by unoccupied property insurance?

You will need to read a policy carefully to establish exactly what cover is provided. However, several aspects will be common to practically any of the unoccupied property insurance products currently on the market.

The principal objective of any such cover is to re-establish the protection you typically enjoy when the property is inhabited or in more or less constant use.

At Cover4LetProperty we offer three levels of unoccupied property insurance cover, so you can choose the most suitable solution for your own unique needs.

What if the reasons for the property being unoccupied are beyond anyone’s control?

It isn’t possible to give a definitive answer, as that may depend upon your specific insurance policy. Typically, however, the cause won’t be a factor.

If, for example, you were let down at the last minute by tenants who failed to arrive as planned, once your property went over the permitted 30 to 45 days, it would still usually be classed as unoccupied.

Honesty is the best policy when it comes to informing your insurer that the property will be unoccupied. Insurance providers typically have ways of establishing whether a property was occupied at the time any incident relating to a claim might have arisen – your claim will be rejected if you have been anything less than completely honest.

Is unoccupied property insurance all that is required?

That depends, once again, on the terms and conditions of your vacant property insurance.

Some policies may require you to make logged, periodic inspections of the property while it is unoccupied and to keep external areas in very good condition (as a way of making it hard to spot that the property is unoccupied – thereby deterring thieves and other intruders).

What if building works are underway?

Typically, the same 30 to 45-day rules would apply during any period when there are building works in progress and the property remains unoccupied for the duration.

Although tradesmen and builders may be present during every working day, that does not make the property occupied as far as your insurers are concerned.

What happens if I leave the property furnished?

This would also make no difference to whether or not your insurers consider the property to be unoccupied.

The definition relates specifically to occupancy and is nothing to do with whether your property is empty of furnishings, personal effects, and the like.

Homes in Britain are designed principally to keep the warmth in when winter’s cold begins to bite. They are not designed as living spaces during very hot weather. Those lessons were brought home only too clearly during the heatwave and record temperatures in mid-July 2022.

If you are the landlord of let property, that home is unlikely to have been designed with scorching temperatures in mind – so how might you protect your property and your tenants in the heat:

Prevent burst pipes

• the winter’s scourge of burst pipes is probably the last thing you’d worry about in the summertime;

• but a story in the Express newspaper on the 16^th of July 2022 warned how extreme weather could lead to disturbed foundations and structural shifts that damage pipes, the effect of very hot weather heating and distorting the pipes, blocked drains, and the accumulated effects of hard water;

• the article recommends checking for clogged drains, having a water softener installed, and covering any exposed pipework with insulation to block the extreme rays of the sun;

Check for subsidence

• it follows from this warning, therefore, that you will do well to check for any signs of subsidence – or, indeed, any structural changes your let property might have suffered because of the extremely hot weather;

Keep drains and gutters clear

• the longer the dry weather goes on, the more likely you’re going to forget those gutters and downpipes that make up your rainwater goods;

• indeed, the debris that normally collects in those fittings will have been baked rock hard by the scorching sun – and the first you’ll know of any blockages will be the first outburst of heavy rain;

• pre-empt any problems or emergencies by clearing blocked drains and gutters now – and keeping them clear while you await that first downpour;

Keep cool and carry on

• in the heat of the day, it’s going to be much hotter outside than it is inside – it might be worthwhile reminding your tenants how to keep as cool as possible inside their home;

• advise them to try to preserve some of the cooler air, therefore, by closing windows and curtains to keep the heat of the midday sun away from heating up the indoors;

Mirror, mirror on the wall

• something that might be easy to overlook is the – potentially lethal danger – of reflected light from mirrors in the home;

• with the intensity of the sun’s rays during any heatwave, reflected beams can be strong enough to set fire to anything at all inflammable in the room;

• urge your tenants to remove mirrors from direct sunlight and take them down from the wall during the height of extremely hot and bright weather;

Fire

• the heatwave and its accompanying drought leave surrounding areas tinder dry;

• the ease with which a seemingly harmless grass fire can turn catastrophic was shown by the wildfires that consumed a terrace of homes in Wennington, East London in July 2022;

• the danger from fires became so acute that the London Fire Brigade has called for a ban on the sale of disposable barbecues, reported the BBC on the 29^th of July;

• it is for that very reason that you should also avoid using any type of barbecue on the balcony of your flat – it is simply too easy for the fire to get out of control and cause untold damage to the let property.

Summary

British homes are not designed for extremely hot weather so you and your tenants may need to take special care to keep as cool as possible during any heatwave – protecting both property and people from the damaging effects of the weather outside.

It’s always reassuring to know that we live in an attractive, appealing, and comfortable home. If we’re a homeowner looking to sell or a landlord looking for prospective tenants, of course, it’s more than just reassuring but also a way of getting the most from our hard-earned investment.

With that in mind, here are some of our top tips for making your home more appealing to buyers or renters:

Kerb appeal

• first impressions count and whether you are selling or looking to attract tenants the kerb appeal of your home creates that all-important initial appearance;

• a clean and shiny front door – you might even give it a fresh lick of paint – provides the kind of welcome you’ll want to create and, if there is a patch of grass out front, make sure it’s neatly cut and trimmed;

Niggle-free

• any home that has been lived in – by you or your tenants – inevitable develops those niggling items of maintenance. They may typically be minor matters of concern – such as wonky door handles, broken tiles in the kitchen, dripping taps, or mouldy sealant around the bath or handbasin;

• for the potential buyer come to view the place or a tenant looking to move in, however, these niggles can be a critical turn-off – so it’ll pay you well to fix them all;

Keeping up appearances

• there’s probably nothing worse than a dull and dingy room – so, make sure to let the light in;

• open the blinds or curtains and make sure the windows have been cleaned, opening one or two to let in some fresh air;

• if there are already tenants in the dwelling, persuade them to tidy up, dust, and vacuum before you show any likely successors around the place;

• get rid of clutter as much as you can – even if it means providing extra storage to your existing tenants;

Light up the smiles

• don’t forget the importance of replacing any defective light bulbs;

• making sure that the room lights up at the flick of the switch will show that you’ve cared enough to look after the place and should bring a smile to the face of your viewers;

What’s that smell?

• you might not realise it, but our sense of smell is closely and directly linked to our memory of a place – leave your viewers with a nice smell and they’ll remember the place more fondly;

• it might be more difficult to achieve if you still have sitting tenants in place, but try whatever you can to create a pleasant smell – if only to mask any lingering unpleasant odours;

Green fingers

• any garden – however small, for buyers and for renters – comes with a very definite premium these days, after successive lockdowns during the pandemic left many people house-bound;

• so, the garden’s a plus and you can make the most of it by ensuring that it’s well maintained, perhaps with a swing if you’re attracting families or a barbeque, deck, or patio if they’re likely to be young professionals.

Making your home more appealing to buyers or renters can often be achieved with a minimum of effort and modest expenditure. You’ll reap the rewards, however, if what you have done makes for a quicker sale or more reliable and responsible tenants.

Some landlords seem to think that the key to maximising income from a buy to let business is simply to increase the rent.

The level at which you pitch your rent, of course, has an important part to play but you need to be realistic and what you can charge is naturally constrained by the prevailing rental rates in the neighbourhood in which your let property is located.

So, you might want to think again about raising rents as the only way to maximise your income:

Offer added value services

• have you thought about the add-ons you might offer;
• some tenants will appreciate you offering them additional services such as guaranteed car parking locally, laundry services and perhaps regular cleaning – these are all things you could charge for and hopefully make a healthy profit on;
• there may be other options of a similar nature, perhaps even including your provision of certain home entertainment systems and so on – though you’ll need to be cautious, of course, about providing expensive equipment, as this may be an issue in terms of your contents insurance and its associated risks of theft or damage;

Charge for furniture

• an unfurnished let property typically attracts a significantly lower rent than one that is furnished;
• in a posting on the 14^th of April 2022, estate agents Kaytons suggested that you invest in suitable furniture and enjoy the pay-back of many months of additional rent;

Charge for late payment of rent

• if your tenants pay their rent late, that is costing you money one way or another either in lost interest or in your time and effort in chasing up payment – so, it needs to be made clear in the tenancy agreement that overdue payment will incur charges;
• make sure that your tenants understand and agree to this in advance – don’t just spring it on them as a surprise, unless you look forward to controversy and friction;

Review your insurance costs

• shop around to find the best landlord’s insurance quote possible, or at least one that is both suitable and cost-effective for you – and here at Cover4LetProperty we can help you do just that;
• remember that sometimes maximising your income can be at least in part related to reducing your expenditure;

Avoid unnecessarily lengthy gaps between tenancies

• when your property is available for rent, but you have no tenants in place, this is called a “void” and you are then earning nothing at all in rental income, of course;
• sometimes you may have little or no alternative but to have gaps between tenants but in many cases, this happens simply due to poor planning on the part of the landlord concerned;
• so, whenever you know that tenants will be vacating, act immediately to secure new tenants and don’t wait until the last minute before doing things such as advertising the vacancy and lining up your next tenants;

Investigate deposit accounts opportunities

• admittedly, it’s difficult these days to secure higher interest rates on very short-term deposits – but those rates may vary significantly between banks and other deposit-taking institutions;
• so, try to put any surplus cash into an account that offers a higher interest rate than a current account but which at the same time guarantees you fast access in an emergency – the additional money you earn may not be huge, but every penny counts!

It’s not simply a question of raising the rent if you want to maximise the income from your buy to let property. These – and many other – possibilities are worth exploring.

Two major reforms make the UK property news headlines as changes to the law on leaseholds come into force and the Bank of England relaxes the rules on stress testing the affordability of mortgages.

This is against the background of continuing vitality in the UK property market and tips on buying homes near schools rated as “Outstanding” and how to attract higher-rent tenants.

Leasehold changes take effect

On the 30^th of June, the long-awaited Leasehold Reform (Ground Rent) Act 2022 came into force. Announcing the changes, Propertymark reminded readers that from this date only a token, peppercorn ground rent can be legally charged by the freeholders of new leasehold residences in England and Wales.

The effect of the legislation is to reduce the ground rent on any new residential leases to zero financial value.

Mortgage affordability rules relaxed

Along with most of the media, the online listings website Zoopla on the 21^st of June reported the Bank of England’s decision to significantly ease the lending rules on residential mortgages with effect from the 1^st of August.

Currently, strict rules imposed by the Bank of England mean that mortgage borrowers have to pass a stress test under which they would continue to find their repayments affordable if the rate of borrowing increased by 3% of their lender’s standard variable rate.

That exacting standard has often caught out first-time buyers who are already at the limits of what they could find affordable – and a 3% increase would tip them over the edge. Relaxation of these rules, therefore, is likely to be especially welcome news to first-time buyers.

No sign of a slowdown for UK property market

If inflation and the steadily mounting cost of living are pressuring the spending of most individuals, those market forces have yet to have a serious impact on the UK property market.

In an article on the 23^rd of June, the Buy Association reported that the latest official figures showed little sign of any slowing down of the UK property market. Indeed, the property sales figures for May were a further 1.6% higher than in April.

Analysts point to the historically low rates of interest that mortgage borrowers continue to enjoy – with a current base rate of 1.25%, the cost of borrowing is significantly cheaper than the average 7% which prevailed throughout the period from 1970 to 2022.

This continues to fuel the growth in house prices – albeit at a somewhat slower rate month by month and lower than the runaway surge in prices seen in the previous six months.

The cheapest places to buy a home close to an Outstanding school

In research published on the 21^st of June, online listings website Zoopla revealed which parts of the country offered the most affordable housing if you want to live near a school rated as “Outstanding” by the education regulator Ofsted.

The research demonstrated how Ofsted’s ratings of nearby schools can affect the value of your home.

Watford, Wakefield, and Wolverhampton, for example, are places where you might find the cheapest homes close to a school rated as Outstanding; whereas you’d need to pay a premium to buy a home near any such school in Durham, Blackpool, or Sunderland.

How to attract higher rents

If you’ve ever wondered what it takes to attract higher rents to your buy to let accommodation, Property Wire offered some suggestions on the 21st of June.

Almost a half (42%) of discerning renters said that they were looking for accommodation that had been professionally decorated – and around a third of them insisted they would be prepared to pay more for such a rental. A similar proportion of prospective tenants also said they were looking for higher-quality furniture in any home they rented.

With the experience of recent Covid lockdowns still fresh in many minds, almost two in three would-be tenants are looking for space for working from home (WFH) – with, at the very least, a desk from which to do their work.

A property can become unoccupied or empty for several valid reasons:

• you are taking an extended holiday;
• as the landlord of let property, you may face a void between former tenants moving out and new ones being found;
• your job might have called you to work away from home – perhaps overseas – for several months at a time;
• the property might be in the throes of extensive renovation or other building works;
• if you are moving home, you might have moved into the new house whilst the old one remains empty pending its sale; or
• you may have an interest in a property that is subject to probate – which is currently unoccupied pending completion of that process.

Implications for your insurance

Whatever the reason for your house or let property standing empty, there is almost certain to be some impact on the home or landlord insurance which usually protects it.

If the property has been empty for more than 30-45 consecutive days, your current insurers typically reduce the scope of the cover on the property to just the basics of protection (the precise interval varies from one insurer to another), and some may even consider the cover to have lapsed altogether after this time.

Why is this?

There’s no doubt about it, vacant property attracts more than its fair share of risks and perils. In a special briefing for members of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), several principal areas of vulnerability were identified.

Those concerns can be summarised along the following lines:

• with no one on the premises, otherwise routine maintenance issues may go unnoticed and create a major crisis;
• there is a greater risk of a fire taking hold and potentially gutting the whole building;
• security is a bigger issue as the threat of theft puts at risk not only the contents of the property, but even valuable materials used in its construction;
• an empty property tends to become a magnet for vandals, arsonists, and all manner of other unwanted intruders; and
• the absence of any other occupant may attract the unwelcome attention of squatters.

As these and other risks assume greater and greater proportions the longer the premises remain unoccupied, so the property insurance cover normally in place becomes insufficient.

What does unoccupied property insurance cover?

To restore the cover needed to safeguard your property, therefore, specialist unoccupied property insurance is required.

This may take several forms.

Unoccupied property insurance sold by some providers, for example, may only restore still very limited cover – sometimes known as FLEA (protecting the building and its contents against the risks identified by their initials – fire, lightning, explosions and earthquakes, and aircraft).

Other options may include full protection against loss or damage to the structure and fabric of the building or its contents from such potentially severe risks as flooding, fire, storm damage, escape of water, impacts, vandalism and theft.

Also restored is the all-important property owner’s or landlord’s public liability insurance which grants you indemnity against claims from visitors to the property, neighbours or members of the public who may be injured through some contact with it or have their own property damaged.

You may even require short term empty property cover for shorter periods of time, such as if you have a probate policy or your property is undergoing renovations. Flexible options are available such as cover for 3, 6 or 9 months.

Which empty property insurance is the most suitable for me?

Getting the most suitable type of this standalone form of insurance to meet your needs and circumstances might call for specialist knowledge of the market in what is essentially something of a niche product. You might, therefore, want to consult experts in this field – such as those of us here at Cover4LetProperty.

Whatever the reasons – and there are many – for your having to leave the property empty, the vacancy frequently has a habit of overrunning your original estimate. Finding a policy that may be flexibly extended, therefore, may be an important feature.

If you are a landlord, one of the reasons for the property becoming vacant is the termination of one tenancy and the inevitable delay until new tenants are found.

There is also the rather special case of tenants who have simply abandoned the let property. Not only does this leave you an empty property on your hands but also the potentially fraught and complicated business of determining whether the tenant has surrendered or abandoned the property.

In an article updated on the 10^th of November 2021, online agents Letting a Property described the problems you run if tenants have simply upped and left your property – leaving the premises vulnerable and vacant, yet still with lawfully recognised tenants.

If you have bought an empty property with the specific intention of renovating it for you to live in or to let to tenants, you may find that some insurers are reluctant to offer cover on premises such as this from inception. Once again, therefore, you might want to consult a specialist insurance provider.

Playing your part

Just as with other forms of insurance, protection for unoccupied property also anticipates you playing your part to mitigate the risks of loss or damage.

The extent to which you may be expected to take reasonable precautions may depend of course on the nature of the building and whether it is normally in commercial or residential use. Amongst some of the most common conditions, however, are likely to be the following:

• ensuring that routine maintenance is done to keep the structure and fabric of the building in a good state of repair;
• locks, deadbolts, alarms and other security devices on doors and windows to a standard relevant to the type and size of building in question;
• regular inspections of the premises, with a written record of each visit;
• for residential property many of the precautions any insurer is likely to expect you to take are largely matters of good common sense;
• ensuring that deliveries are promptly taken inside and out of sight by a neighbour, for example;
• asking the same neighbour to park their car on your drive – to give the impression that there is someone at home;
• making sure that your garden continues to be tended and any litter cleared away;
• the use of time switches to turn on a light or two in the evenings; and
• making sure of course that all doors and windows remain firmly locked.

Precautions such as these – and any other conditions your insurer might impose – are important if you want to avoid the possibility of your own contributory negligence being cited by the insurer as the reason for a reduced settlement of any claim.

For further reading on this subject, you might want to review our Guide to Unoccupied Property.

Landlord insurance provides important safeguards for the owner of buy to let property. How does this protection work and what exactly are you buying with landlord insurance?

The building

• first and foremost, the most critical protection is provided for the very structure and fabric of the building or buildings in which you have invested – and that is probably the most important feature of landlord insurance;
• whether you are the landlord of buy to let residential property or the owner of commercial properties such as shops, warehousing, offices, or industrial units, all are vulnerable to such potential disasters as fire, flooding, impacts, storm damage or vandalism;
• landlord insurance buys you protection against such loss or damage, so you might want to make sure that you arrange it through a specialist provider – such as those of us at Cover4LetProperty – to get the protection most appropriate for your particular needs and circumstances;
• one of the crucial details it is always important to get right, for example, is the total sum insured – the amount designed to ensure that the settlement of any claim for the total loss of the building is enough to rebuild it;

The contents

• whether you have let the premises fully furnished, part furnished or with just a minimum of carpets, curtains and fittings, landlord insurance can buy you protection against those items of the contents of your let property that you own;
• you might want to extend the cover to accidental damage, and you may also want to investigate whether malicious damage by your tenants is included in the risks covered by your building and contents insurance (our policies here at Cover4LetProperty, for instance, include that cover as standard);

The liabilities

• with your insurance as a landlord, you are also able to gain valuable protection against the risk of a tenant – or indeed, one of their visitors, or even a member of the public – from suing you, as the landlord of the property, for negligence;
• many of your responsibilities as a landlord are defined by law and given legislative effect through health and safety legislation or local bylaws – the main aspects of these are identified on the government website;
• in addition to these statutory obligations, you also have a common law duty of care as the landlord and property owner;
• if you are held responsible for any personal injury or loss or damage to the property of your tenants, members of the public or visitors to your premises, you might face a potentially huge claim in compensation – landlord insurance typically buys you indemnity against such claims;
• the seriousness of the possible threat facing a landlord in this regard is illustrated by the fact that insurance typically offers protection of up to at least £2 million and it is not uncommon for that limit to be raised to £5 million or more;

The rent

• as a landlord, the success of your business relies upon the rent you receive – indeed, if you are depending on rental income to help make the regular buy to let mortgage repayments, rental income may be essential to your continued ownership of the property;
• yet if there is a major insured incident which leaves the premises so severely damaged that they cannot be occupied, you stand to lose the rental income – yet still have to make any mortgage repayments, of course;
• for that reason, landlord insurance typically includes compensation for loss of rental income in those circumstances.

It may be clear, therefore, that when you are arranging landlord insurance, you are buying some important safeguards for your let property and the business you are running.

If you have any questions or queries relating to your landlord insurance, please feel free to contact us. We will be more than happy to clarify.

Running a successful buy to let business almost certainly relies on the same basic guiding principle that determines the success of practically any other enterprise – delivering what the customer wants.

In the case of a landlord, of course, the customer is the existing or prospective tenant. The tenants’ expectations and aspirations regarding a let property may determine not only whether they are interested in moving in, but the respect with which they ultimately treat the property and the length of time they choose to maintain the tenancy.

Given the potentially critical importance of delivering just what the tenant wants, here at Cover4LetProperty we maintain a constant weather eye on the various surveys that are conducted from time to time about tenants’ current wish lists.

Let’s take a brief look, for example, at a survey published by property managers Landlord Vision on the 24^th of February 2022 and a similar study completed by the Letting a Property website on the 19^th of October 2021:

Location, location, location

• these are the eternal watchwords for any subject about property, and they apply just as much to let property – even if you can’t do much about it if you’ve already bought your buy to let investment, but make sure to give it a top priority if you’re going to buy;
• remember that your tenants won’t want to be too far away from local amenities, bus routes, shops, work, college, or university;

WFH

• post-pandemic, the top priority for many tenants is the ability to work from home (WFH);
• remote working is here to stay for many tenants who are in employment, and they are likely to be looking for more space inside their let accommodation in order to set up their home office;
• a separate working space is highly prized because very few of your tenants will want to sleep, relax, and work in the same space day after day;
• fast, reliable broadband speed will also be a must;

Outdoor space

• a further consequence of the successive lockdowns during the pandemic is a craving for your own outside space;
• tenants, too, these days are likely to be looking for a garden – or, indeed, any kind of recreational space outdoors;

Transport links

• although remote working is here to stay, many workers are being encouraged to return to work in the office – if only for a few days each week;
• dependable, fast, and affordable transport links, therefore, are likely to remain high on the list of priorities for your tenants;

Parking

• the availability of parking at or near to rented property was once very high on the list of priorities for prospective tenants but has now probably slipped down that list a notch or two;
• where parking is sought, it probably comes as no surprise that tenants prefer off-street parking to allocated on-street parking, although some surveys suggest that tenants are generally not prepared to pay a higher rent for access to off-street parking;

Rent levels

• according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS) private sector rents rose by an average of 2.3% in the 12 months to the end of February 2022;
• it will come as no surprise, therefore, that the cost of the rent will be a key factor for many tenants;
• although the dwindling availability of homes to rent suggests that this is a landlords’ market, if you want to attract responsible tenants who are going to treat your let property with the care it deserves and look forward to a lengthy tenancy, you will want to maintain rent levels close to the going rate for your type of dwelling and neighbourhood;

Age and sex

• most surveys of what tenants want from their let property reflect sightly different priorities according to the particular age group into which tenants fall and whether they are male or female.

Of course, there is no magic bullet that is going to ensure you will always let your property to the tenants you especially want. By taking into consideration these leading surveys of tenants’ expectations and aspirations, however, you may be better prepared to meet the market demand.

In the case of a landlord, of course, the customer is the existing or prospective tenant. The tenants’ expectations and aspirations regarding a let property may determine not only whether they are interested in moving in, but the respect with which they might treat the property and the length of time they choose to maintain the tenancy.

Given the potentially critical importance of delivering just what the tenant wants, we at Cover4LetProperty have conducted our own research into just what this might be:

Rent levels

• our latest data, compiled as recently as October 2014, for instance suggests that the price of the rent is the leading factor, being highlighted by a significant 87% of tenants who responded to our survey;

• this suggests that you pitch the rent you demand at as a reasonable price as possible – after taking into account your outgoing expenses such as mortgage repayments, maintenance and of course landlord insurance;

Location

• location has become something of a watchword when it comes to choosing a place to live – and renters appear to be no different;

• our research shows that an equally significant 80% of respondents gave the location of the let property – and its ease of access to bus routes, work and universities, for example – as a priority;

• a survey conducted by estate agents Savills also put location on tenants’ list of priorities and found that 55% of younger tenants (between 18 and 25 years of age) and 20% of over 45-year olds were prepared to pay a higher rent for being able to live closer to work or university;

Parking

• there is a similar convergence of research data when it comes to the provision of parking facilities;

• it may come as little surprise that in the survey conducted by Savills, tenants preferred off-street parking to allocated on-street parking, although it also revealed that tenants are generally not prepared to pay a higher rent for the access to off-street parking;

• this tends to confirm our own findings that there is no direct correlation between amenities and facilities and the level of rent that tenants are prepared to pay – some things may be expected to be supplied by the landlord effectively free of charge;

Tenant profiles

• the study conducted by Savills found that tenants tend to be renting for longer periods and that more of them are families, including children, than may have been the case a few years ago;

• this reflected accordingly in some of the things that today’s tenants may want – ease of access to childcare facilities and schools, for example, or somewhere outside, such as a garden, in which to play;

Age and sex

• both our own research and that conducted by Savills suggest some re-ordering of priorities according to particular the age group into which tenants fall and whether they are male or female.

Of course there is no magic bullet that is going to ensure you may always let your property to the tenants you especially want. By taking into account these leading surveys of tenants’ expectations and aspirations, however, you may be better prepared to meet the market demand.