DS plans to leave his central London flat totally empty for a year

Despite how the majority of land lords act, renting property comes with responsibilities and legal obligations. If he doesn't want to meet them then leave him be. You go and live it and give him cash if you're so concerned

DS needs contents insurance to provide cover against risks of leaks and damage to flat beneath, break-ins, theft fire storm risk and damage to household items, damage from leaks from flats above, and will be expensive.

Will have to arrange for regular inspection to satisfy insurers.

OP could use it for weekend visits trips to theatre etc while inspecting.

Until the tenants trash the place & won't leave. Whoops!

As long as appropriate insurance is in place this is exactly what I’d do.

Is there anybody sensible that you or DS and GF know who could house sit for a year?

Yes, you really need an agent to let it for you so that you can be sure you are complying with all the complicated laws on deposits, electrical and gas checks, fire doors etc that apply to rentals now. This takes a chunk of the rent, and it may be difficult to get tenants out at the end of the lease. Plus damage problems and having to pay to store all DS's possessions. I wouldn't have thought it was worth it if he doesn't need the money.

Of course they'll insure it. I have an unoccupied property (which is going on the market soon) and it's fully insured with no problem. The only pain is needing to organise someone to visit for a couple of minutes every week, to meet the insurer's requirements. As I said up thread, their main worry is escape of water when no-one is present to spot it.

Agree with you Op
For many reasons leaving a flat empty is not a great idea

D'you or the son know how many families are unhoused in London. It's impossible to care about this couple's non-problem.

I know a few people in London in this situation or similar e.g. a work opportunity comes up abroad for a year or so, or they're moving in with a new partner but don't want to sell their place until they're sure it's going to work out. In all cases they're worried about nightmare tenants they can't remove if they need to return to their flat, especially with the Renters Rights bill coming in where you have to give someone four months' notice in the first year of the tenancy if you need to move back in or sell. Nobody who can afford not to rent their flat out is going to risk that. Some had family members move in or stay when working in London so the property wasn't left empty.

Honestly if it isn’t needed…
plus on that selling price…what would be the rent? Why would people paying this rent want to stay only one year??

I am team DS.

It's a million pound apartment, so a year's rent will be like 40-50k. He should do a corporate let, therefore don't have the issues with tenants and usually a lot more reliable. Sad that his inherited money has given him that attitude to a nice opportunity to make some money.

Point out to DS that it isn't safe to leave his central London flat empty for a year.
No insurer would insure it and there would be very little you could do if it was damaged or finished up with squatters. Better to have someone you have vetted in the space than finishing up with squatters.

I was in this situation five years ago. I went to live for a year in a European country with DD & fam. I'd tried to get a house-sitter but it fell through. In the end: installed cameras at front door, back-garden and in thru-living-room, which I could monitor remotely; retained my trusted cleaner to keep e'thing clean and check all was ok on a weekly basis. Worked perfectly. I also "popped back" for a few weekends of UK based work.

My good friend, had a really nice apartment in a nice part of London, he would do the same, go off for months at a time. One time he returned, to find squatters had moved in 4 months previously. For that reason, I wouldn't leave it empty for long periods.

I mean yes he is being ridiculous. But equally, he’d be an overseas landlord, so he might not actually make that much money from it, particularly after tax.

As others have said, he really needs to check his contents and buildings insurance policies. They usually say no empty periods over 30 days. Could you stay every couple of weeks or he’d need a specialist insurance cover.

I wouldn't lease out my home for a year. Far too many potential issues like it being trashed, the occupants causing a nuisance to other residents, refusing to leave the end of the tenancy, not paying rent or bills.
I would however pay for a company or family member to come in once a month and dust, check for any issues like leaks and get it ventilated. Left unheated and not properly aired could lead to damp. Personally, I'd be more than happy to go over monthly and stay for the weekend!

Why would you rent it out if you don't need the money? It's so much work packing away your stuff for storage and then taking them out again, and you risk damage to your flat from renters.

Yes, he takes ten percent. Passing it over to him was the best thing I've done. He's a Rottweiler that gets stuff done. I used to have constant issues with it. I barely think about it now, it's just a background income.

Do you pay for full management?

I rent out two properties via an agent. Piece of cake. He's on it regarding rent rises too.

With whom the Op doesn’t seem at all close with and admits to having a “strained” relationship with!

What’s this actually got to do with you? He’s a grown man.

Sounds ideal for weekends in London while you ‘check up on it’