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

This is obscene. He sounds incredibly blinkered. Get a decent letting agent

This! I'm a small scale landlord (one flat), and as I was growing up our family home was sometimes let out while we were away being a trailing family.

I wouldn't let out my own home for a year- far too many occurrences of tennants leaving property in a state. As a teen my parents struggled to get our property back off one lot of fixed term tennants and we were left sofa-surfing while they had the house. When they did vacate, the house was in such a bad state that the professional cleaners walked out after a few hours, the whole place needed redecorating and we all got fleas becuase their dog had left them behind. I've also had tennants do some fairly major damage to my property and what we were allowed ro reclaim from the deposit didn't touch the sides (i.e. a non-permitted pet tearing up 2ftx2ft patches of carpet was deemed "fair wear and tear").

It's also hassle when things go wrong, even with an agent, they'll be calling every time there's an issue wanting an "ok" to sort the problem, having tennants is a job in its own right as clearly problems do need to be sorted quickly for them.

I don't think its worth the risk for a one year let if they want to move back in afterwards.

You’re sounding quite bitter there. What’s wrong with investing his inheritance in a London flat?

20 odd years ago my DH bought a tiny shoebox of a flat in Notting Hill with inheritance he received. Best investment he ever made.

It sounds like your DS has invested wisely but frankly it’s none of your business.

A relative of mine rented her house out while living abroad and the tenants left it a shithole. Literally shit smeared on the walls.

Took her months to get them out despite the rent arrears and she had to go to a court in the end. She said she would never do it again.

We moved abroad when I was a kid and the house was empty apart from when we came back to visit. DGM would go in and check it every so often.

I'm with your ds. As long as he turns the water and electricity off, and you check it every now and then, it will be fine. My friend's parents have a house in France that they couldn't get to for three years. Last went in autumn 2019, then COVID, then one of them was very ill. Finally managed to get down there early 2023. It was fine. Just slightly dusty, but otherwise, absolutely fine.

We rent our house out while we are working away, but plan to move back there when we can.

It’s horrible. A succession of tenants who don’t look after it. Massive refurbishment costs after tenancies. Currently trying to evict an unsuitable tenant and feeling bad for them, but knowing their antisocial behaviour is making my neighbours lives unpleasant.

If there was any way that financially I could leave it empty and just go back when I want in order keep it ticking over and looked after then I would.

Re short lets - is near a uni? You might be able to get on a scheme for finding accommodation for visiting academics. In Cambridge this is a thing.

Renting will be a huge hassle for only a year plus a tax return to submit and tax to pay on the income. Does he not have any friends or family that would like a nice place to stay every now and then. If he can get enough family and friends to use it for staycations so it's never empty for more than a few weeks at a time it would probably be better than leaving it completely and obviously unoccupied.

Having seen how upset my late neighbour was with the damage caused by her professional tenants to her old family home, I’m team DS on this one. Holes punched in walls, broken doors, burns on carpet, new kitchen absolutely filthy - the list goes on. The three months deposit she received didn’t go anywhere to repair the damage. She was heartbroken as it had been inherited from her parents. Leave him be - as long as he has told his insurers and complies with their requirements and is happy with the limited cover, then it’s his business what he does.

I think checks should be at least weekly, if possible. Can a neighbour also do this?

He can get a lodger but you can’t end a rental easily anymore. There is a legal difference between the two.

Yes, but were you selling a house or a flat ?

In a flat the building insurance is placed by the freeholder

This is completely different to a buildings policy for a house which I am well aware will have a restriction on periods unoccupied

There is no requirement to have contents insurance on either a house or flat

How lovely. That's your weekends sorted for the next few months. Enjoy your time in the capital!

I am sure it won't stand totally empty. IMHO (as someone who lives in 'central London') there are always people wanting to come and stay. He should get a keysafe for trusted friends. Or it might be he comes back between nomading stints.

The would be illegal as the OP doesn’t own the flat.

He will probably find that his insurance is invalidated by leaving it empty for longer than a month. He needs to check that if nothing else. What would happen if a neighbour reported a leak - would you be expected to go and check? And any important post - a redirect would be sensible... I doubt I would have thought about these things in my 20s but he should, even if he's not bothered about potential rental income.

You do need insurance if a properly isn’t lived in for a minimum of 90 days. You have to turn all heating and water off to an uninhabited house (I’ve done it so I know) due to water leaks, gas leaks, weather damage, other damage, break ins etc

My BIL is a digital nomad with an expensive London flat. He rented it out and it’s been nothing but issues. The last tenant completely trashed the place and disappeared leaving all his belongings in the place, including a half cooked meal on the hob! It has been a nightmare for my DH who has been trying to deal with it all in BIL’s absence.

We are not re-letting it again once this nightmare is cleared up. You can pay for it to be covered by a security firm and visited regularly.

How would that help? He doesn’t want someone else living in his flat.

A friend recently put their rented out house in East London on the market, the tenants having moved out. All the estate agents advised them to make sure the property was secure, with an alarm fitted, someone sleeping there a couple of nights a week, neighbours ( who are lovely) keeping an eye open, lights on random timers etc. There have been quite a few burglaries ( pipes and wiring if the house is empty) plus random scammers “letting out” houses to unwary tenants and pocketing the deposit and first two months rent. I would not let a property stand empty, for the above reasons, plus the damage that could be caused by un reported water leaks etc.

If he doesn’t want the property to live in for a year he should sell up and then buy something else wherever he settles next. It’s disgusting to leave a home empty. I hope someone makes use of it in his absence.

It's an empty house in a city of (checks notes) over 10,000 homeless people.

I guess crisis is the wrong word, really. More an issue, I guess.

I'd recommend booking an agent to check on the property every week. Viewber are really good for that sort of thing. Also get the agent to put on the heating, turn on taps etc. It'll cost max £100 a month if he books a weekly visit.

I would have at the very least someone checking up on it regularly, there is huge targeted crime in London and a known crime is renting out empty flats.

Honestly I wouldn’t leave for a year and leave a flat empty in central London. Rent it out to someone you know, use trusted house sitters or have family live there/ check on it or don’t go.

No, I don't think he's being ridiculous, and I speak as a Landlord myself. I wouldn't want someone in my space either, if I intended to live in the property again. Some tenants often don't look after properties very well. It's also very hard to evict tenants, so there would be no guarantee of him getting them out for his return. Eviction can cost thousands. As he has no mortgage on it, I think it's fair enough that he doesn't want people in his space, using his furniture etc. Also, he'll then not need to pay for storage for his other personal items.

He'll just need to ensure he has insurance that covers him for it being empty. He'll need to remember to turn the water off etc. And it would be useful to give his neighbours your number in case of emergencies.

Insurance for an unoccupied property requires that it's visited once a week/once a fortnight. Insurers are terrified of water leaks that no-one is in the property to notice. So he'll need to arrange that.

But having been, briefly, an accidental landlord, I would never EVER rent out a property. The changes that the government is bringing in will make it even harder for someone like your son to go back to his home after a year away.

The property that I have to handle has to be sold to pay the deceased owner's debt. It's taken a very long time to get the tenants out, and it could have taken another six months had they stayed put and waited for the bailiffs. It's cost me £1,000 already, to clear the house and scrap heap garden, clean the place and change all the locks. Oh, and they left with rent arrears.

Why anyone would want to let out their own home, I will never know.